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.
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.
Happy Birthday, Yorktown!
Patriots Point is SO worth visiting. Highly recommended.