1930 – 2022 Clarke Joseph Wilcott, 92, of Wausau passed away on February 22, 2022. He was born to the late Martin and Anne (Parsch) Wilcott on January 22, 1930. He met and married the love of his life Irene (Heath) Wilcott in Paris France during the war. She passed away February 21, 2009. Clarke proudly served his county first …
RICHBAW, DELMAR
1932 – 2024 It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our beloved father, Delmar Dean Richbaw, who left us on September 4, 2024 at the age of 92. Surrounded by family and friends in his final moments, he was a man of immense humor and wisdom, cherishing every moment spent with his loved ones. Del is …
FLORES, ANDRES
1933-2024 Andy Flores, husband, father, grandfather, and good friend passed from earth on Saturday, December 14, 2024. He was 91 years old. Andy was born in San Francisco in 1933. His parents were Vicente Flores and Maria Flores (Solis). He was the youngest of three children. At a young age his family moved to Crockett, Ca. He went to public …
MCADOO, JAMES
1935 – 2024 A tribute is not available at this time for James H. McAdoo.
LUKENS, VIRGIL
Virgil A. Lukens, 92, of Herrin, passed away Friday, July 14, 2023 at his home in Herrin, IL. Virgil owned and operated Lukens Refrigeration for 46 years in Herrin. He retired in 1996 from the Carbondale Clinic as the Maintenance Supervisor. Virgil was a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church in Herrin. Virgil was a U.S. Navy …
LONSDALE, FRED
1944 – 2024 Frederick “Fred” Lonsdale of Arlington, Massachusetts died at home on April 8th. Beloved husband of Aracy (Dos Anjos) Lonsdale and dear stepfather of Leia Hurley and her husband Michael of Billerica and Eddie Reis and his wife Isaulina of Burlington. Cherished grandfather of Juliana, Michelle, Susan, Kenneth, Jessica and Edmund and dear great grandfather of seven. Predeceased …
ERIE, JERRY SR.
1941 – 2023 Jerry Ray Erie Sr., age 82, of Texarkana, Texas passed away on Saturday, December 23, 2023. He was born on July 14, 1941 in Longview, TX. He was past owner of Erie’s Business Machines and a realtor at Gerald Haire Realtors. He is a member of First Baptist Church and a Navy veteran. He was a member …
DEVILLE, MICKEY
1946 – 2022 Mickey Deville, age 76, went to be with our Lord on Saturday, August 20, 2022. Mickey was blessed with a loving family and many friends. He was wise, gentle, loving, a giver and a fixer of all things. He was a man who put others before himself, whose actions spoke louder than words, and whose words always …
Harry Bailey, Yorktown Pilot
We’re often contacted about a veteran who served on the ship, but this one takes the cake. (Or should we say fruit cake? or figgy pudding?) We received an email recently from an aircraft carrier enthusiast with an eye for details that others miss. “What few people know,” Mickeen Hogan wrote, “is that Yorktown CV-10 has a cameo in one …
Yorktown Fliers Win for the CVA-10
The Yorktown Fliers play USS Wasp NCAA’s March Madness has us thinking about basketball on the USS Yorktown (CVA-10). It was during the 1950s that the sport really took off in the Navy, and the crew and squadrons on the Yorktown included some great players. In 1954, while in Hong Kong, the ship’s basketball team defeated the number one and …
HEGGIE, DALE
1948 – 2023 Dale O. Heggie, 74, of Bloomington, IL passed away on Friday, February 17, 2023, at his home with family by his side. Dale was born on December 9, 1948 in Bloomington the son of Stanley H. and Dona M. (Dahlhoff) Heggie. He married Cathy L. Wasson on January 28, 1967 at Second Presbyterian Church, Bloomington, IL. Surviving …
CHESSER, WALTER T
1939 – 2023 Walter Thomas Chesser was a Signalman 2nd Class in CS Division from 1961 to 1965. He lived in Sacramento, California.
