Crew of USS Yorktown to participate in events
Published 5:35 pm Wednesday, October 16, 2019
- Mary “Miss Mary” Mathews, the ship’s sponsor, waves a flag for the USS Yorktown as it returns to town in this undated photo. A wreath-laying at her gravesite is among the activities planned for Yorktown Day. (submitted photo)
The crew of the USS Yorktown will return to historic Yorktown to participate in local Yorktown Day events on Oct. 18-19.
To commemorate this event and the service of the USS Yorktown, the USS Yorktown (CG-48) Association is opening a special exhibit of memorabilia from the ship with a short program presented by the Commissioning Commander, Capt. Carl Anderson, at 1 p.m. Oct. 18 in the York County Historical Museum at York Hall, 301 Main St. This special exhibit is available Oct. 18 from 1 to 3:15 p.m., Oct. 19 from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., and Oct. 20, from 1 to 3:15 p.m. Entrance to the museum and exhibits is free.
On Oct. 18 at 5 p.m., a wreath laying ceremony is planned to honor the ship’s sponsor, Mary “Miss Mary” Mathews, at her gravesite near the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. Miss Mary was the only naturalized citizen to sponsor a U.S. Navy ship. When the ship would return to Yorktown following deployments, the crew played “God Bless America” over the sound system and salute Miss Mary as she stood on the shore waving an American flag. The wreath laying is open to the public.
On Oct. 19, the USS Yorktown (CG-48) Association is participating in the 10:30 a.m. parade on Main Street and the 11:15 a.m. patriotic services at the Victory Monument. These events are free. To view the schedule of Yorktown Day events, visit https://bit.ly/33fcYiu.
The second guided missile cruiser in the Ticonderoga Class, the USS Yorktown was commissioned at the pier of Naval Weapons Station Yorktown on July 4, 1984. The ship protected America over the next 20 years until it was decommissioned and struck on Dec. 10, 2004. The ship is berthed at the Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia.
