Lincoln and John Wayne did not serve on the USS Yorktown
On the way to the North Atlantic, in 1969, from the Pacific, the Yorktown had to go around the horn of South America. We stopped off in Valparaiso, Chili and in Rio De Janeiro. In Chili, a US Navy ship had not visited in years and years so the boys in intelligence asked the photo lab to make pictures of every square inch of their harbor. Hey, that's our job.
The natives seemed to forget that we were actually a warship. I was on guard duty near an aft ladder while we were at anchor . Chileans would just drive their boat load of people up to the ladder and starting climbing aboard the Yorktown, something I was on guard duty to prevent! They didn't understand me as I told them to back off and I didn't understand them as they kept trying to board the Yorktown! The skinny guy on guard duty before me gave me his solution and I followed it. He said "if you work the bolt action of the M 1 rifle, it makes a very important sound. Don't point the rifle at them. Just make that noise and look real menacing...they stop their climbing and get back in their boat."
I did it and stopped the invasion of the Yorktown, at least on my watch.
They also had some odd customs. In Rio, the Yorktown did an open house where the public was invited to tour the ship and look at exhibits on the hanger deck. One sailor was just standing around and hitting his fist from his right hand into the palm of his left hand. A Brazilian came up to the Yorktown sailor and said "I think you should know that what you are doing is an obscene gesture here in Rio. You are embarrassing the women and children"
We also found out that we should NEVER give people the "OKAY' sign by making a circle with our thumb and forefinger. We found that was symbolic of a bodily hole, somewhere in the lower regions (although I never found out which).
The other custom in Chili was that all the people asked the Yorktown sailors for autographs. We were real celebrities in Chili. We had just picked up the Apollo 8 capsule and they saw us on television. Lt. jg Dale Potts did an outstanding job as public relations officer for the Yorktown because I remember walking down the street in Chili and seeing the local newspapers in the boxes with a giant picture of the "Fighting Lady" and story about us right on the front page, above the fold!
I was on liberty and had signed about ten autographs that day.
A shipmate came up to me and said "Dan, who's name are you signing?" I said, "My own name, what do you mean?" He said "I've been signing "Love, John Wayne, USS Yorktown", sometimes, I sign "Eleanor Roosevelt. Hell, they don't know the difference."
From then on I signed my autographs "Abraham Lincoln, USS Yorktown." However, if one of these autographs show up I want all historians to know that the former president never served a day aboard the Fighting Lady.
The people of Chili loved us and that included the young women. The women of Chili thought that Yorktown sailors were quite exotic. We were glad to get the attention. I don't think any sailor was deprived of female companionship, if you know what I mean. I remember that crowds of Chileans stood at the dock as our liberty boats left the dock for the Yorktown. They just wanted to say 'goodbye' to us. Three or four of us would roll up our white hats from each boat and sail them over the water from from the liberty boat to the middle of the crowd. They fought over the white hat like it was a home run just hit by Babe Ruth.
Pictures: Yorktown sailors were true American heroes as we walked the streets of Chili back in 1969. PH3 Dan Bernath mobbed by Chilean children
Dan Bernath, getting nowhere with Portuguese speaking indigenous personnel.
(A far cry from the way we were received at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands a few months later, where we actually had to cut our 'good will' visit short and head back out to sea. As we left St. Thomas, I remember the natives throwing rocks and stones at us. One rock hit a few feet from my leg, kicking up pebbles that hit the leg of my dress white uniform, as I waited in line for the boat back to the Yorktown.)
In Yokosuka, Japan, I was "privileged" to stand a "flight deck" watch from 2000 hrs to 2400 hrs one night. We were issued from the Marine arms locker an M1 carbine and a watch belt. We were required to stand this watch in undress blues with a pea coat. It was in mid Feb., so the pea coat was a necessity.
I've often wondered what we were watching the flight deck for. Who was going to scale clear up to the flight deck when it would've been so much easier to enter at hangar deck level, assuming you got by the watch stationed there. And if one did get to the flight deck, what was I supposed to do with an empty M1 and no Ammo? I figured I'd try to club the intruder with it and tie the up with the watch belt.
Fortunately that night it chose to rain and most of the watch was "stood" sitting in the side door of one of HS-4's helos.
What fun we had back then.
p.s. - we only saw the OD once the whole 4 hours. signed "Boats"
Admiral gets swat while bending over to look at the Seabat
A new duty station the USS YORKTOWN. I felt had finally joined the Navy. I loved ship board life and we were all lucky to have the best leadership in the fleet, Captain Bennett. It was fun tying up the XO to a ping pong table on the hangar deck the night before crossing the equator. He wasn't very pleased, I remember him yelling out something like "I'll remember who you are". The next day I understood what he meant it was revenge of the Shell backs.
