The USS Yorktown and the USS Laffey have joined forces in a battle among more than 188 historic vessels to be named the best museum ship in the world by USA Today Travel. Online voting for the contest is currently underway at http://bit.ly/Vote4PatriotsPoint (http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-museum-ship/). Readers are encouraged to vote for their favorite museum ship once per day through Monday, July 18. The winner and a list of the top ten ships will be announced Friday, July 22.
The Yorktown and the Laffey are both docked at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum on Charleston Harbor. In addition to nearly 300,000 visitors a year, more than 20,000 students walk their decks annually while on field trips often funded by scholarships provided through the USS YORKTOWN Foundation. Thousands more have the opportunity to eat and sleep like former crew members while participating in the museum’s unique overnight camping program aboard the Yorktown.
The USS Yorktown serves as headquarters of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and houses agency’s official Medal of Honor Museum. USS Laffey is the only surviving Sumner-class destroyer in North America. She was added to the Patriots Point fleet in 1981 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The USS YORKTOWN is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary as a museum ship. She also was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.