The USS Hornet

Glad we found you. As one of the most storied aircraft carriers in our history as the launching platform of the Doolittle Raid, in which we struck back at Imperial Japan for their attack on Pearl Harbor...we thought you'd been lost forever, but now, as we see you beneath the ocean waves, our elation knows no bounds.From Midway to the Santa Cruz Islands and the infamous raid on Tokyo by Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle, you gave us your best and gave us everything a ship could give.Your loss to us was so devastating at the time that we fought like hell to ensure you were the last carrier we ever lost during World War 2. With your memory in their hearts, the men and women of the greatest generation continued to take the fight to Imperial Japan and gave them hell all across the Pacific Ocean.And now we see you once again, like greeting an old friend. We see in you a place where history was made by James Doolittle and the pilots under his command. It would be around 3 long years of brutal fighting before we'd get close to striking at Tokyo again, you did it first.Many people won't get it. They won't understand that though it is a ship made of steel and wood, inanimate in all it's facets, for those who spent time aboard it, the ship has a soul, what wonderous joy it must be to be reunited with the USS Hornet who served us as best she could and did all that we asked of her and more. Defending the skies, taking the fight to the enemy...now that we've found you, we can honor you properly, honor the sacrifice of those who gave their lives while serving on the USS Hornet.