USS Yorktown

We spent MLK weekend on one of the most memorable trips ever...visiting and spending the night on the USS Yorktown, a WWII aircraft carrier. It wasn't just that the ship was spectacular and the airplanes were incredible. It was that we spent a full 24 hours immersed in WWII history. We ate where the sailors and airmen ate; and slept where they slept; and sat in the pre-flight room, just as they did before taking off on daring missions. We watched movies about what life was like on the eve of battle. And I dreamt all night of what it would be like to spend six months at sea on this huge ship, not knowing when the next Kamikaze pilot would strike.



Our sleeping arrangements were divided by gender. The ladies were assigned the Junior Officer's Quarters. We slept in a room that held about 30 beds. It was tight, but we had much more privacy than the guys...


The guys slept in the enlisted men quarters. There were about 2000 men on the ship when it was sailing. They divided the men by jobs, so you slept with others who were doing the same job as you. The beds were three high and side-by-side. In our case, Derrick and Andrew were both in middle beds. Scott slept below Derrick. Other scouts from our troop slept above, below and to the sides. I don't think anyone got much sleep.




Not much head room!


The boys were in full "war" mode, operating everything they could find, including many anti-aircraft guns positioned all around.


Scott says that his favorite part of the weekend was touring the submarine that is docked next to the Yorktown. If we thought we had little sleeping space, we changed our minds when we saw the submarine. Those guys moved their beds wherever they could find space, including on top of the missiles!


I enjoyed the flight deck. There were many different planes that we could inspect.






My least favorite part of the trip was descending the steep steps into the depths of the ship to see the engine room. The boilers were large and scary, and I just imagined them blowing up at any second without an escape route. Working in the engine room would definitely NOT be my job of choice.


I think I would prefer to work in the bakery. Check out this large mixer! I could mix the boys in it. :)



The weekend was not all war. We also listened to an excellent an Oceanography talk.

And saw some beautiful wildlife in the river.

But it was mostly about war. I left with a new appreciation of the sacrifices of our veterans of war. And an awe for those men and women who make such sacrifices.