I was assigned to DE-361 USS Walton in 1967 and walked past the USS Oriskany at Hunter's Point, before it went into dry dock to get the fire damage repaired. I don't know the precise dimensions but that hole in the port side of the hanger deck made me stop and gawk at it for quite a while. They were very fortunate to not lose the ship!

One of her (Oriskany) anchors is part of a park in Oriskany, NY. Three also an A4 there.

After her service to recover the Apollo, she was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet to replace the USS Randolph (CVS-15) which had been retired. On the first cruise she had 1/3 old Yorktown crew, 1/3 old Randolph crew and 1/3 new crew. We would sit in the ready room between flights watching video of Tora, Tora, Tora shot aboard the Yorktown as the video had been used to record the take off (mock Japanese aircraft from modified T-6 Texans). We also enjoyed the air conditions officers quarters (only Sr. Officers on the Randolph had A/C). Although all the Essex class were built basically from the same plans, over the years of modifications and upgrades there were barely two that were the same.

Sir,you can ghost write ✍, or,copy Google while changing just a few words,and some,putting in your own words! Congratulations,

William, Thanks for the info, very interesting.

I was the CCA officer on CV 10 circa 1966. Jocko came on board for the last change of command of the Fighting Lady. He gave each officer in the Wardroom an autographed copy of his book. One my cherished possessions

Jocko Clark was referred to as Patton of the Pacific. He was from Pryor, Oklahoma and yes he was Cherokee. He is mentioned in the movie "Midway" during the bar scene.

Hand Salute!

Which countries exactly?

@@cbbees1468 CVE-77 USS Marcus Island.

@@cbbees1468 yup!! Marcus Island was there. She took a direct hit from one of Yamato’s 18 inch guns, but the shell didn’t detonate and passed through the ship and out the bottom.

My dad served as a turret gunner for VT-10 on CV-6 The Big E 1943 -44and last on Intrepid 1944-45 . I am thankful for all of the men who gave up their lives for our freedom.

The freakin' YAMATO!!

@@fredvanduyne8684 Thank you to these men and may Jesus welcome them and shed His grace on them as they entered the Kingdom of Heaven. 🙏😥🇺🇸 ✝

@@alexanders5087 That would follow.

@@alexanders5087 The answer is that he was ordained a minister within the 5 years between the two wars. Many veterans of WWII took up a religious vocation upon surviving that brutal and horrific war.

Knew a couple them fellas to mid to late 80s. Think both of them had broken service. Got out in late 40s then come back in mid 50s or Korea.

Ive seen that clip a hundred times and have always wondered what was going through his mind.

@@h.r.puffnstuff8705 AT1 Herbert Henderson was in my unit NAS Barbers Point and NAS Cubi when Barbers Point moved to BP, he was a Marine in Korea. He was at the big Chinese attack somewhere in the middle of winter. He said they fired their M14's so much the barrels were glowing red. During any lull they were using their rifles to warm their hands.

@@CFarnwide it was an almost a Wright engine...

@@GM-fh5jp his spider senses were working overtime that day!

You talking about the F14 pilot after the birds radome flew off and into the canopy? I just stumbled on that video earlier today and holy moly. It's not wonder that legend became an astronaut.

that footage was beyond hardcore. The skill and cool required to land on a carrier in that condition is incredible.

Why not just show the film?

Just a few weeks ago I spent a night on the USS Hornet in Alameda, CA with my 9yo son and his Cub Scout Pack. It was quite an experience! Glad to hear Scouts have been doing this all over the country for some time now.

The Greatest Generation...Men and Women....My Father and one of his brothers served in the Navy WW2 the other brother was a Bomber pilot....none of them ever talked about it much...and then when they did it was very late in their life if questioned maybe . I always thought they did not wish to think of those friends lost during that war that did not get to live their young life....

