Yorktown Para normal experience while visiting

About five year's ago (about 1996) I took a side trip to visit the Yorktown while on vacation.  I made no plans to visit but went only because I was former Navy and had the time to visit her.  I spent the better part of a day on her.

Walking around I had the feeling that something or someone was attempting to contact me. The hair on the back of my neck would stand up for no reason when I stopped to look at something. When I went on the hanger deck I was shocked to see a memorial to a cousin I had never known and three of his crewmate's. They were member's of V.T. 1 and were lost on a mission over Guam in July 1944 off the C.V.10 

No one in my family had ever told me what ship he was on and I had no way of knowing this before hand.  I still feel he and his mate's drew me to the ship.  I have done some research on the four men since then and even found a living sister of the pilot Lt. Leonard E. Wood (From Coffeeville Kansas).  My cousin was Radioman 3/c Edward C. Donahue.  The other two men were Alfred Sabol and Owen L. Smith

Click here for the free previews of the Academy Award Winning Movie about
the USS Yorktown, "The Fighting Lady.

The ghost "Shadow Ed" walks at night aboard the decommissioned USS Yorktown?

Brian Parsons, Patriots Point Security Department
Shadow Ed
Wed Dec 12 18:39:22 2001


I could tell you a million and a half stories about happenings on board the USS Yorktown since she was decommissioned but one stands out the most. Those of us in the security department have seen a dark shadow like figure of a man that stands about five foot six inches. We have come to call him Shadow Ed, don't ask why because he has been around a lot longer than I. The ghost at hand has made a believer out of me.

I meet him about three or four years ago when I was making my rounds on the second deck near officers country on the starboard side. I was walking out of room 200 when I looked over my shoulder and down the passage, (during closed hours), I saw a someone cross the corridor.  I decided I should go see what it was but once I got to where it should of been there was nothing.  I thought it was just my imagination and started back on my way when in front of me I saw him cross my path again. At this time I reported it to my supervisor and the two of us looked all around bout never found any one. The next day I shared my story with an employee of the graveyard shift and he had the same things to say.

Most of the other USS Yorktown ghost stories involve the hearing of foot steps and voices or pans being tossed about in the galley.

click here read about how the USS Yorktown becomes a ghost ship one night a week and sails the 7 Seas

I think I have seen him.  I was in Charleston, in 1988 and 1989 and visited the USS Yorktown.  I had been to visit her many times but this was the first time I had been there when the engine room was open.  You have to forgive me due to this being so long ago I am a touch fuzzy. 

Anyway, while I was down in the engine room, I was looking out over a catwalk type thing/viewing area.  Well, this "person" came out from below the cat walk, bent down like it picked something up, looked at a pipe and went back under where I was standing.  I don't know how far that platform is where you stand to how far down "this person" was but I remember thinking when I saw him that it must be kinda dark since I never saw any colors on his clothes or hair color, etc.  

I never saw anything but a dark outline of a person. My first thought was is that a homeless person living there without anyone knowing?  What's that person doing down there and where did he go?  Why didn't he make any noise?  Now I wonder if it wasn't a shadow person (Shadow Ed?). I was there in the middle of a weekday so there weren't very many people there.  Neither the other couple of people nor my boyfriend saw it but I saw it clear as day.  I guess because when I am in these places, as I am looking around, I am picturing what was going on, what they were doing as their ship was being bombed and how in the heck would they get out of there if the ship started sinking.   

I love this ship and have visited her many times.  Every time I visit Charleston, I find myself wandering around on her or sitting on the fantail.  Last time I was there was in the Summer of 2003.  Didn't see anything except the sweat rolling in to my eyes!

 Thanks for letting me share.

 Crystal Kell

THE NIGHT A LIBERTY BOAT KILLED TWO OF YORKTOWN HELICOPTERS, 
THE ADMIRAL'S BOAT AND THE CAPTAIN'S BOAT

The 1969 North Atlantic Cruise; a general quarters is sounded in the middle of the night I never remember ever having one, until that night. From my berthing area to the photo lab the trip took you through the hangar bay. It was a mess. 

Story went that some junior officer had the deck. We were in the artic, harassing Russian subs. The seas changed or something (realize I'm a photo person and not a real seaman) and the OD either didn't call the Captain to request a change or didn't have the courage to decide on his own. 

Result, we were in a 30 foot trough (or much, much more). I can't remember the number of degrees the roll took but a tin can sailor who was on board told me that it was bad. They didn't even do rolls like these on tincans. 

 Desks and file cabinets were all over the place in photo lab. The pictures we took later of the damage. One of the 50 foot liberty boats broke loose. As the ship rolled the boat shifted from starboard to port a couple of times. It took out and destroyed two helo's (helicopters), the Captains and the Admiral's boats. Biggest fear was the JP4 (high octane jet fuel) stored in the crushed helo's.  One was so damaged we took a picture as they pushed it over the side a few days later.

Don't know about a tsunami or whatever. It was heavy seas in the Artic. I remember the 1MC thing speaker always talking about not going out on weather decks. One day we got a photo of some green water breaking over the flight deck. Not a good deal.

