Join the USS US Navy click here
,
 |
| Tue Sep 2,12:26 PM ET |
U.S. Senator John Kerry formally announces his campaign for the 2004 U.S. Democratic presidential nomination at a rally in front of the battleship USS Yorktown September 2, 2003 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Once considered the front runner in the crowded pack of candidates vying to challenge President Bush (news - web sites), Kerry now faces a substantial challenge from former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. REUTERS/Jim Bourg |
By: LINDA L. MEGGETT
Originally Published on: 5/05/99
Page: B6
MOUNT PLEASANT - The aircraft carrier Yorktown at Patriot's Point is about to be rid of its oil problem.
The 211,000 gallons of old Navy fuel oil stored in tanks below the decks will be removed by summer's end.
The oil went unnoticed for decades until a tank leaked in April 1997.
Since then, the authority has worked to remove the oil from the ship, retired Navy Rear Adm. James H. Flatley III, Patriot's Point chief executive officer, said Tuesday.
Seven rows of tanks rest between the center line and the outside of the ship.
Oil located closest to the outside has been moved to the center and is ready to be loaded onto trucks, Flatley said. ``They should have never been there in the first place.''
Initially, the Patriot's Point Development Authority estimated that it would cost about $400,000 to remove the oil, and it would take a year and a half to get it done. But new estimates have the cleanup cost at about half that cost, Flatley said Tuesday.
Two years ago, about 50 gallons of oil leaked out of the vessel. The spill was quickly cleaned, and the Coast Guard Cutter Ingham acted as a buffer that kept the oil off the beach.
About 300 tanks must be brought up and disposed of one at a time to avoid spills, and hazardous and environmental rules must be followed.
The Yorktown was delivered here with the gummy fuel oil on board, Flatley said.
``They knew it was there (24) years ago, but the world didn't worry about the environmental impact then. ... Now every fuel spill is a potential crisis environmentally,'' he said.
LONG TIME COMING: Military representatives
dedicated an Enlisted Combat Aircrew Roll of Honor on the deck of the aircraft
carrier Yorktown. B&W staff photo by Nettles of the memorial aboard the USS
Yorktown.Patriot's Point, together with vets who served
on the Navy's carriers, paid tribute Thursday to enlisted aircrew members who
for years flew combat missions in the back seats of Navy and Marine Corps
planes.``We're here to honor those `white hat' sailors
who climbed into the planes and put their trust in the pilots who sat up
front,'' said retired Rear Adm. James H. Flatley III, executive director of
Patriot's Point.Flatley and several others then dedicated an
Enlisted Combat Aircrew Roll of Honor on the hangar deck of the aircraft carrier
Yorktown. The purpose is to honor the thousands of enlisted crew members who
flew for the Navy and the Marines.``This is long overdue,'' Flatley added.Roughly 400 Yorktown vets and their wives are
in Charleston this week to celebrate the ship's 48th annual reunion. Earlier
Thursday, they paid a special tribute to five Crommelin brothers of Alabama.All five served on Navy aircraft carriers
during World War II, including two who were killed during the last months of the
war. One brother, retired Capt. Quentin Crommelin of Elmore County, Ala.,
attended the ceremony along with 13 other family members.``I think this is great,'' Crommelin said,
recalling his experiences early in the war before he attended flight school. He
later flew Navy fighters toward the end of the war.One of his brothers, Charles Crommelin, was
featured in the movie about the Yorktown titled ``The Fighting Lady.'' Though
temporarily blinded by his wounds, he managed to land his plane on the Yorktown
with radio help from a wing man and the ship's landing signal officer.Later, though covered in bandages, he
reportedly limped into the Officers Club bar at Pearl Harbor, not because he
wanted a drink but because he wanted to prove to the younger pilots ``that it's
not too tough to be shot up.''Said Quentin Crommelin, ``you have a brotherly
feeling for everyone who was in this business.''Later, Navy veterans and an active-duty Marine
represented the thousands of enlisted men who have flown in naval combat.Retired Capt. Ray Schultz of Cadesville, Md.,
was an enlisted crewman who later was commissioned as a Navy chaplain. He asked
the audience how many of them had ever seen a movie featuring the enlisted crew
members of a Navy plane.When no one raised their hand, he replied,
``That's because there weren't any. ...``Many people aren't aware that there was
