Found another plane from the JFK.
After my day at the beach I had no choice but to agree to be dragged to yet another shipyard. This time it was Patriot’s Point in Mount Pleasant, SC. This naval and maritime museum is located at the mouth of the Cooper River across the harbor from Charleston. You can take a water taxi directly from the Charleston harbor. In addition to 3 vessels: the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, the destroyer USS Laffey, the submarine USS Clamagore it also houses the Medal of Honor Museum and a replica of a Viet Nam naval support camp. Your admission ticket gives you access to all of these features.
The Apollo VIII simulator
We decided to start with the Yorktown. The hangar bay houses numerous planes and an exhibit devoted to the Apollo space mission. The Yorktown was the recovery ship for Apollo VIII. Damian, Don & I crowded into the Apollo capsule simulator to experience the blast off, orbiting of the moon and splashdown. It was pretty cool.
Blastoff!
Exhibits in the hangar bay.
The hangar is also the starting and ending point for 5 separate tours that lead you to areas below deck, on deck and up on the bridge. We started below decks where my claustrophobia and distaste for obnoxious smells had me climbing back up those scary ladders in a very short time. Don & Damian continued to explore below decks. I did not rejoin them until they headed for the tour of the deck where once again, I declined to enter the bridge area or whatever you call that tower-like thing on top of the deck.
Don in a familiar place below deck.
I have no idea what this is but Don seemed to like it.
Reminds me of Little Shop of Horrors.
Steering the ship
(Is that the correct terminology?)
Captain Bligh
Have you met my friends
Shock & Awe?
The Yorktown
As you made your way below decks there were exhibits of all the classes of vessels involved in the Pacific Theater of WWII along with news clippings from the day. Then we made our way through the Medal of Honor Museum which gave tribute to all those who received the Medal by providing biographical information on each person.
Part of the Enterprise exhibit.
Audie Murphy
Across the pier from the Yorktown is where the Laffey is anchored. Don & Damian wasted no time climbing aboard to explore the destroyer. I enjoyed the view of the harbor from a bench not on the destroyer. (Honestly, if you’ve seen one of these things haven’t you seen them all?)
My view of the harbor with the submarine to the left.
Damian’s favorite by far was the submarine. The Clamagore has sure seen better days because that is one rusty bucket of bolts from my view. It did not deter him from hopping through the hatches and doorways like a bubblehead. (What? Isn’t that what you call them? That’s what Don told me.)
DSCN1971 (click on the link)
Torpedo anyone?
Tight fit.
My favorite thing was the Viet Nam exhibit. Perhaps because I remember this era and my dear friend, Kurt Thiele, became a victim of this war. Kurt survived being shot 3 times on a swift boat only to succumb to the long term effects of Agent Orange. The exhibit starts with dog tags hanging to represent the number of lives lost from the State of South Carolina.
It is set up to resemble a naval support camp and showcases the swift boat, several types of helicopter in use at the time and structures that would have been found in such a camp. There are also 2 interactive exhibits that highlight major battles, one of which was the Tet Offensive. You are surrounded by the typical sounds that would be common to hear. Helicopter rotors turning, artillery and gunfire emanate from hidden speakers to give you the immersive experience.
Swift boat
Me in camp.
Inside the medevac chopper.
Up in the tower.
After spending the better part of the day exploring all the sights at Patriot’s Point I was rewarded for my good behavior. We left to explore a little more of Mount Pleasant and I found us a nice little antiques place to browse. I can honestly say that although I joke about having to visit all these military history sites I always learn something new and isn’t that what it’s all about?
Trash to some, treasure to others. True for antiques and old ships.
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