@@harveymushman2219 So I'm gonna assume by your KZfaq name that you ride motorcycles. You know this year is the 50th anniversary of On Any Sunday don't you? Hard to believe it's been 50 years, this months AMA magazine has it on the cover and the entire magazine this month is dedicated to the fact that it's OAS's 50th anniversary. Still the greatest motorcycle documentary ever made hands down.

What were the medals/ribbons awarded him?

@@harveymushman2219 Quite possibly so. Nothing like combat to forge very close relationships; brothers. 😔

@@dukecraig2402 Wow. Until I saw this post I didn't think about it. I watched that movie in the theater when I was in high school. I watched it again a couple months ago on one of the streaming services. I don't remember for sure which one.

1974 is closer to WW2 than it is to 2022.

My uncle Jimmy served as a medic, through out WW2, on the carrier Tigonderoga. At 14 yrs.old he deployed to the S. Pacific.. yep 14. He was a wonderful man and a very smart man. He taught me so much about so many things.. but most of all about science. That was his passion.

Boom Operator....I would have liked to experience doing that. I was a crew chief on F-4s but always thought that being a boomer or a B-52 tail gunner would be pretty cool ! :)

My grandfather served as communication officer on the Franklin. After getting it back to NY he served on the Randolph for the rest of the war. I can tell as he was very hard on my dad and brothers he was very kind to me. My dad said the war really made him very hard. I miss Grandad dearly.

There are quite a few stories of sailors walking into spinning propellers and losing life and limb. 🤕

@@jamesburns2232 Hazards of the job. We always had our heads on a swivel on the flight deck. Situational awareness is big up there.

​@@jamesburns2232... one of the flight deck crew on the Dolittle raid did exactly that

When I was a kid my scout troop stayed on an old navy ship. I don't remember which one because that was one of the monthly campouts that I happened to miss.

@@jakem.1587 Scouting used to be a great thing, my youngest son the one that stayed on the Yorktown, was very close to getting his Eagle rank, quit because of changes made on social and moral grounds, he said the pledge had become a lie.

@@AdamosDad we was old school BOY Scouts. Moms was allowed to help behind the scenes kinda way but they had to go sit in the waiting room with the rest of the moms during our meeting. The dads was allowed to sit in the meeting and go on the camp outs and be fully involved. And that's what made me fall out of it. My scout master was getting up in age so the parents was stepping in for their little turd and I was one of 3 kids in the troop whose dad wasn't involved... Your not supposed to argue with parents about why you tormented they're special boy the night before, or something like that. Basically it turned into When the scout master was away the dads would take advantage of it, and I got fed up with it.

@@jakem.1587 I actually went on a few big ones (campouts) they had great leaders, I never had a reason to argue with boy scout leaders since one was my father-in-law and another a very good friend. That son is twenty now and I'm 73 so at my age I didn't go on hikes and such but had a good time. Our troop finally dissolved when the gay/girl/ scout financial thing came down the pike. It was a great thing in bygone years.

@@AdamosDad I was the one sneaking into the staff campsite to party with em. It was alot of good fun and I learned a whole bunch, but like I said your not supposed to argue with a group of parents ganging up on you because you didn't something to the kid. Your supposed to be sleeping with one eye open because your terrified of how the parents is going to retaliate on you for switching out their denture glue with Ben Gay.

Thank your wonderful family for service and sacrifice to our country!

