The Fighting Lady Turns 80: New Exhibit & Birthday Celebration At Patriots Point

USS Yorktown sits at her moorings beside the WWII destroyer, USS Laffey in Charleston, South Carolina.
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On April 15th, 1943, the Essex-class aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown (CV 10), was commissioned in Portsmouth, Virginia. Dubbed The Fighting Lady, the carrier will celebrate its 80th anniversary this year at her present home with the Patriot’s Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.

USS Yorktown CV 10 underway circa in mid 1943 80 G K 14379 scaled
USS Yorktown (CV 10) underway during 1943. (image via Wikimedia)

The museum is holding its “The Fighting Lady Turns 80” event on Saturday, April 15, 2023 and members of the public are invited to attend. In honor of the ship’s eight decades of service, the museum’s admission price will be reduced to $8 for the day (parking is $5 extra per vehicle). Special activities for the event will run from 10:00am until 3:00pm, and will include hands-on learning, guided tours, trivia, music, a birthday cake cutting, along with a meet-and-greet with veterans who served aboard the ship.

In addition to the festivities, a new, temporary exhibit will open entitled All Who Served: The Uniforms of World War II, which will feature various uniforms and articles of clothing representing each branch of the military. The new exhibit, arranged in a room just off the main Hangar Bay, is supported with items received on loan from The Charleston Museum, the National Museum of the Marine Corps, the National Museum of the US Army, and Joint Base Charleston.

“This event welcomes the community to enjoy and participate in the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the USS Yorktown’s commissioning and the crew who served aboard the ship. Our staff, volunteers, curators, and partners have nourished the ship while working to produce exhibitions and programs we share to keep The Fighting Lady’s story alive after all these years.” – Allison Hunt, Executive Director

Visitors to the museum after April 15 will be able to view this temporary exhibit with the purchase of any general admission ticket.  To learn more about the birthday festivities and new exhibit, please visit the museum’s website.

USS Yorktown 1943 aircraft carrier 15 scaled
Goodyear-built FG-1D Corsair BuNo.88368 is one of many amazing aircraft on display aboard USS Yorktown at Patriots Point. (image via Wikipedia)

Angela-Decker

Angela Decker, from McPherson, Kansas, discovered her passion for aviation after earning a Master’s in Military History from Norwich University in 2011. Since 2012, she has volunteered with vintage aviation groups, excelling as a social media content creator and coordinator. Angela has coordinated aviation and WWII events, appeared as Rosie the Riveter, and is restoring a Stearman aircraft. She is the Operations Logistics Coordinator at CAF Airbase Georgia and an accountant with a degree in Economics from the University of Georgia. Her son, Caden, shares her love for aviation and history and is studying Digital Media Arts.

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About Angela Decker 65 Articles
Angela Decker, from McPherson, Kansas, discovered her passion for aviation after earning a Master’s in Military History from Norwich University in 2011. Since 2012, she has volunteered with vintage aviation groups, excelling as a social media content creator and coordinator. Angela has coordinated aviation and WWII events, appeared as Rosie the Riveter, and is restoring a Stearman aircraft. She is the Operations Logistics Coordinator at CAF Airbase Georgia and an accountant with a degree in Economics from the University of Georgia. Her son, Caden, shares her love for aviation and history and is studying Digital Media Arts.

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