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The aircraft carriers of World War II were the floating cities of the United States Navy. Everything you could need to care for 3000 men was aboard and conveniently just minutes away from bunks and...
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Explore featured pieces from Patriots Point’s collection of over 37,000 artifacts and archival materials. From sailor art and sports equipment to firearms and flight gear, take a peek into an ever...
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One of the most exciting missions of the USS Yorktown (CVS-10) was the retrieval of the Apollo 8 capsule from her Pacific splashdown. Photographer’s mate, Daniel Bernath captured the recovery and...
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What would an aircraft carrier be without its aircraft? In partnership with the National Naval Aviation Museum, the U.S. Army Center for Military History, the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and...
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Few positions in the history of World War II have been as highlighted or as celebrated as the pilots who flew in some of the most consequential combat flights of all time. Still, these pilots were...
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Artist. Pilot. Devoted son. A gifted student at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, Gerald Hennesy was 20 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. A newspaper artist who played piano and...
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A winged skeleton and scythe soaring through the air serves as the fearsome mascot of the “Grim Reapers”. Established in 1942, the US Navy’s Fighting Squadron 10, the Grim Reapers, participated in...
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Elisha Terrill “Smokey” Stover was a World War II flying ace in the Yorktown’s “Fighting 5” Hellcat squadron. After successful missions Midway and Guadalcanal, he was sent by the US Navy to appear on...
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Comprised of African-American, Filipino, Chinese, and foreign national men, the Messman Branch of the US Navy emerged after World War I. In February 1943, the name changed to the Steward Branch with...
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A US Naval aviator during World War II, James B. Cain shot down eight enemy aircraft in combat as a Flying Ace. Cain received the Silver Star for “gallantry in action” as a member of Fighting Squadron...
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Nicknamed “The Ship that Would Not Die”, the USS Laffey DD-724 fought in both theaters of World War II. Serving on board the Laffey throughout the war, Machinist’s Mate 2/c, Wilbert C. Gauding kept an...
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Joseph Rudolf Kristufek served as a pilot with Torpedo Squadron Five (VT-5) during World War II. Primarily flying a TBF Avenger torpedo bomber, VT-5 made up part of the USS Yorktown’s powerful arsenal...
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“No! I’ll never abandon ship as long as a single gun will fire!” —Commander Frederick J. Becton, commanding officer, USS Laffey (DD-724), 16 April 1945 Commander Becton was already a seasoned Naval...
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“There wasn’t any Betty Grable or Clark Gable in it. It was just men fighting a battle.” -Dwight Long Director and producer Dwight Long captivated American audiences with his films from an early age...
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Arnold McKechnie began his career in the Navy after graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1927. A man of many interests, McKechnie entered Submarine School in 1930. After earning his dolphins...
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Samuel Wingrove was a plank owner and Water Tender aboard the USS Laffey (DD-724) during World War II. Wingrove survived both attacks on the ship during D-Day and the Battle of Okinawa. He would later...
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“Somewhere in my ‘junk’ I still have some pen-ink cartoons and sketches that I made during 1943-1944 during my ‘spare’ time.” –Stephen Fitch A plank owner aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10) and original...
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“A mortar round hit within 10 feet of me and a piece of shrapnel went through my flak jacket and into my right chest. I thought I had a sucking chest wound but never spit blood, so I put a battle...
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"...We were both knocked off our feet by a terrific explosion. The sound and concussion dazed us. At once all lights went out in that section of the ship. It seemed as though the ship had rammed into...
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“…as long as you remain somewhere in the Pacific, we will always know where to look for some punch in a pinch and we shall always remember ‘Laffey Laughs Last’…” - Captain Frederick Moosbrugger of...