@Jester Flight, that was an interesting story of Your family and relatives who served in various units and various branch's, at various times.... I had heard the term 'Buck Sergeant' before, and always thought that this vintage slang description was always the entry - level position of the numerous stages of the various levels of the 'Sergeant' ranking status in various branch's of the U.S. military services.... In the Marines, when I was in ('82-'86) , The privates (E-1) had no rank symbols, and they were of a basic entry level status. The Private first class (E-2) has 1 inverted Chevron. The Lance/Corporal's (E-3) have 1 inverted Chevron and Crossed Rifles underneath the Chevron. Corporals (E-4) have 2 inverted chevrons with Crossed Rifles underneath. The basic entry level (E-5) rank of Sergeant has crossed-rifles just below the 3 inverted chevrons, the (E-6) rank of Staff Sergeant has the 3 inverted chevrons with a single upward arced bar (a rocker) underneath the chevrons and crossed rifles in that area between the chevrons & the rocker... Gunnery Sergeants (E-7) had 2 rockers , and 3 chevrons again with the crossed rifles in the middle... Master Sergeants (E-8) had the 3- Chevrons, 3- rockers with crossed rifles in the middle... First Sergeants (E-8) Had the 3 Chevrons 3-Rockers and a Diamond shape in the middle...Master- Gunnery Sergeants (E-9) had the 3 chevrons, 4- rockers and a symbol of a bursting bomb in the middle... Sergeant Majors (E-9) had 3-Chevrons 4-Rockers and a Star ⭐ in the middle... And the highest ranking enlisted person in the Marine Corps is the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (E-10) 3-chevrons 4-Rockers an Eagle/Globe & Anchor symbol in the center with 2 small stars flanking it... But I have NEVER heard of or seen ANY uniform of ANY branch of the U.S. military, at ANY time having the symbol of a deer & antlers , on the enlisted rank status badges ... Do you happen to know which branch of the U.S. military service, had a deer & antlers on the rank status badges?... Do you happen to know which unit your 17 y/o PFC brother was in, during his time in Viet-Nam back in 1974? What was his MOS? That is tragic what happened to him, especially since he was killed quite awhile AFTER the U.S. completely pulled - out ALL U.S. TROOPS (and several of their local refugees) of that conflict in late March of 1973... Was he an MIA or a POW? I'm thinking that he is guarding the gates, for he is serving in heaven at this time... Thank for that enlightening / uplifting story of all of Your courageous family members and relatives who paid the ultimate sacrifice, so that free people can remain living in freedom... God bless all of those brave people, who died in the various military services, and those brave civilians assisting those military units, who also paid the ultimate sacrifice, in a gallant effort , to defend our freedom... They should NEVER be forgotten....

Dang, you definitely collected more stories than the usual kids did.

All respect and honor to you and your family sir. You are all heroes. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Great insight into a most interesting (and terrible) time

Must make for interesting family gatherings!! Just kidding,soon as we all accept we're one global family, the better.

"Severed" is the right word for your family!

Wow! What a family heirloom.

Semper Fi

Thank your dad for his service for me from a fellow Marine.

That’s awesome, thank you for sharing with us. Please, for the sake of your family’s future generations, make sure you take every precaution to preserve this family heirloom! Hell, personally I’d suggest you take it to a framing company that has experience with matting and framing pictures/letters for preservation. They will use special low/no acid backgrounds and matting, as well as glass designed to block UV light to help prevent fading of the ink and paper. This is especially important with news print as it’s not really meant for archival use, as the vast majority of it goes straight into the trash. If your in a small town there might not be one without driving and hour or so, but you could ask any local historical society, or museums who they use, as they may know someone fairly close or possibly even someone local who does a professional job as a sideline. But even if it takes a couple hour drive, it’s well worth it.

1979 On my way to my squadron , my friend I grew up was stationed USS intrepid. My first indoctrination to shipboard life spending the night. Just a taste of 315 days at sea in 1980 and stationed off the hostel coast of IRAN.

I have no doubt your grandfather would have been a very interesting man to discuss his Navy days with. Sorry for your loss.

And, a lot of great restaurants !

My late brother-in-law was a crewman aboard Yorktown II and was at Leyte Gulf and Okinawa....his brother was aboard Indianapolis and had appendicitis at Pearl Harbor and was hospitalized missing ships movement before the fateful voyage

Thank you for the info, I'm putting this on my list, 24 month list that is!

Clamagore is gonna be scrapped.

My USAR unit was privileged to be the ceremonial hosts of a gathering on the Yorktown of most of the living Medal of Honor recipients 15 or so years ago. One of the most awe inspiring and humbling experiences of my life! Thanks for this glimpse of the Lady in her prime!

