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Yorktown Crew Members Meet and Greet, 02 October!

Waring Hills Sep 28, 2010

Former crew members of the USS Yorktown (CV-10) from World War II through Vietnam will hold a “Meet and Greet” for visiting guests and children this  Saturday, October 2nd, from 10 am to 2 pm.

Japanese battleship Yamato listing and under attack from aircraft launched off the USS Yorktown (CV-10).

The Yorktown Association will be returning to their ship for their 62nd Reunion. Former crew members from the World War II, Korea and Vietnam eras will be onboard to tell their stories and to remember brave deeds. The crew of the Yorktown served as naval aviators (pilots), ordnance men, cooks, maintenance crew, radarmen, quartermasters, firefighters, etc. One of our pilots will be an F-6F Hellcat pilot from VF-9 who watched the attack upon and sinking of the world’s largest battleship, IJS Yamato, by the Yorktown’s air group on April 7, 1945.

Japanese battleship Yamato explodes several minutes after taking six torpedoes from VT-9 off USS Yorktown (CV-10).

The crew will autograph posters for youngsters on a first come, first serve basis until supply is exhausted.

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Medal of Honor Luncheon and Book Signing on Yorktown Tomorrow

36 thoughts on “Yorktown Crew Members Meet and Greet, 02 October!

  1. Frank J. Barton says:

    My father Frank Picariello said he was evacuated prior to the sinking June 7, 1942 of the USS Yorktown (CV-5) during the battle at Midway. He said he was a gunner. I’d like to know how I can access and validate his history of service in the Navy. Any help and direction greatly appreciated.

    Thank you
    Frank J. Barton

    1. Waring Hills says:

      Hi Frank,
      Go to the National Archives website at <http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/> they should be able to help you. Good luck!

  2. Andy Egger says:

    My Grandfather was on the USS Yorktown during WWII. I would like to know if there is any way of see a list of these men. His name was Dewitt Clinton Gatewood. I believe he was a bosons mate and worked on a 20mm antiaircraft gun. He never talked much about it only when Iask him questions.

    1. patriotspoint says:

      Hi Andy, thanks for your comment. I’ve passed your inquiry and contact information to the USS Yorktown (CV-10) Association. They have many of the records and will be able to look for your grandfather on the lists of crewmembers.

      1. John Michael Kessler says:

        I’m looking for assistance.

        I am 69 years old. I was born 2/8/1945 in Columbus, Ohio. I’ve always had a fascination for aircraft. I currently live in Taos, New Mexico.

        I’ve had several “flashbacks” of me being involved with the USS Yorktown (CV-5) and the USS Hammond during the battle of Midway.

        Due to the relatively precise images I’ve seen of being wounded on the Yorktown flight deck and then moved to sick bay on the USS Hammond I’m sure that I was there.

        Could anyone help me to find my records of the Yorktown?

        John M. Kessler
        Taos, NM USA
        (575)751-7195

        1. Eileen Curley says:

          John Michael Kessler, have you tried here? http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/ And I gather from your post that you mean that you served on the USS Yorktown in a past life? Is this correct? If that is the case, I think that I can help you find your records.

  3. Jim Wrobel says:

    My Grandfather was on the USS Yorktown the battle of Midway during WWII. I would like to know if there is any way of see a list of these men. His name was John F. Wrobel He never talked much about it. I did see his name on a plaque there.

    1. patriotspoint says:

      Thank you for your email, Mr. Wrobel. I have shared your inquiry with our curatorial staff, as well as the USS Yorktown Association. I hope we will be able to find a list for you. I will keep you posted!

    2. patriotspoint says:

      Mr. Wrobel,

      I have spoken to our curators, and they shared that the only real way to obtain information about your Grandfather’s service would be to go through the National Archives and request a muster roll for the period during the battle. They added that you would need to look for the end of May 1942 roll; but cautioned that there may not be very complete records for this time period, as the Yorktown was rushed out of Pearl Harbor as soon as repairs were complete and a significant amount of records went down with the ship. I am sorry we do not have more concrete information; but I hope this helps!

  4. Jim Fortier says:

    I was told that there is a plack with the name Vincent Fortier on the USS Yorktown and that he was a pilot that was killed in WW2. I’m trying to get info on him and his death.

    1. asmith says:

      Mr. Fortier,

      Thanks for your comment. We have passed along your inquiry to our Curator and asked that they follow up with you directly. Thank you!

  5. Patty Repka says:

    Newman Lott served in three theaters of war and participated in the Battle of Midway. He was a motor machinist’s mate first class. He incurred a head injury during this battle. I believe he was on the USS Yorktown. Any help finding his name would be appreciated

  6. Caron M Edwards says:

    Looking for Dad’s (Leroy W Edwards) shipmates from the 1945-46 USS Yorktown crew. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks much.

