Well, the overnighter to the USS Lexington was a success. We all had a great time, romped around the ship, heard some (blue) ghost stories, and no one got hurt. Yeah! We did hear about a scout last week that lost several teeth, so we are all glad that no one got hurt. Here are some of the things that I learned / remembered about the “Blue Ghost.” It was an Essex class carrier commissioned in 1943, retrofitted 10 years later, was in service until 1991 (that is 48 years folks!), and had the most traps of any aircraft carrier with over 480,000. That record will probably not be broken. The Lexington trained virtually all carrier pilots for a really, really long time. Maverick and Goose may have flown off the Lex as well. It has been used in several movies. It has crossed the equator 13 times and the international date line six times. An escaltor was added in the 50s refit to help pilots get from their ready rooms to the flight deck. They have a bunch of gear to haul, and ships ladders are not the best ways for and encumbered person to move around.
We really did have a great time. BUt, it was short but increadably long weekend. 16 hour round trip bus ride with 18 hours in the middle spent on the ship. Total sleep for weekend is less than eight hours. I thought I might sleep on the bus ride back, no such luck. The bus did have a DVD player so I did see: Shrek 2, National Treasure, Wallace & Grommet, The Curse of the Ware Rabbit, Animated Superman: Son of Krypton, Holes, The Increadables, E.T., and about half of Ice Age II: The Meltdown.
Time to get ready for bed, I think I earned the patch that I got for this excursion. BSG is on tonight, Heroes is on tomorrow night!
Hey Matt;
My Dad flew off the Lexington during WWII, in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
That Lexington was CV-2 and was sunk at the Battle of Coral Sea. CV-16 was already being built at that time. A petition was made to change the ships’ name to the Lexington. Your dad is a true Hero.
His squardron was the last off before it was hit. They had to land on the old Hornet, I believe. I’ll tell him what you said. He doesn’t talk about it much, as most vets don’t.
He flew TBM’s which as you probably know ,were torpedo bombers, made by Gruman
Mark
The Grumman TBM Avenger was the plane that, future president, George H. W. Bush flew during WWII. He spent about 4 days on the Lexington CV-16. The Cavanaugh Flight Museum, at Addison Airport, has a TBM Avenger that they fly. It is in mint condition. He also has an F4-U Corsair and a P-51D Mustang that are flyable.. If your dad is in the area take him to the museum. I am sure he would appreciate it. He may cry a little, but appreciate it.