someone else (other than the pilot) in the plane,'' Schultz said. ``But we were
tested under fire and are part of the brotherhood of naval aviators.''Former radio operator Alfred Smith of Scituate,
Mass., said life on board a carrier was pretty good for the enlisted crew
members, assuming they survived the war. Enlisted aircrews didn't have to stand
watches on the ship, plus they received a 50 percent pay bonus for hazardous
duty.In 1942, Smith said, that meant an extra
$60-$90 a month.Marine Staff Sgt. Tab Tesreau, now stationed at
Camp Lejeune, N.C., flies as an enlisted crew chief aboard CH-53E heavy-lift
helicopters. Tesreau figures he has accumulated between 1, and 2,000 flying
hours since he began flying with the Marines in 1985.The exact figures aren't available, he said,
because only within the last five years have the Marines kept complete flight
records on enlisted crew members.Some of his flying time includes missions over
northern Iraq near the end of the Persian Gulf War.Schultz and Flatley then officially proclaimed
the aircrew roll of honor with the late radio-gunner Bruno Gaido as the first
man enrolled.Gaido received the Distinguished Flying Cross
posthumously after he was killed following the Battle of Midway in 1942. Shot
down and captured by a Japanese destroyer, Gaido and his pilot were
interrogated, weighted down and thrown over the side.``His courage in combat and when facing death
were exemplary,'' the proclamation reads.
One B&W Mmug of James H Flatley and One
B&W File Photo of The USS YorktownFifty-three years ago next month ``The Fighting
Lady'' put to sea for the first time to begin intense preparations for combat
operations in the South Pacific, a replacement for her namesake, USS Yorktown
(CV-5), lost during the Battle of Midway.``The Fighting Lady's'' first air group
commander, Cmdr. ``Jimmy'' Flatley, was charged with preparing the Yorktown's
newly formed squadrons for battle against a fierce and ruthless enemy. He knew
with certainty that many of his pilots and air crewmen, as well as an uncertain
number of the Yorktown's crew members, would find final resting places beneath
the waters of the Pacific, entombed in cockpits or canvas shrouds.Faced with that knowledge and the attendant
responsibility of training his very inexperienced Air Group for what was to
come, my father's view from ``The Fighting Lady'' was far removed from, but not
unrelated to, the ``view'' I want to share with The Post and Courier readership
today.The following might be considered a
long-overdue report to the public - Patriot's Point shareholders - provided to
augment the recent long-awaited announcement on Patriot's Point's hotel site.Twenty-four years ago, Patriot's Point
Development Authority was established by the General Assembly with a mandate to
develop and improve Patriot's Point, a state property, to provide a patriotic
setting, both educationally and recreationally appealing to local, national and
international visitors. The arrival of the Yorktown 21 years ago provided the
first historic element for Patriot's Point patriotic setting. The Yorktown's
establishment as the ``National Memorial to Carrier Aviation'' gave that setting
a wonderful focus.With the recent establishment of Patriot's
Point's first Volunteer Force, the educational focus has been centered on
fostering in our non-veteran visitors, especially the museum's many visiting
school children, a sense of awareness of the awesome price paid for the freedoms
we enjoy as a nation. The Yorktown's ``Arlington of Carrier Aviation'' and
combat aircraft displays offer an excellent example of how fostering such a
sense of awareness is easily facilitated.The names of all aircraft carrier crewmen and
air crewmen lost in combat, beginning with World War II through the Persian Gulf
conflict, are memorialized in bronze on plaques dedicated to either the aircraft
carrier or combat aircraft they were serving on or flying in when lost, an
accomplishment unique among all the military museums in this countryGiven that many of those buried at sea never
had a gravestone placed in their memory, Yorktown's plaques represent the only
tangible memorial to their supreme sacrifice. Hence the tie between my father's
``view'' from ``The Fighting Lady'' in 1943 and my view relative to the Naval
and Maritime Museum's mission today.Effectively conveying the price of freedom
message will, hopefully, ignite a sense of pride and respect in each visitor for
the tens of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who have
died defending that freedom. Even more hopefully, it will engender a sense of
service and sacrifice to country and community in our young visitors in
proportion to our nation's needs. At a minimum, our visitors should leave