  7. Sherry Cassell says:

    I am looking for records of my uncle, Kent Brock (Marlin Kent Brock) who served aboard the Yorktown during the Battle of Midway. He was one of the survivors who spent a lot of hours (days) in the water after the abandonment before being rescued. Can anyone give me guidance on how to find information about this? Thanks for any help!

  8. My father’s oldest brother, George Reseigh Linnell, served as a machinist’s mate aboard the Yorktown when it was abandoned in 1942. My father and our large family would be interested in learning anything we can about his activities and experiences onboard.

    Uncle George survived the sinking of three carriers (including USS Yorktown CV-5 at Midway in June of ’42), came back “battle fatigued” (although my Grandpa Harry, aka Henry Reed Linnell, was a GI “doughboy” in France in WWI and used the term from that conflict, “shell-shocked,” to describe his oldest son), was incarcerated at Napa State Hospital in the 60s, where he was subjected to electric shock treatment (which just made his condition worse), and then “deinstitutionalized” by the 70s and lived thereafter in a group home in San Francisco. Nevertheless, he married in 1977 and died in 1984.

    His younger brother, Francis Calvin Linnell, served as a belly turret gunner in a B-17 and flew in 35 missions over Italy. He drowned, in view but out of reach of George and younger brother Curtis, while the three were attempting to rescue a drowning girl in the Pacific at Salmon Creek Beach near Bodega Bay in January of 1946.

    Their younger brother, Curtis Arthur Linnell, also served as a machinist’s mate in both the Atlantic and Pacific during WWII. Curtis married, raised five children, and died in 2010 at age 83.

    My father, the baby of the family of four boys and two girls, is the last surviving member of his family, and, is happy and healthy at age 77. He was married 30 years to my mother, raising two children, and has been married again for 25 more years and is the stepfather to two more girls. He also served in the Navy, between Korea and Vietnam, as an aircraft mechanic at Subic Bay.

    My thanks for any information about Uncle George, including information about any surviving shipmates who might remember him.

    1. Molly Hamilton says:

      Good afternoon Mr. Linnell. I wish we were able to offer you some assistance. As the USS Yorktown here is the CV-10 and your uncle served on the CV-5, we don’t have records for service on that carrier. I checked with the USS Yorktown CV10 Association and they checked their records for his name just to be sure. They did not find any information. Their advice was to request military service records from the National Archives. Sounds like you have quite a great deal of bravery that runs in your family. We wish you luck in tracking down more information on their service.

      Molly Hamilton
      Public Information & Media Relations

  9. Nancy Scott Maxwell says:

    My dad Marion La Verne Scott (deceased since April 1971, originally from Cambridge Iowa, but enlisted in the Navy prior to WWII in Los Angeles, CA) was an aircraft mechanic/gunner on the Yorktown, and was on it when it was sunk.He went on to serve on the Saratoga and was in most of the major battles in the Pacific. On his grave it lists AMMI, is this a rank or does it refer to his job?Is he listed on the the crew list?

  10. Cindy O'Donovan says:

    My uncle, Clarence A. Hansen (aka “Clunk”), was a member of the Fighting Squadron Eighty-Eight, with a navy patch identified as the “Gamecocks.” He was a Navy aviator and Hellcat pilot involved in action in the Pacific near the end of the war, assigned to the USS Yorktown. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal for his action 10 July 1945-13 August 1945. I am looking for anyone who might remember him – he was killed in a plane crash on 6 Aug 1946 near Corpus Christi, TX on the day before he was to return home. I am also trying to find an Air Group book and/or a Squadron Scrapbook – the scrapbook was available through Bjarne W Goldmann, but I’ve not been able to locate him at his last known phone number in California. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Thank you sincerely.

    1. Edmund C. Watkinson says:

      My father, Lt. Bill Watkinson, was also a fighter pilot in Air Group 88 and likely flew with him. He had been in Air Group 9 and was kept on in 88 in the late spring of ’45. Dad is still alive and actually is an official tour guide aboard the Yorktown. He was primarily a night fighter pilot in a F6F-5N Hellcat, but flew in many daytime sorties with the Air Group. His long term memory of the war years is still sharp as a tac. He just turned 96 and the association just put a bench in the hangar deck by the Hellcat, dubbed, “Bill’s Bench” as he sits and waits for the groups to give them a tour and talk about the planes on the lower hangar deck. There are not many of the WWII pilots around anymore and someone suggested that dad may be the last surviving pilot of that air group.

  11. Sheila (Wertman) Fletcher says:

    My uncle Richard Wertman served on the Yorktown during Midway which he was later pronounced missing at the age of 19. I would really love to know more about him if anyone has any information

    1. Molly Hamilton says:

      Your uncle served on the USS Yorktown CV-5 — which served at Midway in June 1942. Our flagship, the USS Yorktown CV-10, was commissioned in April 1943 and named for the carrier on which your uncle served. The USS Yorktown CV-5 sunk shortly after the Battle of Midway.