I noticed he keeps calling the SB2C a TBM throughout the video. :-)

My War Thunder "Oh no, gunpods diving" senses were tingling when I saw its ghastly silhouette

Yeah having locking pins made of white metal and randomly losing wings in flight will do that to a reputation.

@ 11:57 He even miss'IDs a Hellcat as TBM. Ward must really like the TBM.

Isn't that the reverse? I though the Helldiver was the one the crews hated, They called it the son-of-a-b**** 2. The Dauntless was called Slow-but- deadly.

Them "support ships" were destroyers, likely Fletchers, that in fact was their job, to pick up guys like him or pilots who chose to ditch alongside, usually being too battle damaged to safely come aboard. A destroyer was also referred to by her crew as a 'Tin Can", because she had no armor to speak of; speed they told us, was better than armor anyway- and if you're a 19 year old kid, you bought it. When you saw a sailor strolling down a street, his Dixie Cup hat planted on the rear quarter of his skull in a rakish manner, you were looking at a guy who considered himself a better mariner than any of his contemporaries in the fleet- a cut above. Tin Cans were Blue Water vessels, Tin Cans were Brown Water vessels, Tin Cans could fight in littoral waters, Tin Cans could fight in estuary waters, Tin Cans could plane guard carriers and rescue pilots, and sometimes the occasional hapless crewmen who went overboard. He could ride out 26 foot seas and still do his job, even if it meant walking on the bulkhead of a passageway as she rolled with the sea, feeling her throb and shimmy as she settled back into the waters after her screws breached an impossibly deep trough and bit their way back in. And then there were the nights; a calm sea, looking over the side, only a few feet above the waterline, seeing the warm glow of bioluminescence streaming by as the ship peacefully steamed ahead on an easy 1/3 bell, the whine of forced draft blowers sounded reassuring while feeding the boilers combustion air as you walked by an engineering hatch , you couldn't help but fall in love with a life like that, and no matter how old you get, it's always just a memory away. I, a Tin Can Sailor, a Snipe '69- '73

@@BeachsideHank thank you

@@BeachsideHank - Thank You Hank, for an eventful exposé of naval Tin Can running; said so very Eloquently 👍🏼

Yup ,...10 cups of coffee and "keep that prop arc away from me boss"

Somewhere here on KZfaq there is a documentary about the LSO’s and their stylish routines. Wish I could remember the name of it!

I bet it sure got your attention on deck! I have to give him credit for his style of doing his job. By his facial expressions he was really into it. God bless him.

John Ford was another one with a very similar story to that.

Just to add that some of his still photography is absolutely stunning. He ranks as one of the worlds greatest photographers.

Edward Steichen commanded the Photographic Division of the American Expeditionary Force in WWI, finishing his war service as an Army Colonel. He was able to join the Navy in WWII, entering as a Lt. Commander and finishing the war as a Navy Captain. Likely making him the only person to have been an O6 in both services.

Steichen was not the Director of this film, he was the Director of the Naval Photography Unit, and probably never set foot on this ship at the time of filming. He had many photographers and cinematographers working under him from his office in Washington DC. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I haven't had the chance to visit the Yorktown but my dad and I when I was young made almost yearly runs to Battleship Cove in Mass, loved touring the big wagon but going into the sub they had there gave me wicken claustrophobia.

My dad was en route to Leyte with his Army unit when the Pacific war ended. But he saw the awfulness of war in the past tense. He was hospitalized with malaria on Luzon and remembered seeing some badly wounded and maimed servicemen. He teared up (which he NEVER would do, at least in front of me) when he recounted the experience. God bless and rest in peace all who served, especially those who never made it back.

Good intel, Michelle. Thanks.

In a radial engine, oil tends to accumulate in the lower cylinders. If not cleared, engine will lock up and bend connecting rods when start up is attempted.