Then there was the time Rear Admiral Ralph Weymouth had just landed during the Equator crossing mania, Captain William L. Bennett got on the PA and said
"Admiral look at what we caught while you were gone" there was a large card board box on the flight deck. The Admiral bent over to look in the box at which time an Airman came up behind him and swatted him square across the ASS with a corn broom! All you could hear was laughter coming from Captain Bennett and the entire flight deck as the Admiral was chasing the Airman all over the flight deck. click here, sea bat sited on USS Roosevelt
How about the time we were sitting in some saloon in Japan. Who walks in but Captain Bennett with a Hawaiian Shirt on, sits down and has a couple of drinks with the boys..... What a guy.
Indeed the Yorktown was our home. It left us with many wonderful memories, and brought us through some stormy seas. I got out of the Navy on a Tuesday, I waited until after lunch that day to leave as the lunch menu was too good to pass up. Driving home that day I felt rather alone and lost. I had just moved out of the largest house I would ever live in, and left all who lived there with me.
Yorktown aviator remembered.
Ed Gage was lost over Formosa while on a mission. The plane and crew going to a target and could not get there and took a secondary target, a railway bridge. Ed Gage and another were killed when their bombs hit and took the plane also. Coincidentally, Ed's brother Paul was killed in Germany just 14 days before Ed died after flying off the deck of the Yorktown. William Nelson Gage, another brother just turned 80.
Ken Hansen, an Ensign and new to VF 4 at the time, remembers it all;
"Just found the Yorktown site today (July 2001) and was surprised to see a note from Ed's nephew. I flew in Ed's division he was the leader of a group of 4 planes. I was on that mission when Ed and another division leader, Mc Neil, crashed.
I was in a dive following Ed when I saw their planes come apart-very startling and sad. They apparently were caught in a bomb blast. I was just a 20 year old newcomer to the squadron in Nov. 1944, and looked up to Ed who was older and a Senior Lt.
I was really saddened by his loss."
"and bring me some up when you finish..."
How it was in 1943! The cooks were among the first to report aboard the new Yorktown. Later, out to sea, much unhappiness prevailed regarding the qual
ity of food preparation. The popular view was that they took good food and fouled it up!
So, one fine day an aggressive seaman proceeded through the chow line. He had about enough of this and was not going to take it any more. He filled up his tray and looked down at it. He decided that he would not eat it and proceeded to carry it topside.
He went on up to the bridge and walked up to Captain Clark and held up his tray, saying "Look at this!"
Captain Clark looked down at it and responded, "So... Go through twice!"
Ira N. Kanared
The young Ensign approached the crusty old Chief and asked him about the origin of the commissioned officer insignias.
"Well, Ensign, it's history and tradition. First, we give you a gold bar representing that you're valuable BUT malleable. The silver bar of a Lieutenant Junior Grade represents value, but less malleable. When you make Lieutenant, you're twice as valuable so we give you two silver bars.
"As a Captain, you soar over military masses, hence the eagle. As an Admiral, you're obviously a star. That answer your question?"
"Yeah, but what about Commanders and Lieutenant Commanders?"
"Now that goes waaaaaay back in history. Back to the Garden of Eden even. You see, we've always covered our pricks with leaves . . . "
No wonder my sea bag was so heavy. May 1959 - Nov 1959 W-Division Was assigned to nuclear weapons division after leaving FASRON 117 in Barbers Pointe Hawaii.
Only on board a short time but would like to contact my mates that put one of the lead bricks from weapons storage in my sea bag when I got discharged. Sure made that bag heavy.
Still have the brick after over 40 years.
World War Two was over and no longer were the Essex Class Carriers like the USS
Yorktown the largest in the fleet. The Midway and the Forrestal were GIANTS beside the Yorktown. The Yorktown started out an attack carrier...CV 10. But now she was refitted and was going to be reclassified as CVS 10 for "Support" and "Submarine Hunter".
This did not sit well with some old salts on board the "Fighting Lady." Jack Jones had been in the jet fuel division on the Yorktown when she was CVA 10 but after her reclassification he was transferred to the oxygen shack where he made liquid oxygen. While the ship was still a CVA, Jack went to a tattoo parlor in port one night. When he came out he had "CVA-10" tattooed to his right arm.
This is an example of the affection the crew had for the old "Fighting Lady."