Editor:  Luck has always been with the Essex Class aircraft carrier.  Of the two dozen made, not one of them sunk, although many were hit and the Yorktown appeared close to capsizing.

Prejudice in Japan against Yorktown Sailor

Yorktown Sailor swims to Hong Kong...for the love of a woman

 During our Western Pacific Cruise in 1968 I remember one time in Japan we were out clubbing, going from Japanese bar to bar. George Scretchings PH3 was with us.  (George was so big and tall that his nickname in the Yorktown photo lab was "Stretch") 

The Japanese would not let him in the club due to the color of his skin.  Here was George, wearing his dress blue US Navy uniform, his Vietnam Ribbons and his ship's patch over his right shoulder stating USS Yorktown.  

But the club owners kept yelling "NO NEGRO, NO NEGRO." 

George kept saying "you guys go ahead without me."   We expressed to George if he wasn't welcome in the club his Yorktown shipmates weren't about to go in without him. Screw em, we went some where else to spend our money.  It appeared George had experienced this sort of prejudice before. He was a good human being. 

 {Editor: PH3 Scretchings died in February 2001 in Los Angeles.  He was big hearted guy who was always willing to help out a shipmate.  Sometimes a rough exterior which hid his soft interior.  "Stretch" was entitled to wear the Vietnam Service Ribbon and Medal and the Cold War Recognition Medal.  

As a fighting man in the US Navy, Stretch was protecting not only the people of the United States from communist aggression but also the people of Japan.}

Although I did have a wonderful time in the Philippine Islands. Hong Kong and Japan were on the top of my list for Yorktown liberty ports.  The mix of blood in Hong Kong, make for some BEAUTIFUL women. And their English was better then mine, Hong Kong was decades ahead of everyone in many respects.  Do you remember the day we were leaving Hong Kong and a guy jumped overboard?

I guess he didn't want to leave his squeeze in Hong Kong.  Capt. Bennett's cabin cruiser was still in the water following the ship out of the harbor.  They picked the guy out of the Hong Kong harbor. 

I imagine the guy was in deep [trouble] at Captain's Mast.

daniel bernath 
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Sea Story: When I reported for duty after boot camp on the Kearsarge (transferred to the Yorktown about a year later) I was just a 17 year old.
I walked the long walk to Pier E in Long Beach with my heavy sea bag and dress blue uniform still smelling of moth balls. I went up to the Marine on guard at the ship and he promptly told me "dummy, this is the officer's brow, go over there." So I went to the enlisted man's brow. Remembering what they taught me in boot camp, after sunset, I walked to top 'asked permission to come aboard' and saluted the chief on duty and the "national ensign." The chief says "son, its night, the flag has been taken down, you just saluted the ass end of the ship". So I get assigned a bunk. With my brand new black dress shows still smooth on the bottom I put one foot on the hatch cover and fall down onto the next deck and sprained my ankle. 
Not being wise to the ways of the fleet yet, I fall asleep with my brand new 'spit shined' dress shoes on top of my sea bag. I wake up the next day with my sea bag there but my brand new navy dress shoes stolen. What a way to spend the first day in the fleet!

No punchline to the story, but this is what its like on your first day with the Fleet.   I remember it all so vividly 34 years later. 

william J Thomure 
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 I was stationed on the Yorktown from Dec 1956 to Aug 1960 
Tell us a Sea Story: We were at Ford Island and went to the EM club and when we came back to the ship someone dared me to jump in the water, and I did right off of the dock......... 

phil elsner 
E-Mail: Sea Story: ON THE WAY TO WEST PAC IN 1966 WE STOPPED AT HAWAII AND ME AND THE GUYS FROM THE PHOTO LAB GOT LIBERTY AND WE WENT TO THE BAR ON FORD ISLAND. AFTER WE HAD A FEW BEERS WE WERE ALL FELLING GOOD .SO WE DECIDED THAT WE WANTED SOME COCONUTS ,AND WE WENT TO SOME TREES BY THE  WATER AND STARTED THROWING DEAD COCONUTS UP AT THE ONES IN THE TREE SOON WE HAD A FEW GOOD ONES AND WE GOT THEM ABOARD THE SHIP. SO ON THE WAY TO OUR FIRST TOUR OF VIETNAM WE HAD FRESH COCONUT MILK. WE HAD A GREAT TIME ON THAT CRUISE 

Grant H. Weber
Rank & Rate...FA/E2
Dates Onboard...Oct 69-May 70
Department/Squadron...S2M
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I am proud to have served on the Lady. She was my first ship. Although she was old some of my best sea time was spent on her. While looking at history noted that it did not state that we had to pull out of Rotterdam about 3 days early leaving about 1/2 of crew on the beach to track USSR Subs or that we crossed the arctic circle on 10 Oct 69 or that we went to Kiel because we did not get to go to Glasgow because of those USSR subs. Click here to see a Mossback certificate, Signed by Neptunus Rex and permitting the Mossback to 'piss into the wind.'

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