Bruce Orr - Ghosts of the USS Yorktown: The Phantoms of Patriots Point

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2012 by Bruce Orr

All rights reserved

First published 2012

e-book edition 2012

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.61423.721.1

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

print ISBN 978.1.60949.781.1

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Greater love has no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13American King James Version

In Memory of Scott Arrington,

Sailor, Surfer, Warrior, Friend

Killed by a careless driver

Although you and I never got to toast our two getting married and you will not hold the child that will make us both grandfathers, we all know you are with us always.

I know you loved surfing the sea as much as I love diving below its surface And we love those children of ours equally

To all those who made the ultimate sacrifice

Serving our country and protecting our freedom

CONTENTS

PREFACE

RESPECT, HONOR AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION

After researching and writing my first book, Six Miles to Charleston, I discovered that, at times, the history behind hauntings can be far more intriguing than the legends themselves. I also realized that many of the stories that I grew up with were not preserved in written form and risked disappearing and being lost to future generations. Because of this, I formed a company, Lost in Legend, with the intent of preserving the folklore and legends of my community and state. I approached the subject in a manner in which I preserved the folklore yet incorporated the actual history behind the legend into the story. Thus our motto Never let the facts get lost in the legend was drafted. We focus on the history behind the haunting. I have done that with all my works, and this book will be no different.

During its existence, Lost and Legend has grown to include not only the preservation of our folklore, legends and ghost tales, but it has also included the historic conservation of our artifacts, buildings and legacies.

I have a deep respect for history and a deeper respect for our military and all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we take for granted. To have developed the reputation of being able to weave historic fact with ghost tales in a dignified manner is something that I have worked hard at staying true to. To have that recognized and being entrusted to do so with such monuments to military and maritime history such as the USS Yorktown is an honor.

I am a retired law enforcement investigator. Investigations have always been something I loved. Many years ago, as a young patrol officer I was ecstatic to have been selected to become a detective in my agencys Criminal Investigative Division (CID). My supervisor, Senior Sergeant Hubert Buddy Lloyd, was the first to congratulate me, and I still have the handwritten note that he posted in the South District Squad Room for all to see. He recognized that being selected to CID was a turning point in my career, and he made sure that he was the very first to congratulate me.

Buddy Lloyd was a man who had taken an interest in me not only as a young officer, but also as a friend. He realized that I was a struggling young father trying to make ends meet. He also realized that for that very reason that young man was missing meals at work to pay the bills at home. He often traded a barbecue sandwich for assistance in administrative work or a hamburger for a detailed wash job on his cruiser after my shift was over.

Two years after transferring to the Criminal Investigative Division, I was leaving one afternoon and ran into Buddy Lloyd in the parking lot. He had since been placed over the aviation unit, and as he approached, I could see his flight suit was stretched rather tightly across his midsection. I approached him and slapped him on his round belly, stating, You had better lose some weight before your fat ass crashes and burns in that copter, old man. He laughed at me and told me I was not in the best shape myself. I got into my unmarked car and drove away to a much-needed vacation, not realizing that those were the last words I would ever say to my friend.

A few days into my vacation, I received a phone call in Indiana and was advised that the agencys helicopter had gone missing while on a mission searching for the Lowcountry serial rapist. The elusive rapist had terrorized the area for a number of years and was responsible for approximately thirty sexual assaults on women throughout Berkeley, Dorchester and Charleston Counties. Now it seemed that he was inadvertently responsible for the disappearance of two of my friends.

I immediately returned from my vacation and joined my friend Rick Presnell and over three hundred others in a search-and-rescue operation for Buddy and his spotter, Bill Nalley. It was believed that the black helicopter had gone down in the dense woods adjacent to the airport and that the two on board may possibly be injured and still alive. Four days later, we located the wreckage and our hopes of a rescue turned into a recovery operation as Senior Sergeant Buddy Lloyds and Deputy Bill Nalleys remains were removed from the woods.

Ironically, Buddy had died in the manner in which I had kidded him about. The investigation revealed that the helicopter had been overweight, and Buddy had attempted to return to the airport. Due to poor visibility, it had clipped the top of one of the trees, spun out of control and was destroyed in a fiery crash. On June 7, 1992, twenty years ago to the date that I am writing this, Buddy and Bill became part of Lowcountry history when they died in the line of duty searching for a serial rapist. That man, Duncan Proctor, was later captured and is serving two consecutive life sentences for his crimes. My friends paid the ultimate price in a mission they were dedicated to. When over three hundred of us united in our search, we were dedicated to our mission also. We were determined to bring them home, and we did.

I have told that story because I am often asked about the engraved aluminum blue band that I wear around my wrist. It is a memorial band that honors a supervisor who fed his young subordinate barbecue sandwiches because he knew he did not have the money to feed himself while putting food on the table for his family. He also knew the young man had too much pride to accept a handout, and out of respect, he found a way to make him work for it.

I know about respect. Buddy Lloyd was one of many who taught me its formula: it must be given in order to be earned. I also know about honor. It comes when one has learned the formula for respect.

As I left a planning meeting for this project, my elevator opened onto the Hangar Deck aboard the USS Yorktown. I have always had a fascination with World War II aircraft, and for reasons unknown, I have always been drawn to the F4U