Ghosts and Memories from WWII to Vietnam
By Nate Gartrell
In 1969, after they splashed into the Pacific Ocean following humanity’s first trip to the moon, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were greeted by the USS Hornet, a ship made famous by its combat record during World War II.
Today, anyone in the Bay Area can visit the great ship at its final resting place, the Jimmy Doolittle Pier in the city of Alameda. The USS Hornet—decommissioned after its final mission picking up the Apollo 12 crew—is permanently docked in the East Bay where it has become a museum, as well as a venue for all kinds of events. “It preserves the history. Our motto is to preserve, educate and inspire,” said USS Hornet Communications Manager Rainie Lao. “The ship is restored based on when it was decommissioned. Everything is the same, everything you can see now is how it was in the 1970s.”
The USS Hornet is an Essex class aircraft carrier, built during the heat of World War II. From its commission date in 1943 to its final mission in 1970, the Hornet managed to touch on so many different pieces of United States history. Although it is best known for its involvement in the Apollo missions, the Hornet survived dozens of attacks, and was heavily involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. It was also deployed during the Vietnam War.
Including the Hornet, there are only four aircraft carriers available to the public, and only one of them—the USS Midway, docked in San Diego—is on the West Coast. “People don’t expect to see so many things here. They might plan to stay for one to two hours but will end up spending the whole day here because there is so much to see,” Rainie said. “You can’t even see the whole ship in a day. That’s why people tend to come back.”
Not only is the Hornet a living piece of history, but the people who work there are too. Several of the docents were there when the Apollo 11 landed, and experienced the historic moment firsthand. “You can talk to them if you come aboard on certain dates,” Rainie said. “Most of them were young at the time, and now they’re in their 70s.”
The Hornet is a gigantic ship—almost as long as the RMS Titanic—and features at least 11 decks for the public. Seven decks are made available to the general public, including the flight deck. Others are opened during special events. The museum includes a training landing module from the Apollo 11 mission, as well as numerous exhibits on the military history of the ship. “People love science,” Rainie said. “If you tell them about World War II history they might not know much, but if you tell them about Apollo, they will be very interested. It’s for everyone.”
“We want to preserve the ship’s history,” she continued. “It is forgotten by a lot of people.” A previous USS Hornet ship, which sank in 1943, was involved in the first US attack on Japanese soil, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Nicknamed the “Jimmy Doolittle Raid,” the attack was kept secret by President Franklin Roosevelt for more than a year. Coincidentally, former Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Doolittle is a distant relative of the late general, as a reporter discovered in 2013.
The raid—and the Alameda pier where the USS Hornet sits—was named after Gen. James Doolittle, who planned and led the raid and was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The raid was launched from the Alameda pier.
“From the deck of the carrier Hornet, at 0825 hours on April 18, 1942, (then) Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle led a flight of sixteen B-25 bombers on a daring raid over Japan,” a plaque at the pier reads. “Hitting targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, and other cities, scoring a huge victory.”
However, not all of the ship’s past is as black and white as a history book; there are rumored to be “haunted” areas of the ship, according to Rainie, prompting the folks who run the Hornet’s museum to offer up “Paranormal Tours.” Their popularity has spread like crazy. “It’s a small group, so we’ll have around 30 people,” Rainie said. “No one is on the ship except you guys, and the docents will bring you everywhere that is reported as being haunted, and they’ll use some kind of machine to try to detect them.”
As noted in previous issues of Local Happenings, paranormal tours have caught on all over the Bay Area. Nowhere else, however, can those in search of spirits get to explore the depths of a World War II ship. “If you’re interested in ghosts or paranormal activities this is the one for you,” Rainie said. “That is the most popular tour on board.”
The Hornet also offers overnight stays, and flashlight tours where visitors get to see places where most folks aren’t allowed. “We’ll bring you to areas that aren’t usually open, like the combat information center on the ship,” Rainie said.
The Hornet accommodates large events and tours, from several hundred people to several thousand. One of the most popular, which just wrapped up this year, was the July 4th event, where folks are invited to watch firework shows all over the Bay Area from atop the Hornet’s flight deck. For this year, more than 2,000 people attended. “We have the best view,” Rainie said. “The backdrop is the San Francisco skyline. You can see all around San Francisco, Oakland, and Alameda. It’s the best location.”
The Hornet also hosts events, live music, and dances, including an upcoming October dance with a Halloween theme. “That is also one of our most popular events. You can swing dance there, and we offer ghost tours as well,” Rainie said. “People will dress up for Halloween, and there is vintage music. Last year it was 1940s music, like jazz and blues.”
On August 4th, a traveling exhibit is coming to the Hornet, where it will remain through October 15th. It is called Mail Call, and it deals with an element of military service that is not well talked about—illustrating the sacrifices made by those who serve, the history of the military’s postal system, and the efforts to get letters between those serving overseas and their loved ones. “A name is shouted out, and a parcel is handed through the crowd to its eager recipient—mail call is a moment when the front line and home front connect,” a news release on the exhibit reads. “Letters, news and packages from home unite families, boost morale and, in wartime, elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.”
The USS Hornet is open every day except Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is docked at pier number 3 at 707 West Hornet Avenue in Alameda, near Old Alameda Point. For additional information, call (510) 521-8448, or visit www.uss-hornet.org. You can follow them on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.
Nate Gartrell grew up in Benicia, studied journalism in college, and has written for a handful of media outlets since age 15. He aspires to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums and to hit the trifecta at the horse track.
