Cummings...and goings...: Week in Review: USS Lexington and Lamardi Gras

Sunday February 3 dawned a bit overcast with temperature at 59 degrees when we got up. By 1:30 they had reached 71 and the humidity was about as high. Following church at First Baptist Church of Rockport and our weekly breakfast at Caroline’s Turtle Bay Café we headed to the Aransas Pass Civic Center to take in the Coastal Bend Wood Carvers Show. (Yes, we did get home before the start of the Super Bowl.)

WOW! There were some amazing pieces! The pieces were formed from one piece of wood, no glue allowed. As you can see from these photos, talent abounds.

Magnolia blossom, carved on its stand from one block of wood,
then hand painted.

Iris, carved on its stand from one block of wood,
then hand painted.

Butterflies and a dragonfly, carved on its stand from one block of wood,
then hand painted.

Knots, carved from one block of wood..

This and the one below were carved by the same artist. The girl in this"
one is his daughter; the music is the first phrase of "Amazing Grace."

Carved from one block of wood, this took over 700 hours to produce.
We were in awe.

Temperatures, on Monday stayed in the mid-60s to mid-70s, so the day was quite pleasant. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze. We said farewell to our newfound friends Bruce and Louise from Nova Scotia, who were heading to the Brownsville, TX area. During our walk we saw what appeared to be a cow moose lying down—but ha! It was just bushes growing that way. (In one of our earlier blogs we posted a photo of a driftwood giraffe, so we thought we’d continue our menagerie of “natural wildlife.”) Later that day I gave Dick another haircut.

Tuesday morning I attended the weekly “stitch and …..” session at 9 a.m., followed by an RV seminar at 11 a.m. in the clubhouse, with Dick, Jill and Del (our friends whom we met in Ashdown, AR in November). Marvin and Shirley Oetjen, our friends and RV neighbors from Carterville, IL (who own an RV dealership there) put it on. Quite informative, and we learned quite a bit, which was a good thing for us “newbies.”

Then came the rains, on Wednesday morning, starting at 1:15 a.m. with a thunderstorm. What a deluge! When it was over, by mid-afternoon, we had received 3 ½”. Wow! While I went shopping with Jill during the storm, and had pedicures, Dick stayed home and dealt with leaking rear windows that developed while I was gone. Yuk! That evening we attended an Italian dinner in the clubhouse and played Mexican Train Dominoes with Jill and Del. What a fun game! It’s on our list to purchase.

We also got word that my mom had fallen while shoveling snow, and had cut her head quite badly. As of today (Sunday) she’s still in the hospital, but hopefully she’ll be released within the next day or so. We’re so thankful for my brother Rich, his wife Karen, and niece MacKenzie, who are in the same town as she, and watch out for her. We covet your prayers for Mom’s quick recovery and complete healing.

Thursday our friends Jill and Del went with us to see the USS Lexington, a decommissioned World War II air craft carrier, now a museum, docked in Corpus Christi. Another WOW! We were glad we followed Marvin’s advice and took the day to see it. We arrived there about 10 a.m. and left about 4 p.m.

Following is just some of what we learned about the USS Lexington.

The Lexington was commissioned in February 1943 seeing extensive service through the Pacific War. She was the recipient of 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. Following the war Lexington was decommissioned, but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950s, being reclassified as an attack carrier. Later she was reclassified as an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific, but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, on the east coast as a training carrier.

The USS Lexington served on active duty for 40 years, during which she has had the distinction of five designations:

1943: Aircraft Carrier

1952: Attack Aircraft Carrier (retired)

1962: Antisubmarine Aircraft Carrier (retired)

1969: Training Aircraft Carrier

1978: Auxiliary Aircraft Landing Training Ship

U.S.S. Lexington CV 16

The Blue Ghost

“During her tour in World War II, Lexington was nick-named ‘the Blue Ghost’ by the Japanese who, whenever they claimed to have sent her to the bottom of the Pacific, found her cruising again in their back yard. Tokyo Rose, a radio propagandist, had personally and repeatedly sent her to the bottom. ‘It was a ghost,’ she said, ‘a blue ghost.’ Lady Lex was the only carrier not camouflaged. She maintained her original blue-gray color. Japanese pilots would report that they had seen, hit and sunk a great blue ship. This happened four times.”

She was decommissioned in 1991, and opened as a museum on Corpus Christi Beach on October 14, 1992. Offering more than just a tour of the ship, Lexington serves as a link to the past through exhibits that honor and memorialize those who served our country, the vessels they served on, the planes they flew and the battles they fought.

Thought you’d be interested in Lexington’s current vital stats (after her 1955 refit):

Overall length: 894’6”

Length at waterline: 820’

Beam at widest: 66’10”

Beam at waterline: 103’

Height (waterline to flight deck): 52’

Draft (hull below water): 30’4”

Full-load displacement: 43,000 tons

Speed: 30.5 knots (just over 35 mph)

Here are some fun facts, too (as of 1991):

· Lexington is as tall as a 19 story building, and as long as three New York City blocks.