Turning props was a moment of connection I had with my grandpa when I was a young teen. I was watching the old discovery Channel program called: "wings." Plane of the day - The Boeing B-29. I saw footage of ground crew turning the props. I asked my dad, a pilot, what that was about. He said, I'm not sure but asked your granddad. He was an instructor on the B-29. He'll know. It was Christmas shopping season of 1991 and my grandparents took all of us to the mall. My granddad and I sat on a bench waiting for the others and I asked him about the prop turning. He told me it was all about avoiding oil hydraulic lock in the lower cylinders as oil will drain into them. But that began a 2 hour conversation with him and his war experience. He was definitely part of that greatest greatest generation. And he was a great grandpa that taught me so many things. He died in 2003 on a Monday. Not a day goes by I do not think of him.

Not to belabor the point, but they are actually checking for the presence of oil in the cylinders before the pilot attempts to start the engine. If one of the lower cylinders had a significant accumulation of oil, the prop would stop turning, and they would have to remove at least one of the spark plugs to drain the oil. Most likely they would have removed both plugs from the affected cylinder and washed the oil off of them with avgas drained from one of the aircraft’s drain points. Great video, Ward. Much appreciated.

@@jcarne1015 Thanks for the explanation. Good stuff.

Much respect for your father! Any way you could upload the videos you have to KZfaq? You really should. A memorable era.

CAG was pretty pissed about how his Skyraiders were being abused. The question the admiral asks at the end...they volunteer sir, but he knows that

Awesome grandfather's to grow up with

You are dame right, unfortunately !

One of, but my favourite is 'Ice Cold in Alex'.

Where / how can i watch it? Is it sold anywhere?

@@tekkhero9767 Try your local library systems. I found it at the Coronado (California) Public Library, but it wasn't available in the San Diego city or county system.

@@HolySoliDeoGloria ok thanks

@@tekkhero9767 Now I see in the comments that it's also on KZfaq. I could have saved myself a trip to Coronado (but the library is pretty nice). kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eJt6lbuDqbW0ZmQ.html

My grandfather who was a math teacher and school principal when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened enlisted in the Navy after the attack. He was commissioned as an officer and was posted at the Navy Flight Center in Jacksonville Florida as an instructor teaching air cadets the mathematics of navigation. Could be he trained some of the pilots you see here in this film or perhaps some of the higher ranking men you'd have been around that came out of the Naval Aviation pipeline of WW2, some of the men who started out as pilots during the war undoubtedly stayed in and made a career out of the Navy so you just might have had to salute one or two of the men he'd trained in navigation.

@@dukecraig2402 Good history about your grandfather. I have no idea how old the C.O. of our squadron might have been but I suppose it is a possibility that there is a connection. I went to aviation electricians school at N.A.S. Jacksonville. All of us lived in those WWII era barracks; long, rectangular open floor plan barracks with row after row of bunks. Our school was 22 weeks of intense electrical education. The Marines also had their electrical school there with us since we both had the same helicopters and a few other aircraft. The best instructors I had were Marine Gunny Sergeants...they were very smart and I learned more from them than from Navy instructors. Thanks for responding.

@@marbleman52 I would doubt that any of the aviators my grandfather trained would have still been flying due to their age at the time you were in, but there's a chance they could have been an Admiral or some higher Naval rank, having been in the Army I get a little confused about the rank structure in the Navy, what you guy's called a Lieutenant we called a Captain, I have no clue what a Major (O4) would be called in the Navy, what would it be? And I know what you mean about those WW2 barracks, at Ft Riley Ks in the 80's we were housed in those same kind but since we were duty stationed and not in training they had divided the two floors up with walls to make the insides into two man rooms, they were rickety old buildings that never would have survived a Kansas tornado had one struck, and we were right in tornado alley😳😳😳😳, that made for some sleepless nights when the Spring storms were blowing in.

