The USS Yorktown: A Ghost Ship
- Sep 26, 2022
- 2 min read
Currently docked in Charleston Harbor (in South Carolina), the USS Yorktown is said to be the home of the ghosts of US crewmen who died on board while serving their country.
A Brief History
The ship was originally called the Bon Homme Richard (French for the "good man" Richard) during its construction but was later renamed to the USS Yorktown in honor of a ship sunk in the Battle of Midway. Construction on this Essex-class carrier finished in less than a year-and-a-half and was officially commissioned in April of 1943. She earned the nickname "Fighting Lady" for all the battles she fought in during World War II, specifically in the Pacific. She also served during the Vietnam War as an anti-submarine aircraft carrier and even served as the recovery ship for the Apollo 8 mission. Throughout her years of service, she earned Presidential Unit Citation and 16 battle stars in total (11 for WWII and 5 for Vietnam). She was decommissioned in 1970 and moved to her current residence in Charleston Harbor five years later.
In the Line of Fire
The USS Yorktown was no stranger to tragedy and death during her time in the US Navy. 141 service men lost their lives in the line of duty while aboard this ship. 5 of those men died when a Japanese bomb struck the starboard side of the ship (three died instantly and two died later from their lethal injuries). 16 more were injured in the explosion but survived their injuries. The bomb lug also survived and is on display today on the ship's hanger deck. There have been numerous other tragedies during the warship's history.
Ghost Ship
It's no surprise that with its history of tragedy and death, the USS Yorktown is said by many to be haunted. People have claimed to have seen ghostly figures appear on the ship and even appear in photos taken there. Others have said that they have heard disembodied footsteps while on the ship by themselves. In an article written by Antonio Stinson for Charleston's News 2, Tad Legare, a guide for Bulldog Tours, said that female guests tended to have more supposedly supernatural experiences than their male counterparts. These experiences included the sensation of someone's hand on their shoulder and even being scratched. Legare poses that this phenomenon, if indeed supernatural in origin, may be because all of the ghosts who allegedly haunt the ship are the ghosts of men.
Links
Check out the links below to learn more about the USS Yorktown:
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