Just one of many things done in defense of your freedom.

I thought this would be a great way to share our common belief in the courage of our Military. This is a letter from my cousin. He was addressing a desire of his own son, David, who wanted to learn more about my Uncle, Lt. Cdr. Paul B. Hesch, my Mother's brother. I hope to visit this ship when next in Charleston, SC. Please do the same...and touch the name of a member of my family who gave his life so that we all could enjoy the life that we have today. Let's give thanks.


'Dear Family,
        My son, David expressed an interest in his great-uncle Paul Hesch and asked for the details.  As Bob Hesch knows from his visit to the Yorktown at her historical mooring in Charleston, SC, Uncle Paul is list on a plaque showing the losses among the ship's crew.  Below is an extract from the historical record of USS Yorktown (CV-10).  The two italic bold entries are the family history insertions.  AIR BOSS is the Navy short title for an aircraft carrier's flight deck commander.
         REGARDS,  RUSS' 

LSO Lt Dick Tripp USS Yorktown (CV-10) with F6F

 Ships reunion...









         'The fourth Yorktown (CV-10) was laid down on 1 December 1941 at Newport News, Va., by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. as Bon Homme Richard; renamed Yorktown on 26 September 1942; launched on 21 January 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt; and commissioned on 15 April 1943 at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Capt. Joseph J. ("Jocko") Clark in command.
         Yorktown remained in the Norfolk area until 21 May 1943 at which time she got underway for shakedown ...  ...   ...   She transited the Panama Canal on 11 July and departed Balboa on the 12th.   It is very likely that Uncle Ray Hesch, a Navy employee and diver in the canal zone saw this transit of his brother's ship. The warship arrived in Pearl Harbor on 24 July 1943 and began a month of exercises in the Hawaiian Islands. On 22 August, she stood out of Pearl Harbor, bound for her first combat of the war. ...   ... 
  http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/histories/cv10-yorktown/cv10-yorktown.html  
 ...   ...   arrived back in Eniwetok on 31 October 1944. She departed the lagoon on 1 November and arrived at Ulithi on the 3d. There, she reported for duty with TG 38.4. That task group left Ulithi on 6 November, and Yorktown departed with it.

        On 7 November, the aircraft carrier changed operational control to TG 38.1 and, for the next two weeks, launched air strikes on targets in the Philippines in support of the Leyte invasion. Detached from the task force on 23 November, Yorktown arrived back in Ulithi on the 24th. She remained there until 10 December at which time she put to sea to rejoin TF 38. She rendezvoused with the other carriers on 13 December and began launching air strikes on targets on the island of Luzon in preparation for the invasion of that island scheduled for the second week in January 1945.   While preparing for a pre-dawn launch on December 15, LtCdr Paul B Hesch, Flight Deck Commander slipped on an oil slick and died instantly when he fell through a propeller.  He was buried at sea later that day. On December 17, the task force began its retirement from the Luzon strikes. During that retirement, TF 38 steamed through the center of the famous typhoon of December 1944. That storm sank three destroyers, USS Spence (DD-512), USS Hull (DD-350), and USS Monaghan (DD-354), and Yorktown participated in some of the rescue operations for the survivors of those three destroyers. She did not finally clear the vicinity of Luzon until the 23d. The warship arrived back in Ulithi on 24 December.'

What did your Uncle do in the War?



        'The aircraft carrier fueled and provisioned at Ulithi until 30 December 1944 at which time she returned to sea to join TF 38 on strikes at targets in the Philippines in support of the landings at Lingayen. The carriers opened the show on 3 January 1945 with raids on airfields on the island of Formosa.   ...   ...   ...   On 8 and 9 August 1945, the carrier launched her planes at northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido. On the 10th, she sent them back to Tokyo. The 11th and 12th brought another fueling retirement and a typhoon evasion, but, on the 13th, her aircraft hit Tokyo for the last time. On the 14th, she retired to fuel destroyers again; and, on the 15th, Japan agreed to capitulate so that all strikes planned for that day were canceled....'  

Visit the Yorktown Today! 

I hope to see you there! 
Pat