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Haunting

The Hornet was involved in many fierce sea battles starting in 1944. Some of them included raids on Tinian and Saipan, and the Battle of The Philippine Sea.

Hornet again departed for full-scale aerial assaults on Tokyo, then supported the amphibious landing assault on Iwo Jima 19-20 February 1945.

Hornet helped cover the evacuation of Vietnamese from the Communist controlled north to freedom in South Vietnam, then ranged from Japan to Formosa, Okinawa, and the Philippines in readiness training with the 7th fleet. She returned to San Diego 10 December 1965 and entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard the following month for conversion that included a hurricane bow and the installation of an angled flight deck which permits the simultaneous launching and recovery of aircraft.

In the following years, Hornet was regularly deployed to the 7th fleet for operations ranging from the coast of South Vietnam, to the shores of Japan. Hornet was the recovery carrier for the Apollo 11 moon mission during which astronauts Neil Armstrong, and Edwin Aldrin Jr., landed on and walked on the moon in July 1969.

Picture Source: NASA

 

Hornet was decommissioned 26 June 1970.

Over 300 people lost their lives on this ship over the many years she was in service. Today the ship is docket at Alameda, California and is a museum.

There are many reports by visitors of spectral sailors walking the decks and disappearing, of doors opening and closing without anyone being visible and voices of non existent people. The ghost of Adm. Joseph James Clark, who commanded the carrier in the war is said to have been seen by many people. The funny part of this story is that people who work with the ship are reporting more ghosts than ever. Some say it is almost as if the ship as become a focal point for hauintings.

An electrician named Derek Lyon-McKeil was interviewed by Naval History Magazine and here is what he had to say:

"We'd all just bunked down, and we had a rule. No exploring. All of a sudden, I heard this banging noise like someone was opening the hatches who shouldn't have been. Peter Clayton, our supervisor, came charging around, saying, "Okay, who's sneaking around opening hatches?" We realized that everyone in the group was there. As we were all standing there staring at each other, we heard it again. At that point, we were pretty secure. It couldn't have been anyone who'd gotten aboard."

Some of the tour guides state that they can feel a presence every time they go on the ship, but that the ghosts are friendly. The Hornet has even made it to TV. There have been several shows about hauntings involving the Hornet including one on MTV which was part of the FEAR series. Does the fact that everyone has their eye on the Hornet add to the haunting legend? Many experts seem to think this is the case. This ship is sometimes know as the "Grey Ghost", but don't read too much into this as the USS Lexington is know as the 'Blue Ghost".

One hapless tourist was using the restroom and reported being slapped on the back of the head, but no one was there. Another reported seeing sailors walking down stairs and just disappearing. Ann Golemac, a clairvoyant, went aboard the ship and reported that she felt the presence of spirits.

Well if you have nothing to do some day, and live in the California area, why not take a look at the Hornet, you never know who you might meet.