HAZELTON, RICHARD
1924 – 2024 Richard Franklin Hazelton of Sequim, Washington, shed his earthly tent (2nd Corinthians 5:1) and replaced it with his eternal mansion (John 14:2) on September 23, 2024, in beautiful Sequim, Washington.?? A Memorial Service will be held at a later date, where his ashes will be spread next to his beloved wife’s and his loved ones will surround …
MCKEE, MICHAEL
1946 – 2023 Michael Thomas McKee, 77, of Ardmore and formerly of Newtown Square, PA, died Friday, October 20, accompanied by family after an unexpected hospitalization. Born June 14, 1946, in the Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, he was a son of the late William and Margaret (Malloy) McKee, and brother to the late Bill McKee of Williamstown, NJ. Michael …
Meet the Veterans of the USS Yorktown
Saturday, October 12th9am to 12pm The veterans of the USS Yorktown will reunite on their beloved aircraft carrier “The Fighting Lady” to share stories of their service from World War II through the Vietnam War. And this year, they will be joined by USS Bennington (CV-20) veterans celebrating their 80th anniversary. Visitors to Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum will …
Remembering V-J Day and the Release of POWs
North of Asakusa, where the Sumida River makes a hairpin turn before flowing south to Tokyo Bay was Tokyo POW Camp 10-B. This is where VT-5 pilot James Willoughby “Pop” Condit found out the war had ended. Pop, radioman Gordon H. Marshal, and gunner Kenneth O. Kalberg had been shot down and captured during the attack on Marcus Island in …
Reunion Registration
Dear Shipmates:We are well underway planning our 2024 Reunion. This one will be exciting and a little different than our past reunions. First, we are very pleased to announce the USS Bennington CV-20, CVA 20, CVS-20 Association Members will be joining us – so it will be a reunion of “The Lady & Big Benn”. Their Association visited the Yorktown …
2024 Yorktown Reunion
Yes we just completed our 2023 Reunion and a mini recap is in this issue. And, yes we are talking about “2024”. As you’ve probably seen in your everyday life, things are moving faster – it seems; and planning events takes longer. So here’s a snapshot.October 9 – 12, 2024. Write the dates on the calendar. Tell all your shipmates, …
‘The Fighting Lady Turns 80’ celebration
April 15th, 10 am – 3 pm As you know, the USS Yorktown (CV-10) was commissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia on April 15, 1943. That was eighty years ago, this year. So, the leadership and staff at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mt. Pleasant, SC are preparing an 80th Birthday celebration of the USS …
Excerpt from the Memoir of Harry C Perkins
A USS Yorktown Plankowner in Engineering Department has a humorous run-in with Captain “Jocko” Clark (Above) Harry at 17 and fresh from bootcamp (Below) A tight fit through the Panama Canal for the Yorktown It was during this time [1943 in Newport News, VA] that we had the opportunity to meet our captain of the Yorktown. His name was Captain …
PPDA Employees Deck the Halls
Click the image above to view the contest 2022 Holiday Decorating Contest “Merry Christmas to all! We had a Holiday Decoration contest here at Patriots Point and supported by the USS Yorktown Foundation. There are some really creative peeps on staff. The Attached pdf show all that participated and a sample of their decorations. Take the time to go see …
A Letter from a Shipmate
Ahoy shipmates!Hope all is well and troubles are few. Just returned from Hawaii, where I wore my white hat again. This time aboard the “Arizona”. Quite moving. May we all enjoy good health. The trip was to celebrate my 75th.I remember so vividly the site of the Arizona when we steamed up the channel in ’68 and anchored across from …
Five Things to Know When You Donate to USS Yorktown Association
These things are important to know when you give to the USS Yorktown (CV-10) Association: We are a 501(c)(19). As a veterans non-profit, all donations made to us are tax deductible. Simply keep your receipt for your taxes. We are the veterans who served on the USS Yorktown and their families – and we’re proud of it! Let’s just say …
Veterans Day Weekend at Patriots Point