Patriot's Point more reflective citizens.The tremendous challenge of expanding this
theme of memorialization to encompass the remaining communities within the sea
services, as well as the Army and the Air Force, has been undertaken. The
destroyer Laffey and Coast Guard cutter Ingham, truly historic fighting ships in
their own right, and the diesel submarine Clamagore will serve to represent
their greater communities.In terms of expanding the museum and the
memorialization program ashore, the Medal of Honor Society, based aboard the
Yorktown, has joined in a resolution to design and construct a Medal of Honor
Museum ashore.Located elsewhere on museum grounds will be a
full-scale ballistic missile submarine, situated in a reflecting pool and
suitably landscaped to serve as a symbol of the nation's long but successful
Cold War struggle. Significant is the fact that Charleston was the real home of
the SSBN force, in that more missile boats and their crews sailed from
Charleston Harbor than any other U.S. port.Also in the concept stage is a plan for a
Blue-Gray Wall oriented in the direction of Fort Sumter. This memorial, designed
on the order of both the Vietnam Wall and the new Korean War Memorial, will
recognize the honor and valor of the many thousands on each side who fought for
a cause they believed right while doing their commanders' bidding.One current thought is to recognize the Union
Medal of Honor winners opposite the Confederate Roll of Honor winners. An
appropriately-sized Civil War Museum integrated into the setting of the
Blue-Gray Wall is an additional consideration. Any and all ideas are welcome.All of the above-mentioned projects would be
undertaken by the Patriot's Point Foundation through corporate and private
support. Upon completion, each project would convey to Patriot's Point, hence
the state - an ambitious undertaking to say the least.Needless to say, all these initiatives and
activities and the infrastructure to support them are resource-dependent.
Taxpayers will be happy, possibly even surprised, to learn that the Naval and
Maritime Museum has been self-sufficient and operating in the black since 1986.
The Museum sustains its operation from gate and gift shop receipts, its very
popular scout camping program and contract/lease fees realized from three
supporting contracts, including the Patriot's Point Links.General visitation this year could top 300,000,
and the popular overnight camping program will exceed 13,000. Over the past two
years Patriot's Point has steadily increased its share of visitors and campers
despite slightly declining attraction visitation in the Greater Charleston area.We anticipate revenues of $4 million this
fiscal year with expenditures of $3.9 million. This includes cash reserves
sufficient to cover cash flow, while allowing minor progress to be made in
reducing the huge $1.5 million backlog of critical ship maintenance and
restoration. This backlog accumulated during extended litigation associated with
Patriot's Point's development failure just prior to Hurricane Hugo and has
negatively affected other projects, such as adding an Iowa class battleship to
the Naval and Maritime Museum.Patriots Point's ultimate success has always
hinged on the successful development of the magnificent coastal property charged
to its care. Accordingly, preparation of the hotel development lease has been
meticulous in every regard, as will be the oversight of this critical project.Many Lowcountry citizens have waited a long
time for Patriot's Point to become the major attraction and National Memorial it
should have been long ago. None has been more patient than the museum's
dedicated and deserving staff.The support of the public, as shareholders,
continues to be important. I hope news of the resumption of the hotel project
and other ongoing developments serve to regain public confidence and willingness
to get involved again, especially as volunteers.Flatley, chief executive of the Patriot's Point
Development Authority, is a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral and a member of the
Golden Eagles
McCain picks Yorktown for presidential bid rallyBy: SCHUYLER KROPFOriginally Published on: 4/01/99 Page: B6
 John McCain speaks in Charleston on Thursday near the USS Yorktown. |
 Republican
presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, of Ariz., addresses a town hall
style meeting of South Carolina voters at the Charleston Maritime Center
in Charlestown, S.C., Thursday afternoon Feb. 3, 2000. The aircraft
carrier U.S.S. Yorktown can be seen behind McCain. (AP Photo/Stephan
Savoia) |
U.S. Sen. John McCain will formally announce
his bid for president of the United States next Tuesday in Charleston - the
second stop in his three-state tour.
