USS Yorktown Association to Host 68th Annual Reunion With Three-Day Event - Oct. 13-15
Veterans of the USS Yorktown CV-10 will return to their ship this Thursday, October 13 through Saturday, October 15 for the 68th Annual USS Yorktown Association Reunion. Two events will be open to the public and will allow an opportunity for museum visitors to meet the heroes who served onboard the USS Yorktown from World War II until the ship was decommissioned in 1970.
More than 250 people are expected to attend, including USS Yorktown veterans and their family members. This year, the USS Yorktown Association will welcome back several World War II veterans who have not returned to the ship since their service, including one man with ties to Charleston. Sam Hayward, of Fort Wayne, IN was raised in the Jenkins Orphanage in Charleston before joining the Navy at the age of 17, which was rare for an African-American like himself. He was assigned to the first crew of the USS Yorktown (this distinction makes him a “plankowner” of the ship). Mr. Hayward served as a cook on the USS Yorktown from 1943 to 1945. He is one of very few surviving African-American veterans who served on an aircraft carrier during the war.
“Each year we are honored to have many veterans of the USS Yorktown return to visit their ship,” said Patriots Point Executive Director Mac Burdette. “We are particularly excited this year to welcome back Mr. Hayward and the other World War II veterans who will be making their first return visit to the ship on which they served. We hope that folks in the community will take advantage of this increasingly rare opportunity to meet World War II veterans, as well as all of the other veterans who will be in attendance.”
Events open to the public include:
1) Memorial Service - Friday, October 14, 2016 – 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
On Friday morning a memorial service will be held for all former shipmates who have died in the past year. The service will be held aboard the USS Yorktown and will include a tolling of a bell and a traditional gun salute. The ashes of several recently deceased veterans will be dispersed into the harbor alongside the USS Yorktown.
2) “Meet & Greet” - Saturday, October 15, 2016 – 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Saturday morning, the reunion group will host a “Meet and Greet” session for museum visitors onboard the USS Yorktown. More than 20 former sailors representing all major U.S. conflicts that the USS Yorktown served will participate.
All USS Yorktown Association Reunion events will be included in the normal price of admission for non-reunion attendees. Parking will be $5.