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Patriots Point mascot!

10/11/2017

Hey guys! Have you ever been like me and wondered why the USS Yorktown has a dog for a mascot? Well there is actually a great reason! One day a sailor brought a dog aboard the ship. Unfortunately, this was against the rules, and when the Captain found out about the dog he told them that they would have to take the dog back where it came from. However, the Captain changed his mind after the sailor told him that the dog’s name was Jock. This was the Captain’s nickname and he was so happy that the dog was named after him that he allowed the dog to stay aboard the ship. The sailors had lied to the Captain because they wanted to keep the dog, whose actual name was Scrappy. Now you know the story of how Scrappy came to be!

72 years ago...

8/9/2017

The United States dropped the first ever atomic bomb on an enemy population on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in August of 1945. Before the United States even entered into World War II, the United States was already doing research on atomic weapons. Such weapons were already being researched in Germany and there was a fear that they would develop and use such weapons. The project code named the Manhattan Project, used over 12,000 scientists all over the country, cost almost 2 billion dollars and was top secret. Most of the people working on the project had no idea what they were working on. The first test of the atomic bomb was in New Mexico, at the Trinity Site, on July 16, 1945. The first bomb dropped on Hiroshima was named “Little Boy”. Hiroshima was an important manufacturing center and military center, with about 350,000 people. The bomb dropped at 8:15 a.m. instantly killed at least 45,000 lives. Many more would lose their lives due to radiation exposure or other direct effects.

National Maritime Day!

5/22/2017

Hello sailors! Today is National Maritime Day and here at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum we are committed to maritime history. The word maritime is connect to anything dealing with the sea, especially dealing with seafaring commercial or military activity. Patriots Point currently has 3 vessels that were once military and participated in sea activities. These include the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, a destroyer the USS Laffey, and a submarine the USS Clamagore.

Today in history

5/20/2017

Today marks two very important events for us at the USS Yorktown. Today is Armed Forced Day which is set aside to thank our military personal for their support of our country. So today thank someone you know who is serving our country. The second important date is the first ever solo transatlantic flight. Charles Lindbergh made the journey from New York to Paris in just less than 34 hours in the now famous plane The Spirit of Saint Louis. His journey helped push forth the age of commercial aviation.

Endangered species day!

5/19/2017

Hey guys, today is Endangered Species Day! An endangered species is a plant or animal that has a really small population and without assistance might go extinct. Unfortunately humans are a major reason as to why so many species are endangered. Did you know that in South Carolina alone there are 38 endangered species of plants and animals? If you thought that was a lot the U.S. is home to over 1300 endangered species as a whole! Luckily there are many laws put in place to protect them but we must also do our part. Remember to respect the animals and habitat that make up the world around us.

new lab paper!

5/12/2017

Hey everybody! Many of you have helped out with are citizen science program L.A.M.P.S. in which we are partnered with the Sotka lab at Grice Marine Laboratories. We just wanted to congratulate Dr. Stacy Krueger-Hadfield and Nicole Kollars on their recently published paper. For those of you have helped us out and are familiar with the red algae that dot our mud flats this paper helps explain how it made its journey over from Japan and became to be such a major part in our estuaries. If you are interested in reading the paper here is a link:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.3001/abstract

Congratulations to the Sotka lab and everyone who played a part in writing this paper.

today in History

5/8/2017

Today marks the final day of the WWII Battle of Coral Sea. This battle was the first ever air sea battle. Starting May 4, 1942 this 4 day battle lead role was played by aircrafts launched off aircraft carriers. The USS Yorktown CV-5 (namesake of the Yorktown CV-10) was damaged in this battle. The battle used exclusively aircraft carriers. May 8th the main aircrafts from the United States and Japan found each other and was a defeat for the United States tactically. Strategic, however it was a victory for the United States for it did not allow Japan to land at Port Moresby.

May 5! National astronaut day

5/5/2017

Today is National Astronaut Day! It is the anniversary of Alan Shepard becoming the first American in space! Since this historic day in 1961 records continued to be made. On Monday Peggy Whitson broke the record for cumulative time spent in space by a US astronaut. She was also the first female to command the space station. We wish Peggy the very best on her mission #congratspeggy

75th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid

4/18/2017

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the very first attack on Japan by the United States during World War II. This attack known as the Doolittle Raid was flown by 80 brave men in B-25 planes. Lined up on the USS Hornet their mission was to fly off of this aircraft carrier, bomb 5 cities and land in the safe part of China. All but one plane crashed landed. Despite the devastating crash landings 73 of the original 80 men lived to tell their story. Today our 5th grade schools plan this mission to see if they can successful make it to safety.

WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service)

3/22/2017

Created in 1942 to help support the war effort during WW2, this group was a division of the Navy. The women went way beyond their former counter parts during WW1 and were accepted to fill the non-combat roles men usually filled. WAVES ended up being 2.5% of the Navy’s strength during World War II. Due to their success in the war women were granted permanent status into the Navy and have been serving alongside their male counterparts ever since.