USS Yorktown (CV~10)
The keel for the aircraft carrier BonHomme
Richard was laid down December 1, 1941,
six days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The
vessel was renamed USS Yorktown (CV-10)
in honor of the original carrier Yorktown (CV-5),
the only U.S. carrier lost at the Battle of Midway in
June 1942. The CV-10 conducted numerous air strikes
including the Marshall Islands, Tarawa, Iwo Jimo,
Okinawa, Battle of the Philippine Sea, Formosa and
on the Japanese mainland. The ships crew numbered
380 officers, 3,088 enlisted personnel and 90 planes.
Nicknamed "The Fighting Lady", she recieved the
Presidential Unit Citation and earned eleven battle
stars for World War II service. She was placed in
reserve from January 1947, until December 1952.
Her deck was cantilevered in 1955 in order to
accommodate newer aircraft.
[Marker Reverse]
In 1957, the vessel was again overhauled and
reclassified as an antisubmarine warfare (ASW)
carrier and designated CVS~10. During deployment
in the Pacific, she qualified for the Armed Forces
Expeditionary Medal on three occasions for her
responses to the Communist Chinese shellings
of Formosa, Quemoy, and Matsu. From 1965 until
1967, Yorktown's main activity was in combat
operations in Vietnam where she earned an
additional five battle stars. In 1968, she recovered
NASA's Apollo 8 capsule from the Pacific
Ocean. In the late 1960s, she conducted exercises
in the Atlantic Ocean participating in the major
fleet exercise Operation Peacekeeper. The carrier
was featured in the 1970 Japanese - American
produced film, Tora, Tora, Tora.
Decommissioned that same year, she is now the
honored main feature of Patriots Point Naval &
Maritime Museum .
Marker is at the intersection of Patriots Point Road and Driveway for Athletic Fields on Patriots Point Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