McCain's first announcement will be Tuesday
morning in Bedford, N.H. Afterward he'll fly nonstop to Charleston for a rally
at Patriot's Point. He plans to use the aircraft carrier Yorktown as a backdrop.
``It's just a majestic location. It speaks a
lot about national security, which is an area that he is uniquely qualified
in,'' McCain's South Carolina campaign consultant Richard Quinn confirmed
Wednesday.
Officials at McCain's Washington campaign
office declined to comment.
McCain sees South Carolina as key to winning
the GOP nomination since no Republican has won the party nomination without
first winning South Carolina, Quinn said.
Republicans go to the polls here on Feb. 26.
``I think it's very important to his national
strategy,'' Quinn said. ``South Carolina is the gateway to the South. We've got
history here. The winner of the S.C. primary has been the nominee for over a
decade. It's critically important, and he understands that.''
The Yorktown is being used because McCain sees
it as a connector to his years as a Navy pilot.
``South Carolina has a lot of families with
ties to the military,'' Quinn added. ``In McCain, we have a war hero.''
After stopping in Charleston, a second South
Carolina announcement is scheduled at the Statehouse in Columbia. Afterward,
McCain will fly to his home state of Arizona for an announcement rally.
Scheduled to join McCain in South Carolina are
U.S. Reps. Mark Sanford and Lindsey Graham.
McCain, 62, has increased his profile in South
Carolina with numerous appearances, including an address to state Republicans
last month. He asked them not to immediately throw their support to Texas Gov.
George W. Bush or Elizabeth Dole.
``South Carolina continues to play a pivotal
role in the presidential nominating process. I have been here. I will be here a
lot,'' McCain said at a press conference before his speech.
Political scientists say McCain's military
service will play well among Republican voters. But ``elections aren't won or
lost on foreign policy,'' Dave Woodward, a political science professor at
Clemson University who also consults for some GOP candidates, told The Post and
Courier during McCain's last visit.
McCain, who is viewed as a maverick Republican,
touts the politics of inclusion, rather than the combative style his party has
been known for in the 1990s.
McCain, who has been divorced, defended his
conservative credentials even while fighting in the U.S. Senate for campaign
finance reform and crusading against tobacco companies.
He said he does not believe that the
anti-abortion plank should be yanked from the National Republican Party
platform, but added that he wouldn't rule out picking a pro-choice vice
president.
McCain is a former career Navy pilot who spent
5-1/2 years in a North Vietnamese prison. Shot down over Hanoi at age 31, he
broke both arms and shattered a knee and a shoulder after parachuting into a
lake. He was stabbed in the groin and ankle by an angry mob.
He has served in the Senate since 1986. Two of
his biggest legislative efforts - higher taxes and curbs on tobacco, and
campaign finance reform - were both opposed by other Republicans. Both have so
far failed. ED:Schuyler Kropf reports on S.C. government and politics. Contact
him at 937-5551 or skropf@postandcourier.com.
