Yorktown Stories
The Yorktown Legacy Why do my family and I continue to support the Association and to attend the annual Yorktown reunions? I could sum it up in two words – My Dad; however, that would not make for much of an article! My Dad, TMV/2 Ed Branning, served on the Yorktown from 1943-1945, fighting in the Pacific during WWII, but those two years impacted his entire life. Dad attended many of the reunions – he’s right in the front in the picture from the first reunion and we think he only missed a handful in those years between 1948 and when he passed in 2012. I don’t really remember him leaving to go away to the reunions when I was very young, but I know he did. I do recall that he had a weekly phone chat with Jim Bryan every Sunday, and he also served as the Mid Atlantic ...
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 of the most famous and classic Christmas movies – Its A Wonderful Life. In the movie, Jimmy Stewart’s character George has a brother named Harry Bailey who receives the Medal Of Honor as a Naval Pilot. They clearly used footage from The Fighting Lady filmed aboard Yorktown and edited Harry into the footage.” We checked, and sure enough about an hour into each film we found the matching footage (see photo above). The Christmas classic was originally released in black and white, but the colorized version makes it even easier ...
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 two teams of the area, adding well over $1,000 (HK) to funds for the Chinese refugees that flocked to Hong Kong since the beginning of Communist aggression in their homeland. At the end of the season the Yorktown Fliers four-on-four team had posted an impressive string of fourteen victories over one loss. Many of the teams defeated were top local teams from the military installations in the area and from other ships. Joe Norris (RD3, OI Division, 1958 – 1960) also played in Hong Kong. He told about the experience ...
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 1943. Until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, they labored in camps with fellow POWs from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Holland, and other allied nations. Throughout the war, the main thing they wanted from new POWs coming into camp was news of what was happening in the war. Meanwhile, for two years their families had hoped and prayed for any news that their loved ones were still alive.News was the first thing Condit and the other POWs asked for from Yorktown pilots dropping barrels of supplies at ...
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 Clark. I never knew his first name, but he was called Jocko Clark. He eventually made Rear Admiral. He was a great warrior and a great captain. Everyone liked him, probably because he was not strict on his crew. He wore a baseball cap and was not particular how we dressed at sea, with one exception: While at general quarters he wanted us to wear long-sleeve shirts. A general quarter was when we were on alert and under attack. This was to protect us in case of a fire. After ...
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 her. So many memories about that tour. The Pueblo, the cold, Vietnam, the Gulf, sea snakes and all. Liberty in the “PI”, Japan, and Hong Kong. The singing contest in Singapore at the enlisted mens club. ‘Til we meet again, calm seas, peace and the joy of serving with you all.Love,Patrick “Patty”RR710, VAW111, Det 10 ...
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. Thornton (age 97) was 19 when he stepped onto the shores of Utah Beach in July 1944 as an ordnance specialist. His job after the invasion of Normandy was to clear mines and booby traps ahead of troop movements. He was at the Battle of the Bulge. Out of 36 men in his platoon, 5 made it out of the war alive and not wounded. “I’m just glad to have made it out okay,” he said. He remarked on how cold it was in Europe during winter. He’d heard of a ...
Joe Zaccaro hands out baseball cards, navy pins and stickers to a second grade class on Veterans Day, 2021 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, “[they] wanted to know if I had my own bedroom and the different countries I visited.” Zaccaro also handed out souvenirs from the Yorktown Association to the excited and inquisitive students. “The goodies went over famously.” He said, “My daughter received great reactions from the class the next day. [They] hoped I would come back again.” With the help of crewmembers like Joe Zaccaro, the Yorktown Association carries on its mission ...
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 on board the USS Yorktown. We asked Phil what made him want to join the U.S. Military, to which he told us that as a kid he had a dream that he was in the Navy. He thinks it may have come from watching the show, “Victory at Sea,” for so many years. Later in life, at the age of 21, it was 1964 and he was walking into Coney Island. There was a big draft going on and looking across the street he saw the enlisting booth for the ...
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 about growing up, her father’s service, and what made her join the membership for herself and even for her two brothers! We are so thankful that you have joined our association Dawn! FOLLOWING THE LEGACY OF OUR DAD, ROBERT HENDERSON,US NAVY & VIETNAM VETERAN, 1963-1966 Growing up, I don’t remember my Dad talking too much about his Navy days, let alone being on a ship and his experience in the Vietnam War. It was not until my adult years that I start hearing & really listening to those stories and ...