@@dukecraig2402 An Army Major would be a Navy Lt.Commander. A LT. Colonel would be a Commander, and Navy equivalent of Colonel is Captain.

The Intrepid is one of the few Essex class carriers that got an angle deck and is in NYC on the west side piers, unless she's in the yard being refurbished now. I was on the Wasp and took my 2 nephews aboard Intrepid when she was first opened to the public and talked my way into showing the boys places that were not open to the public like the bridge and CIC.

@@davidvoinier6008 annnnnd the other angled deck Essex class I know exits today is the mighty Hornet. I’ve been onboard CVS12 more times than I can remember

I also highly recomend this visit. Was there twice about 10 yrs. ago. If I remember correctly they have a sub and a Viet Nam display. Well worth the trip.

A Different 'Yorktown'. The first Yorktown Aircraft Carrier CV-5 was sunk at Midway in June 1942.

@@ppgwhereeverett4412 i believe he was referring to the yorktown in the film which is the same one that is now in S.C. It was originally named the USS Bon Homme Richard but was changed immediately after the Yorktown sank to fool the Japanese that the Yorktown survived.

I served on the Nimitz from 93-95. Sadly, I spent most of that time in dry dock.

Probably a Princeton class light carrier. They could carry the hellcats. The escort carriers were too small and too slow, 19 knots, to carry hellcats. If you find out the name of the ship he was on that would be great then you could research it. Those light carriers were an emergency building program started before Midway. Light carriers were built on light cruiser hulls. They could keep up with the fleet carriers.

@@JohnRodriguesPhotographer Both Independence class CVLs and some CVEs operated Hellcats. Escort carrier air groups, as opposed to the usual composite (VC) squadrons, had separate fighter and bomber units as per the CVLs.

@@BTillman48 everything I've seen over the years, the CVE's didn't have enough deck or speed for the F6F. Typical aircraft compliment I have read about is the TBF/TBM and F4F. Any squadron info so I can read up on it?

My Grandfather was in involve with liberating Holland and after VE day told to get ready to go to Japan. He never had a problem with the atom bomb being used

As far as I'm concerned, and I say this as a non-drinker, if you are fighting in a war you have rightfully earned some booze.

Hey, I was in the Ghostriders! Went on the '74 cruise in America. Worked the Line Division as a P.C... was an AMSAA then. Buck Torske

Funny how that happens!

Thanks for giving the personal account! Gotta love it when those who did it, or are doing it, take the time to share those bits of their lives.

I went through flight training in '68& '69 in the multi engine pipeline. That meant I flew T28 and TS2 in training; both piston engine aircraft. I did my training command carrier qualifications in these aircraft. At that time the Navy was teaching us to cut power on landing. But we were told about the "problem" with jets in case we ever switched at some future time. Got my commission via Navy ROTC. Much of our Navy studies involved watching the Victory at Sea series. We also watched the movie covered in this blog.

Thanks for the support, Mando.

He had C.P.O.s who are supposed to do that. I wonder if the cameras running had anything to do with that.

Yes, that was epic.

Jocko argued with his flight deck officer that he wasn’t doing a great job. The flight deck officer in a ballsy move bet Jocko that he could do better than Jocko. The cameras caught Jocko trying his hand at spotting a deck. The FDO spotted faster and in a smaller space, and Jocko never bothered him again :). This is from Clark Reynolds book.

I'd never seen this movie, but I've seen almost every scrap of footage that Ward showed thanks to my Dad's "Victory at Sea" addiction. I would also recommend Ian W Toll's recent trilogy. It covers all of the battles shown in the movie, with particular attention paid to Spruance's conservative (but effective) tactics at Philippine Sea vs Halsey's over-pursuit of a decoy force in a similar situation at Leyte.

@@patrickchase5614 Thanks, will check it out. During late 50s / early 60s, i would sit with Dad watching either "Victory at Sea" series or "The Silent Service" series. To this day, their theme songs / sound tracks still play in my brain!

Hi do you have a link for that? Thanks!