· Lexington carried enough gasoline to drive your car around the world 132 times and enough fuel to sail nonstop a distance of 30,000 miles.

· You could play three football games or 14 basketball games at the same time on her flight deck.

· You could park 1,000 cars on her flight deck.

· Lexington has more sleeping space than the largest hotel in the world.

· Lexington can produce enough electric power to supply a city of 150,000.

In 1975 and 1987, Lexington, with the blessing and cooperation of the Navy, served as a filming location at sea. The films were the feature movie Midway and the TV miniseries War and Remembrance. In both cases the ship was altered to the extent possible to resemble other vessels, the USS Enterprise for War and Remembrance, and USS Yorktown and for Midway, by adding anti-aircraft cannons and operating World War II vintage Navy aircraft. Lexington was also used (though tied up to her pier) for filming of the 2001 film Pearl Harbor, where she was altered to resemble a Japanese carrier.

In July 2007 the popular TV show Ghost Hunters filmed aboard the USS Lexington looking for evidence of ghosts, and in December 2009 was the subject of an episode of Ghost Lab, on the Discovery Channel.

USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi.

With friends Jill and Dell in front of the Lexington's bell.
Presented to USS Lexington by Bethlehem Steel Co. in 1943,
this brass bell weighs 1,100 lbs.

The "Island," with the Japanese Rising Sun flag indicating where
the USS Lexington was hit by a kamikaze pilot at 250 mph.
50 crew members were killed and 132 injured. The flames
were under control within 20 minutes and flights resumed.

Twin 5" / 38 Caliber MK 38 Gun Mount

Original teakwood decking on the Port side elevator.
Read more details above.

Overlooking Bofor's 40mm Quad Guns, each requiring
a 10-man crew. The USS Lexington had 15 40mm quad mounts.
The "pods" hanging from the side are inflatable 15-man
life rafts, each equipped with survival gear.

Dick decided to "walk the plank."

Blue Angel A-4F Skyhawk

T-28B Trojan

T-2C Buckeye

Bell Helicopter AH-1S Cobra

A-7B Corsair II

Grumman F9F-8T Cougar

McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee

A-4 (A-4B) Skyhawk

T-34B Mentor

The Bugs Bunny Minuteman was created by
shipmate Donald Foster, who was hired by
Warner Brothers Studio after the war.
Bugs Bunny went on to become one of
their most famous cartoon characters.

Schematic of the ship's firemains, sprinklers and foam systems. Others
were displayed showing electrical schematics and bulkheads
including damage control sets of charts.

Dick wanted to experience "the Brig."

Air Command Center

Ready Room.

Sick bay. During WWII, the medical facility had 49 beds, staffed by
5 flight surgeons, 2 administrative officers, and 32 hospital corpsmen.
Sick bay also maintained all medical histories, and documented all
illnesses and injuries. As personnel left the military, their records
were made available to the Veterans' Administration

One of the ship's dental chairs in one of the three procedure
rooms. Nearly every type of dental procedure could be performed
on board, from routine cleanings to fillings, extractions and more.

A sailor's job is never done.

This Knot Board was made by
Utah Hamilton, Chief Bo'sun's Mate. While at sea he
learned more than 3,668 knots during off-duty time. This board
shows just some of the most popular ones.

Precursor to the travel trailer?? This storage unit could be
used for dog kennels, bunks, showers,
refrigerators, laundries, command posts, to name a few.
They have electrical systems, plumbing, are well
insulated and can be set up by 2 people in 15-20 minutes.

Pilothouse

The Hobart mixer; lots of bread was "kneaded"
(ha!) for the crew. The Mess Hall was open 24/7.

One of the tables from the Fantail salvaged from the USS Saratoga.

Ship's Chapel

Honoring those who gave their lives...

When we returned home from Corpus Christi we took a load off for a couple of hours then went to Panjo’s for pizza – REALLY GOOD!

Friday was a very pleasant day with temperatures in the mid- to upper 60s. Good day to kick back and do stuff around the trailer. Dick caulked the rear windows, hoping to keep the water out during the next downpour. I read and did some knitting.

We woke to rain showers on Saturday, the day we had decided to go to Lamar, TX to the “LaMardi Gras” celebration, which benefits the Lamar Volunteer Fire Department. Got to Lamar in time to catch the beginning of the parade. All entrants tossed Mardi Gras beads—we caught quite a few. I was thinking that I might need physical therapy afterwards, as they got to be really heavy! Spent the entire afternoon there, listening to a great band (Cruise Control) that played everything from The Beatles and Journey, to Sugarland, Van Morrison, Pat Benatar, KC and the Sunshine Band, and more. Ate BBQ ribs, jambalaya, and shrimp. Then, played blackjack for a few hours ($10 bought $500 in chips, all going to the benefit). Such fun! (The rain held off with only a bit of a drizzle during the parade.)