All not shipshape, LAC says
By: SCHUYLER KROPF
Originally Published on: 6/26/98
Page: A1
The Yorktown serves as floating classroom
By: RACHEL GRAVES
Originally Published on: 5/15/98
Page: B1
Simply boarding the imposing gray USS Yorktown
would inspire some eighth-graders to appreciate veterans who lived and fought
there.Add the Alice Birney Middle School band playing
``It's a Grand Old Flag,'' students reading patriotic essays and veterans
telling their stories, and you've got a red-white-and-blue Veterans Day.Wednesday, hundreds of eighth-graders and
several classes of sixth-graders from schools across Charleston County gathered
in the imposing hangar of the Yorktown.The message was loud and clear: Throughout the
years, men and women have served in the military forces to preserve our freedom,
and Veterans Day is a good time to show we are grateful.Plenty of students listened intently. They
waved little flags when asked to. They gave a spontaneous standing ovation to a
100-year-old World War I veteran.But the eighth-grade girl who sat in the back
row and, thread by thread, unraveled her little American flag, said something
else about Veterans Day. SaluteShe didn't say anything about disrespect. She
wasn't defacing a flag out of malice. She was an eighth-grader fiddling with
whatever happened to be there. Fiddling is something eighth-graders do.She gave no indication that she was filled with
pride when the Wando High School show choir sang the national anthem, or that
the notion of hundreds of thousands of soldiers dying made her cringe.She hardly glanced at the Toole Military Magnet
School honor guard or drill team and she showed no interest in hearing a history
of the wars of the 20th century.She just quietly pulled one thread after
another until the little flag's first red stripe was unraveled altogether. And
then a white one. And then the next red one.I can hope she got the same message that
children right in front of her seemed to get. They appeared to listen to every
word.But I know that she sent a message to me that
was ironically heartening. The message was that veterans have not served in
vain.I found myself feeling very grateful that she
lives in a world without the sense of urgency brought on by war.She didn't feel she had to pay attention to
every word. She doesn't live with fears that children lived with 54 years ago
when their worlds were rocked by war and their fathers were dying.The veterans who spoke about valor and
sacrifice were, in her book, old men talking about a different time. Hers is a
free world. Her heroes are on the football field, not battlefield.Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq are not on her radar
screen. War and peaceSome educators last year wanted to kill the
Veterans Day assembly. They said students were ill-behaved and that the event
was a waste of time.Maybe they saw a student unraveling a flag. Or
maybe they saw some who didn't applaud a vet.If they had looked, they would also have seen
hundreds of students who did clap and cheer and wave flags - students who wrote
essays about service and freedom.They might have seen an honor guard that hadn't
yet mastered marching.If they had thought about it, they might have
also seen a hopeful symbol in the rough edges. United States veterans have
secured what they put their lives on the line for - a country where children
don't have to march in lockstep and present arms flawlessly. Thank you Critics said children could learn a
lot more in the controlled atmosphere of their classrooms than in a crowd.But I have to think each one who heard Pamela
Jenkins of McClellanville Middle School talk about her grandfather, a veteran
who came home from the war in a wheelchair, learned something dramatic.I have to think the gap between old veterans
and young students was bridged a bit and that students from farms on Edisto and
subdivisions in North Charleston might understand better how fortunate we are to
enjoy the freedoms we do.I wouldn't be surprised if a number of
eighth-graders went home Wednesday and said ``thank you'' to the veterans who
risked everything for our freedoms.I will, too. Thank you, veterans, for a country
where eighth-graders do not have to deal with the urgencies of war.Elsa McDowell may be reached by phone at
937-5558 or by fax at 937-5579. Her e-mail address is elsa@postandcourier.com
and her mailing address is 134 Columbus St., Charleston, S.C. 29403-4800.
