January 6-12, 2026
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| On Tuesday, January 6 we headed for James Island to meet with friends from our Montana 5th wheel group. We arrived a day earlier than Jim and Vickie, David and Sandi. They came on Wednesday and we went out to dinner at a group favorite, the Charleston Crab House. Thursday we just relaxed. Joe and Michelle arrived and we went to dinner at Home Team BBQ. On Friday Jim and Vickie and us two went to Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum. We started on the USS Yorktown (CV-10). It served in WWII and Vietnam and was decommissioned in 1970. |
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| There were four self-guided tours and we did one and two in addition to the Medal of Honor Museum. |
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| 'New' Cooper River Bridge |
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| USS Yorktown flight deck |
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| Just a couple of the planes displayed on the deck. |
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| After the Yorktown we toured the destroyer USS Laffey (DD-724). From the website: The USS Laffey (DD-724) is the most decorated World War II era Destroyer still in existence. Commissioned at Bath Iron Works, ME in February of 1944, the Laffey was soon on her way to Normandy where she would participate in Operation Neptune. The Laffey provided support to the D-Day invasion at Normandy at the Utah Beach landing site. Soon after the invasion, the Laffey was damaged by a German shore battery that pierced her hull yet failed to explode. By September of 1944, after undergoing repairs, she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet as a fighter director. On April 16, 1945, during a Japanese Kukusui raid, the Laffey was attacked by 22 bombers and kamikaze, killing 32 men and wounding 71 of the 336 crewmembers. The heroic crew shot down 9 kamikaze and saved the damaged ship, earning her the nickname, “The Ship That Would Not Die.” |
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| From the Laffey we went to the Vietnam Experience, which is a 2.5 acre exhibit set in a Naval support base during the Tet Offensive in 1968. As realistic as they tried to make it I'm sure the real thing was much worse. |
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| On the way into the area there was a Cobra helicopter, but not the same as John worked on. |
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| They showed a seven minute film on the battles around Khe Sanh. That was an awful time. On Saturday we relaxed. On Sunday the others left and we relaxed some more. Unfortunately, on Monday we had to hitch up and head for home. It was good to see friends again and visit. Enjoyed the time around the campfires for sure! In a few months we'll be... Roving on. For by Him all things were created that
are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were
created through Him and for Him. Colossians
1:16 |
