Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE 49 By YM/PFC Michael Manley Atlantic Coast (FL) The Atlantic Coast Young Marines had the honor of staying on the USS York- town for a weekend.We were so excited! The USS Yorktown (CV-5) was an aircraft carrier used by the U.S. Navy from 1937, until it was sunk in June 1942 by Japa- nese torpedoes at the Battle of Midway, when 141 sailors lost their lives. The Yorktown was reconstructed & re- commissioned as the USS Yorktown (CV- 10). It was donated as a museum and memorial to the Patriots Point Develop- ment Authority of South Carolina. It was dedicated as the first ship of the Naval and Maritime Museum at Patriots Point, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, on 13 October 1975. When we arrived we were introduced to our guide. We put our gear in our racks, and set out to explore the ship. We then headed downstairs and there we saw the sailor’s living quarters, the emergency steering wheel, the galley, and the cafeteria (which is still in use for visitors). My favorite things were the models of navy ships and timelines of the wars that the Yorktown was in. After we were done exploring the ship we were given a snack and then sent to hit the rack. Our first day was great! Our second day started re- ally early in the morning. Our XO, GySgt Michael Vicente (Gunny) did a quiet wake up and took us up to the flight deck for PT. It was so early that it was still pitch black out- side, but it was a great workout. Once we were done, we had our ship meeting and went to chow. The chow for break- fast was very good. After we were finished eating, we had another great experience. We were tak- en over to the sister ship, the USS Laffey (DD-724). The USS Laffey is the most decorated World War II US Destroyer that is still in existence. The DD-724 was named in honor of Laffey (DD-459). The Laffey (DD-459) was sunk during the Battle for Guadalcanal in November 1942. Both ships were named in honor of Seaman Bartlett Laffey, a Civil War Med- al of Honor recipient. Once we were on board, the first thing we saw was the main turret. The main turret experi- ence was called the Mount 53 Experi- ence exhibit. We watched a video about the brave men who served in the gun mount. It also showed us how the USS Laffey got its nickname as “the ship that would never die”. We saw a room that displayed all of the ships’ battle medals and honors. I couldn’t believe how many of them there were! We also were able to visit the Com- bat Information Center. This showed us what the Cold War was like and let us locate (virtually) an enemy ship. We lo- cated the ship with sonar technologies and instructions from a speaker. We then entered the Engine Room which was interactive. I was able to sound an alarm by pressing buttons. It was so cool! We also got to climb up the steps of the Laffey to go to the Crow’s Nest (the highest part of the ship) , and the view was great! We visited the memorial for South Carolinians who died in the Vietnam War. On display were helicopters, trucks, boats and more. One of the saddest parts was see- ing the dog tags. The dog tags hanging on the walls were those of the people who were killed in Viet- nam. It made me sad, but also grateful that they gave their lives to make this country great for me. On our second day we took the Charles- ton Harbor Tour of Fort Sumter. The boat ride was fun. Once we got to the Fort Sumter National Monument we were allowed to explore the Fort. We saw some of the cannons that were used to defend the Fort from Union ships. Next, we saw the area where the ammunition and gun powder was stored. This room was the heaviest armored room in the Fort. We walked into a long, dark tun- nel that did not lead anywhere, but we had fun scaring each other in it. Leaving the Fort, our boat took us around the is- land to see great sights like the Ravenel Bridge. We even saw dolphins! After a full day of sight-seeing, our Unit Commander Ms. Kimberly Gibbons gave us a sweet treat - literally. She took us all to the candy shop. After the candy shop Ms. Gibbons and Gunny had some- thing special planned... a ghost tour! We went around South Carolina look- ing at some of the most haunted sites in America. We didn’t actually see ghosts, but the stories were so cool! Day Two was a busy one, but totally worth it! We learned so much and got to see so many cool things. Our last day at USS Yorktown was a sad one because we did not want to leave. Before we left we visited a few more places. We went to the Medal of Honor Museum. There we saw all the Medal of Honor recipients and learned about their actions. After that we got to go to a VR (virtual reality) experience.Since the Apol- lo 13 capsule was picked up by the USS Yorktown they had a Mission to Mars VR experience. We got to put goggles on that made us feel like we were really on Mars. The last thing we did before we had to leave was a Scavenger Hunt. Our own Unit Commander, Ms. Gibbons and Gunny made this up especially for us. The scavenger hunt was challeng- ing because we had to include strang- ers. We had to break out of our comfort zone to ask people questions like can I walk your dog, can I shake your tod- dler’s hand, or do a karate kid pose on a stand. People were so nice because they helped us to do it. Everyone was laughing especially one of our staff, Mr. Spath. Our staff always laughs and has fun with us. My weekend at the USS Yor- ktown was one of the best I ever had! I am so happy that I was able to go, but even happier that I’m part of the Atlan- tic Coast Young Marines. ACYM: A Visit Aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Yorktown