One Color Staff Photo by Jordan of veterans
cleaning a plane YorktownMOUNT PLEASANT - Reunions for Navy vets are one
thing, but work parties are something else.About 20 veterans who once served on the
aircraft carrier Yorktown are back on board this week, volunteering for various
cleanup and fix-up projects.``We're here because it gives us a chance to
visit the ship, talk about old times and because we love one another,'' Harry
Hill, 72, a former plane captain from Stratford, Conn., said Wednesday.Yorktown vets from across the country have made
the spring work party into an annual event, US Navy Executive
Director Joe Sharkey said. Sharkey acts as host and project coordinator for the
vets, most of whom stay on board during their visit at Patriot's Point.``They've been doing this each year for about
14 years,'' Sharkey said.The annual work parties offer the vets a chance
to give something of themselves back to the ship. Some bring their wives, but
most come alone and stay in berthing spaces that on other occasions are used by
visiting Scout groups.Reunions, on the other hand, are largely social
in nature, Sharkey said, but war stories abound during both events.``Everybody pushed airplanes when they first
came aboard,'' said Tony Yankovich of Orlando, Fla., who at age 80 was one of
the older vets on board. Tugs designed to pull airplanes from one spot to
another didn't arrive on the Yorktown until later.``You probably saw me in one movie or another,
pushing a wrecked airplane over the side,'' Yankovich said.Another vet, J.C. Moore, 72, of Mount Holly,
N.C., recalls how he was struck by a plane's propeller during an accident on
deck.``It was June 6, 1945,'' Moore said, while the
Yorktown was at war in the Pacific. He spent the next seven months in various
Navy hospitals where doctors managed to save his badly injured right arm.On Wednesday, several of the vets were cleaning
the wings of a Navy Hellcat fighter that's on display on the Yorktown. It's the
same type of fighter that the late Vice Adm. James Flatley Jr. flew in 1943 when
he became the first pilot ever to land an airplane on the then-new Yorktown.Flatley's son, retired Rear Adm. James Flatley
III, is now chief executive officer at Patriot's Point.Other chores for the vets this week include
painting some of the wooden bulkheads that decorate the museum, Sharkey said.The vets also will refurbish one of the
wardrooms on display and rearrange some of the heavy bronze plaques that list
the men who gave their lives in battle.One vet, Bob Wallace, 64, of Salem, Ore.,
served on the Yorktown during the Korean War. Assigned as a cook and baker, his
best job came during off-duty hours.``We were sailing off the east coast of Korea,
outside the range of Armed Forces Radio,'' Wallace said. ``So we set up our own
little radio station that we transmitted to the other ships in the fleet. From 7
to 7:30 p.m., I was `Bob's Bops and Blues.' ''``Why am I back?'' he said, repeating a
question. ``To be with these guys and be on this ship. They went through World
War II. They're my heroes. You realize what a privilege it is just to serve
alongside them.''
B&W staff photo by Nettles of Flatley
checking the fluid level in the problem tank.The aircraft carrier Yorktown at Patriot's
Point has an oil problem - too much.About 211,000 gallons of old Navy fuel oil is
stored in tanks below decks, and it went unnoticed for decades until a tank
sprung a leak this month, said retired Navy Rear Adm. James H. Flatley III,
Patriot's Point chief executive officer.The oil became a concern when about 50 gallons
leaked out of the vessel through a hole. Flatley said the hole has been repaired
and the oil is safely contained.The spill was quickly cleared up and the Coast
Guard Cutter Ingham acted as a buffer that kept the oil off the beach, said Lt.
Chuck Jennings, chief of operations for the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office.But questions remain on what's the best way to
get the oil off the ship and how to pay for its removal.``They (the Coast Guard) want to know our plan
for removal,'' Flatley said. ``It's probably time to get it off the ship. But
because of the physical constraints it's going to be difficult.''About 300 tanks must be brought up and disposed
of one at a time to avoid spills. It could take 1-1/2 years to complete the job,
he said.The staff is getting formal estimates from
companies in the business to determine the cost.Removing the oil could be expensive, creating a
cash flow problem that might stall other repairs to the ship, Flatley said,
adding that money is tight.Based on unofficial estimates, it could cost
about $1.50 per gallon to take the oil off the ship. Hazardous and environmental
rules must be followed along with renting a barge to haul it away.``We've got a real chore on our hands,''
Flatley said.``It's complex because it's a warship and it's
a lot of little tanks,'' Jennings said. ``The tanks will have to be emptied
separately. It will be logistically difficult and labor intensive.''Another oil spill was discovered in the marshes
near the Yorktown in February and the source never was found. Flatley asked that
samples from both spills be tested to determine if the ship was the source of
both spills, Jennings said. ``We're still waiting on the results.''The spills were very small. ``But because we
have a fairly clean environment we react to everything,'' he said.The Yorktown was delivered here with the gummy
fuel oil on board, Flatley said.``They knew it was there 22 years ago, but the
world didn't worry about the environmental impact then. ... Now every fuel spill
is a potential crisis environmentally.''Jennings said: ``Nobody really knows how much
oil is left. We're not afraid of contamination. But it's there and it's not
being used. It's an unnecessary risk.''The leak occurred this month when heavy
northwest winds created an extremely low tide that exposed the hole.
