Monday, June 11, 2018

Monday, June 11, 2018


Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2004. This was Mattie's second trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As you can see, Mattie was practically jumping out of Peter's arms. Mattie did not like the sound of the ocean or being on the sand for that matter. However, by the third visit to the Outer Banks, Mattie took to it like a duck to water. By that point, he understood the sound of the waves and loved playing in the sand.







Quote of the day: Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~ Judy Garland

We had a full day of touring as we visited USS Yorktown and Fort Sumter. To get to these sites, we had to cross the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. This bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Cooper River in South Carolina connecting downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant. The eight lane bridge has a main span of 1,546 feet and is the third longest cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

This what the Ravenel Bridge looks like in profile. What you can't appreciate from this photo is just how tall this bridge is.... it needs height as cargo ships pass under this bridge often. 

This is the USS Yorktown, CV (Commissioned Vessel) 10. Now a National Historic Landmark. 

The USS YORKTOWN (CV-10) was the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the United States Navy. Under construction as Bon Homme Richard, this new Essex-class carrier was renamed in honor of YORKTOWN (CV-5) sunk at the epic Battle of Midway (June 1942). Built in an amazing 16 ½ months at Newport News, Virginia, YORKTOWN was commissioned on April 15, 1943. World War II’s famous “Fighting Lady” would participate significantly in the Pacific offensive that began in late 1943 and ended with the defeat of Japan in 1945. YORKTOWN received the Presidential Unit Citation and earned 11 battle stars for service in World War II.

In the 1950s, YORKTOWN was modernized to operate jet aircraft as an attack carrier (CVA). In 1957, she was re-designated an anti-submarine aircraft carrier (CVS), and would later earn 5 battle stars for service off Vietnam (1965-68). The ship also recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts and capsule (December 1968). YORKTOWN was decommissioned in 1970 and placed in reserve.

This was the highlight of my trip. Peter and I met these three Vietnam Veterans. They served together and now live in different parts of the Country. However, they remain in touch and even their wives are friends. In fact, they said they will be having a 50th reunion in Dallas, TX this year and they all plan on going. 

From left to right are: Arthur, Dan, and Dave. Each of them was awarded a Purple Heart for being wounded in the line of duty. 

Peter with Arthur, Dan, and Dave. They were the nicest men and were happy we asked about their lives and were humbled that we thanked them for their service. 

This is the walkway up to the USS Yorktown. I have to say the entire journey is a patriotic experience. In fact, the Ship is located on what now is called Patriot Point and there are American Flags flying everywhere. 

Some Ship facts:
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Displacement: 27,000+ tons (1943) 30,000+ tons (1956)

Length: 872 feet (1943) 888 feet (1956)

Speed: 30+ knots

Range: 14,000 nautical miles at 13 knots

We were able to capture these wonderful views of the Ship, because we took a cruise from the USS Yorktown dock to Fort Sumter. During this 15 minute journey across the Cooper River, we had the ideal view of Yorktown.

The Spirit of Charleston that took us to Fort Sumter. 

The bow of the USS Yorktown.

A close up of the USS Yorktown, with its banner that reads... I Pledge Allegiance!

To be honest, I can't imagine life aboard an aircraft carrier. We saw it under ideal conditions... it wasn't moving and there were no missions being deployed. Yet everything was confined, dark, and not well ventilated. I snapped this photo because this is what the stairs up and down looked like. They are very steep and narrow. More like a ladder than stairs. I can't imagine anyone quickly moving up and down these things, much less multiple people using them at one time. 

Believe it or not, this was the bathroom. Communal sinks, toilets, and shower stalls. There were no doors or curtains in the showers. 

Where the crew ate, all 3,500 of them!

Sinks!!!

Beds!! They look more like gurneys rather than beds! But rows and rows of them.  

 The kitchen!

The hallway to medical care. The USS Yorktown was like a floating city. It had everything and was self contained. 

This was the operating room aboard the Yorktown. 

This was sick bay, for when crew needed to be contained to prevent contamination. The photo may not do this justice. But it is confined and each patient has little to no personal space. 

There was even dental care aboard!

 A chapel

A jail for those who did not follow the law and order of the ship. 

The flight room, where pilots received their orders. 

The flight deck. 

The Hangar of the air craft carrier. This is actually the level we were able to enter onto the Yorktown. Picture a large warehouse filled with planes and that is what it looked like. 

The flight deck. 

Aother view of the flight deck.

After touring the USS Yorktown, we boarded a boat that took us across the river to Fort Sumter. We have never seen a Fort that was completely surrounded by water and not connected to land. 

The white marble entrance sign. 

On April 12, 1861, the Confederate forces bombarded Fort Sumter and the Civil War began. Major Anderson represented the Union at the Fort. However, by April 14th, the Union surrendered and the Fort fell to Confederate hands. Fort Sumter was the center of conflict as Union forces struggled to regain control over the Fort and Charleston Harbor. Fort Sumter was subjected to a Union blockade, attacks by ironcad war ships, and a 22 month siege. 

We received a short orientation from one of the park rangers. She did an excellent job explaining the history of the Fort. As the Fort went back and forth in the hands of the Union and Confederate. The issue of slaves and their freedom was what divided our Country, with 7 states disassociating from our United States. 

What caught all of our attention was the beautiful way the park ranger described the pride that the Union and Confederate troops had when their respectful flags flew over the Fort. When the stars and stripes flag was flying, the Union troops felt proud that they reclaimed the Fort, and at the same time the Confederate troops were demoralized to see their flag removed. The ranger had us focus upon what the American flag means to us, and in essence how these conflicting troops must have felt when their flag claimed the Fort. 

The fort had over 7 million pounds of ammunition fired at it, and in some cases the munitions hit the fort's walls and were left in place. Here Peter is pointing to one of the shells that remained lodged within the fort's wall.

 This is a shot from atop the middle part of the fort. You can see what remains of the original walls. On the left was the back section facing the land that was pounded with shells until it was almost reduced to rubble. In the background you can see the outline of the city of Charleston.

This is a vertical shot that Peter took of the flag pole that sits on the fort. The man carved into its base was Captain Robert Anderson, who was the Union commander that held the fort for 34 hours when Confederate troops shelled the island. Peter took this shot while laying on his back and pointing the camera upwards towards the sky. It was quite a sight..

This is the actual flag that was flown during the 34 hour long siege by the Confederate troops. Ironically, the day before the April 12th, 1861 shelling began, the actual American Flag flying above Fort Sumter, had been torn to shreds during a wicked storm. The troops took down the torn American Flag and instead hoisted a weather warning flag that had only 33 stars. After the Union troops surrendered the Fort, they were allowed to take down and remove this flag, which has been preserved for all of history.

This is the flag that the Confederate troops hoisted once they took control of the Fort. This is a South Carolina Militia Flag with the the palm tree and a red start representing the lone dissenting state of South Carolina that was the first state to succeed from the Union in 1861. South Carolina was followed by 6 other states in total that succeeded from the Union, which were Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Texas.