      Molly Hamilton
      Public Information & Media Relations

  12. Michael Sturm says:

    Hello My grandfather Warren Shepard was on the USS Yorktown. He had a plane tatoo on his fore arm with Yorktown below it. He spoke very little of this and told me to watch the movie USS yorktown. Can I find out if he was on it during the sinking of the yorktown.

    1. Molly Hamilton says:

      The movie you are likely referring to is “The Fighting Lady” (a documentary from 1944) that was actually filmed aboard the USS Yorktown CV-10 (which is the main ship of our museum). The USS Yorktown CV-5 was sunk as a result of her action in the Battle of Midway in 1942 (The CV-10 was launched in 1943). You could contact the USS Yorktown Association ([email protected]) to see if your grandfather is on the list of USS Yorktown CV-10 veterans. If he was on the CV-5, you would need to contact the National Archives for his military record. Best of luck to you.

  13. Jim says:

    I am looking for information about Martin T Lally. He was my Great Uncle on my Mothers side of the family. So far all that I have been able to find out about him, was that he was a Navy Pilot, that was assigned to the Yorktown during the battle of Midway. Any information that you could provide to me about him would be greatly appreciated.

  14. Linda Bateman Fowler says:

    I believe my grandfather, Robert Fultz Bateman served on the USS Yorktown during the Battle of Midway. he passed away before I was born and I was wondering if you could help me with any information.

    1. Molly Hamilton says:

      Ms. Fowler, if your grandfather served at the Battle of Midway, he likely served on the USS Yorktown CV-5, not the CV-10 that is part of our museum. You could still reach out to the USS Yorktown Association and they could possibly help look into their records for you! The best email is [email protected].

      Good luck in your search!

      Molly Hamilton
      Public Information & Media Relations

  15. Julie says:

    My grandfather was a survivor on the Yorktown that sank at the battle of midway is there a way I can find more pictures or info on him? He died a few years later so I never knew him and I’d love to learn more and get my dad some info 678-887-1035

  16. Shane Cobb says:

    When I was a young man in 1977 (13 years old) my mom was a realtor. Knowing my fascination with WW2 history, she introduced me to one of her clients. His name was Mt. Gaut. He served on the Yorktown the day she sank. After surviving the Pacific Ocean he was rescued and finished his career in the Navy sometime after the end of the war on the USS Enterprise. i would meet him on Thursday’s and he souls tell me stories on what that battle was like. I wanted to do something special for him, so I built and hand painted a small model of the USS Yorktown. After giving it to him, he said “Well…U have something I want to give you, too. He looked at his wife for her approval, and with a light smile said “If you want him to have it….” He came back with a small box, with a few small items. He reached in, and then handed me a lapel pin that simply said USN and draped over an anchor. He said to me “This floated with me in the Pacific as I knew I might not make it….and I want you to have it.” Today, there are very few days I don’t fondly remember what he gave me, and furthermore, I won’t forget what he and others have done for all of us. I wish I could tell him that personally, although I think he may no longer be with us. So I’ll leave it here. Thank you Mr Gaut, for what you did for me, may God protect you and all who served with you on the Yorktown.

  17. Shane Cobb says:

    *apologies for the typos above, I think they can be read through.

  18. Warren Kearns says:

    I have a friend that went down on yorktown and survived.mr roger spooner.brinson georgia

  19. Sharon says:

    My Uncle, Ensign Leonard Smith, was a bomber pilot with VT-3 in the Battle of Midway. I have been searching for any information I may be able to get on him. I have his Military records. I know he is MIA(presumed KIA) but I am looking for any personal information from someone who might have known him. I know it is a long shot. I have a picture of his squadron 2 weeks before they were shot down. I just would love to learn more.

  20. Dan Arcuri says:

    I was looking for my Uncle Edward Joseph Donahue on USS YORK Town WWIi I Was told received Silver Star

  21. Eileen Smith, President Delmarva Hand Dance Club - all donations to Veterans says:

    We are honoring a WWI veteran, Claude Gary Coleman, who served on he CV-10, Yorktown during WWII as a Aircraft Radioman Third Class. We are looking for some info on him during the war and perhaps some pics. I have tried the National Archives.
    Thank you

  22. Sabrina Johnson says:

    Anyone with info on my great uncle Henry Clay Payne would be appreciated…USS Yorktown 1942? Thank you!

  23. Gabriel Jersey says:

    Can anyone with any information, personal relations, documents or memories of any kind please tell me as much as you can about my relative Lt. John James Powers? He was known as “Jo-Jo” or “Jack”. He perished during Coral Sea and was a Bomber pilot. he posthumously received the Medal Of Honor. I’m writing a documentary on him and I would be so pleased if anyone could tell me anything they know or knew about him.

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