The aircraft carrier Yorktown at Patriot's
Point in Mount Pleasant will store five helicopters during Hurricane Fran. Scott
Newsome, director of air operations for Charleston County, said he has been
looking for a place to keep the helicopters during hurricanes ever since Hugo.
Above, a mosquito control helicopter lands on the elevator of the Yorktown. At
left, the helicopter is pushed into the hangar of the ship to ride out the
storm.
Man who seized carrier Yorktown still haunted by Vietnam's
By: SCHUYLER KROPF
Originally Published on: 10/05/95
Page: A15
A truck driver whose armed takeover of the
aircraft carrier Yorktown on July Fourth shut down the tourist attraction on its
busiest day of the year will be charged with burglary and weapons violations.Ninth Circuit Solicitor David Schwacke
announced Thursday he has directed Mount Pleasant police to file two charges -
second-degree burglary and carrying or displaying a firearm in a public building
- against James Melvin Jordan of Hampton.Jordan could face up to 20 years in prison if
he is found guilty of the charges. Mount Pleasant Police Chief Thomas Sexton
said arrest warrants will not be served on Jordan until psychiatrists have
evaluated him.Armed with a rifle and a handgun, Jordan walked
onto the Yorktown, one of several ships at the Patriot's Point Naval and
Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, about 3:15 a.m. Tuesday and held police at
bay for more than 30 hours before surrendering.Jordan, 45, a Vietnam veteran who had told
police negotiators he was upset about women in the mili- tary and the amount he
paid in child support, was taken immediately to the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical
Center for observation.He was transferred to another facility Thursday
after Jordanhe called two local television stations and gave interviews, which
the TV stations aired.``We requested that he be moved because we were
concerned about the lack of security at the VA hospital,'' Sexton said. ``He was
able to call Channel 5 Wednesday night from the psychiatric ward.''A Channel 5 (WCSC-TV) news editor called Sexton
about 8 p.m. Wednesday and told him someone had called the TV station and
identified himself as James Jordan.``They thought it might have been a hoax, but
this man was telling them things only someone who was there could have known,''
Sexton said. The editor told Sexton a news crew was on its way to the hospital
to interview Jordan.``I went right to the hospital,'' Sexton said.
``I took a couple of FBI agents with me because I thought we might not have
jurisdiction in a federal facility. When I got there, a reporter was up in the
psych ward, interviewing this guy. I couldn't believe it.''Sexton said he asked who allowed the reporter
in the psychiatric ward and was told the hospital administrator had approved it.Chaz Kastell, chief of medical administration
for the hospital, said there was no approved interview Wednesday. ``The reporter
showed up and visited with Mr. Jordan as a friend, not as a representative of
the news media.''Sexton said he talked with hospital officials
and left with the understanding that Jordan would not be making any more
telephone calls or getting any more visitors.``Then I get a call at 8 o'clock Thursday
morning and find out he's called Channel 2 and given them an interview,'' he
said.Sexton conferred with Schwacke and both agreed
something had to be done to stop the interviews.``He is just making a mockery of what
happened,'' Sexton said.Sexton said they also were concerned about his
safety because a reporter had easily gained admission to the psychiatric ward.Jordan was transferred Thursday to the
psychiatric unit at Medical University Hospital, Sexton said.Jordan's television interviews might encourage
other disturbed people to consider using violent means to bring attention to
their grievances, Sexton said.Schwacke said he has great respect for the
military service of veterans such as Jordan, but he is concerned about
maintaining public safety. RESCHEDULEDJuly Fourth activities that could not be held
at Patriot's Point because of a gunman's standoff aboard the Yorktown have been
rescheduled for Saturday.The Naval and Maritime Museum will host a
special flag-raising ceremony at 8 a.m. honoring all branches of the military.
At 9 a.m., WSSP-FM will host ``The Breakfast Club'' aboard the aircraft car-
rier.Tickets purchased earlier for the Breakfast
Club meeting, postponed Tuesday, will be good for Saturday's event. Anyone who
purchased tickets but cannot attend the event Saturday can obtain a refund by
calling WSSP at 722-7611 before Saturday.