November 11 – 13, 2022 Celebrate veterans this Veterans Day weekend aboard the USS Yorktown! Patriots Point will offer free admission to Veterans and active duty military from November 11 – 13. Admission to the museum includes access to the warships USS Yorktown and USS Laffey, and the three-acre Vietnam War Experience. In addition to offering free admission to veterans, …
247th Navy Birthday Celebration on USS Yorktown
US Navy personnel all over the world will mark the 247th birthday of the US Navy at 9:00 am (wherever they are). They will ring a bell nine times – 8 to signal the end of the watch and the 9th to represent the start of a new watch. The “watches” in this case are the past and present years …
A Special Guest
Time stands still when a World War II veteran steps onto the decks of the Fighting Lady. We were blessed, today, to take Bryce Thornton of the Army’s 104th Infantry Division on a special tour of the ship. As it happens, Pat Waters (grandson of General Patton) was here for a meeting and able to speak to him as well. Mr. …
USS Yorktown to be Permanent Structure
The US Coast Guard this month has requested that Patriots Point Development Authority register the USS Yorktown as a Permanently Moored Vessel. This certification will mean that the Coast Guard would not need to inspect the Yorktown, since it was removed from navigation years ago. Of course, it has been common knowledge that the Yorktown is permanently moored, but the …
Remediation Plans on USS Yorktown
On Monday, July 11th, SC Governor Henry McMaster announced his intention for “a complete remediation and removal of hazardous materials from the hull of the USS Yorktown, including hundreds of thousands of gallons of old petroleum, polluted ballast waters, and polychlorinated biphenyl compounds, or PCBs that were not removed from the ship’s 428 vessel tanks and compartments by the Navy.” …
Yorktown Day 2022
Yorktown Day commemorates the victory of General George Washington’s Allied American and French troops over Lord Cornwallis’ troops at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. This victory essentially ended the American Revolution and paved the way for our freedom from Great Britain. Yorktown Day 2022 occurs on Wednesday, October 19 in historic Yorktown, Virginia. The agenda for the 18th and 19th …
Save the Date
Our Next Reunion: October 5 – 7, 2023 Grab the family! Call your shipmates! Plan to gather again in the fall of 2023. It’s only the best time to be in Charleston, afterall. The flowers are blooming, the humidity is low, and the temps are just right for exploring our favorite aircraft carrier. Be on the look out for more …
Reunion Discount in Gift Shop
Attendees wearing their reunion name tag/badge will get 20% off merchandise in the Patriots Point Gift Shop (landside by the parking lot) during the reunion. There will be lots of fun items to bring home to friends and family!
Sharing Yorktown History on Veterans Day
On Veterans’ Day, crewmember Joe Zaccaro (OE Division, 1964-1966) visited with his daughter, Laura’s, second grade students at a New Jersey elementary school to speak about his service on the ‘Fighting Lady.’ The students had lots of questions for him. “Besides the size of the ship and how many people on board and were any of them women,” Zaccoro said, …
PTSD Awareness Month
June is PTSD Awareness month and as an Association our goal is to do our part in raising awareness, eradicating stigmas, and distributing information for our suffering veterans. Stay tuned on our Facebook Page this month for ways to get involved and be a part of this movement!
Phil Elsner – Star Group Member
The best part of our Association Member group so far has been getting to see everyone interact and tell their stories. Since the group started, Phil Elsner has been such an enthusiastic and highly involved group member. Curious about his story, and what drives his love for the ship, we talked with him about his time in the Navy and …
A Family Tradition – The Henderson’s
Recently, we have had the privilege of welcoming another generation of USS Yorktown CV-10 Association members. Through our new Facebook Group, we were able to connect with Dawn Henderson. Her father served on the ship in 1963-1966. Dawn was so invested and excited for the opportunity to honor her fathers service. The following are a few words from Dawn herself …