Harry Pickett wanted to take the boys in his
Cub Scout den on a special trip before they graduated to Boy Scouts, the kind of
trip they would remember 20 years from now.As he flipped through the pages of Scout
Magazine, he came across an ad for the camping program aboard the aircraft
carrier Yorktown.It would mean making a 10-to-12 hour drive from
Burlington, Ky., but Pickett thought it would be worth it. He was right.``Man, we thought everything was great,''
Pickett says, sounding kind of like a kid himself.Since returning to Kentucky in April, he has
sold the local pack on taking all the Webelos to camp on the Yorktown before
they graduate.Who can blame them?It is quite an adventure.First and foremost, the young people who come
to camp on the Yorktown don't just find a corner and curl up in their sleeping
bags. The boys sleep in bunks in the actual berthing areas once occupied by the
enlisted men.The girls? They get the more spacious officers'
quarters. The quarters are tucked away behind large steel doors, near steep
ladders.When it's time to eat, they dine Navy-style in
the original chief petty officers' mess.While aboard the Yorktown, campers have the
chance to explore the flight deck, the hangar deck and the working and living
areas of the ship such as the hospital and the bridge.``When I do Scout trips, I try to offer the
kids an opportunity to learn something and explore something. I don't take them
to Disney World,'' says Suellen Cermenaro of Augusta, Ga., who has accompanied
Boy and Girl Scout troops on camping trips to the Yorktown.``The Yorktown program is something that makes
them feel special. It gives them the chance to do something the average tourist
can not do. It's history at their fingertips without having to study. The people
there are great. If we had a question, we found someone and they took the time
to answer it.''Since the program's inception in 1980, around
136,000 boys and girls from across the country have participated in the program.Roughly 80 percent of the campers are Boy
Scouts, 10 percent are Girl Scouts and the rest come from church and school
groups, according to Richard Condon who has directed the program from the start.In 1980, around 750 campers participated. Last
year there were nearly 12,000. Perhaps the greatest tribute to the program is
this - around 40 percent of the leaders who have brought groups this year have
brought groups before. Cermenaro has been four times.``The best part is you see how the sailors
lived,'' Pickett says. ``You eat where they ate, you sleep where they slept.
They even have a fire drill.''While aboard, campers watch the Academy
Award-winning movie ``The Fighting Lady,'' which was filmed on the Yorktown
during World War II.In addition to getting a taste of what life was
like on the Yorktown, campers have the option of touring Fort Sumter or taking a
trip through the harbor and up the Cooper River for a look at the ships and
submarines docked at the Charleston Naval Base. They also tour Fort Moultrie and
visit Palmetto Islands County Park.Since the ships at Patriots Point are on the
National Register of Historic Ships, the scouts who camp on the Yorktown become
eligible for the Historic Trails Award. (All Scouts receive a patch to
commemorate their stay.)The Historic Trails Program is administered by
Jim Sutherland, a retired Navy officer and World War II combat veteran.``We really believe it's important to instill a
sense of patriotism in these young people,'' says Alan NeSmith, director of
marketing for Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. ``Jim is the point man
in getting these kids excited, in talking to them and instilling in them that
sense of pride and patriotism. He can bring tears to the kids' eyes when he
starts talking about pride and country.''During its busiest time - mid-January to
mid-May - around campers stay on the Yorktown each weekend. (Those who travel a
great distance often spend Friday night, while everyone else arrives on Saturday
morning and stays until Sunday morning.) Things tend to slow down during the
summer, even though the sleeping quarters ARE air conditioned. This weekend,
there will be around 240 on board.The cost for one night's stay is $39 per
person. Two nights is $54 per person. From Aug. 15-Sept. 30 and during December,
campers receive a 20 percent discount. It is possible to set up an overnight
stay during the week, but there must be at least 40 people in your group.``When you travel such a long way, you kind of
worry and tell yourself, `These kids aren't going to pay attention,''' Pickett
says. ``They really did. They took the time to read the plaques, look at the
exhibits and listen to the people on the staff. They learned a lot and had a lot
of fun doing it. It was really impressive.''
