April Slaughter (26 page)

IF YOU’VE NEVER BEEN ABOARD an aircraft carrier, you’ve missed out on a truly awe-inspiring experience. I have always been mystified by how these massive ships stay afloat. I know there is a science to it, but nevertheless, they always impress me each time I have the opportunity to see one.

The USS
Lexington
was built during World War II for the United States Navy as one of twenty-four Essex-class aircraft carriers. Its designated name was to be the USS
Cabot
, but changed to the USS
Lexington
after the ship originally bearing that name was sunk in the Coral Sea. The 910-foot carrier was commissioned in February 1943 and went on to serve the United States longer than any other carrier in our nation’s history. The ship was engaged in twenty-one out of twenty-four battles during World War II, and over three hundred of its men were lost in the war.

Unlike its sister ships, the
Lexington
was painted blue, earning it the nickname “the Blue Ghost.” The Japanese reported that they had sunk the carrier at least four times, yet it reappeared to engage them in battle once again after every attempt to sink it.

After serving the United States Navy in various capacities, The USS
Lexington
CV-16 was permanently decommissioned on November 8, 1991. The ship was donated to the state of Texas in 1992 and currently operates as the USS Lexington Museum On the Bay. The ship was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2003.

Allen’s father and stepmother live in Corpus Christi, so we often have the opportunity of visiting the area. When we mapped out all of the places around town we’d like to see, the USS
Lexington
was at the top of our list. Allen had passed by the ship many times, but he had not yet been able to tour it. Our time schedule was limited, so we knew we had only a matter of hours on the ship before heading to our next destination.

We arrived just as the museum opened at nine o’clock in the morning, and as we drove up the ramp to the parking area adjacent to the ship, Allen reached his hand over to my face and gently pushed my lower jaw upward. I didn’t realize that my mouth had been wide open as I sat there in silent awe.

“It’s like a skyscraper lying on its side!” I exclaimed.

We parked and stepped out of the car, all staring upward at the massive structure we were about to board. For just a moment, I thought,
Man! I want to join the Navy!
I quickly recovered after remembering how hard military life could be sometimes. Still, if anything would ever have inspired me to join the military, this ship would have been it.

The self-guided tour began as we walked across an aircraft elevator into a hangar bay. Eleven decks and 100,000 square feet of the ship are open to the public to tour. The day I visited,
I happened to be wearing one of my group’s t-shirts with The Paranormal Source written across the front of it. We were standing out on the main deck looking at different aircraft when a group of young people noticed my shirt and asked me about it. I told them who we were and what we were about, and they were instantly intrigued.

“Is this ship really haunted?” asked a young man.

“A lot of people believe it is, yes,” I answered.

For years, those who have come to tour the USS
Lexington
have reported encounters with an entity in the engine room of the ship referred to simply as “Charlie.” He is a polite young man with striking blue eyes, and is always willing to share information on how everything in the engine room operates. His knowledge and demeanor have captivated people so much that they have often spent more time in that one room than anywhere else on the ship. The sailor is described as being dressed in his white uniform and walks with a slight limp in his left leg. Of course, when he is seen it is not immediately apparent that he is a ghost, and visitors are shocked to learn after the tour is over that no volunteer or staff member fitting his description actually mans the engine room.

“I’ve heard about him before,” said one of the young men we’d just met. “They actually have a webcam set up online where you can view a live feed of the engine room. There are several creepy pictures on the Internet of spirits caught on that camera.”

I have seen some of those images. One in particular had me staring at it for hours trying to deconstruct it to see if it had been faked. I could find no fault or alteration in the still shot taken from the webcam. It was not the young man in a white uniform as others had reported, but there is most definitely a man in the shot in a WWII uniform. The details are clear in the picture, right down to the buttons on his clothes. I wish I could get my
hands on the raw file, just to verify its authenticity. In any case, people from all over the country have relayed stories of encountering a ghost in the engine room.

One of the young women in the group said she thought she was in the middle of a reenactment one day while touring the ship several years back.

“I was walking down one of the narrow hallways toward the front of the ship,” she said, “and about five men in uniform ran past me yelling stuff at each other. I just stood there up against the wall and watched them until they were out of sight. None of them even acknowledged that I was there, like they didn’t even see me.”

“Were they solid? Did any of them brush up against you at all?” I asked.

“They looked solid, but no. None of them touched me at all. They just ran by me and then it was over. They were gone. At first, I thought they were practicing something dramatic for a re-enactment, but it was over so quickly and I didn’t see them again so I wasn’t sure what happened.”

The experience seemed to be more residual than any other type of paranormal phenomenon. It was as if she was seeing a moment in the past play out right in front of her.

Residual activity on the
Lexington
is a common occurrence. The ship’s historian, Judith Whipple, has heard several accounts from visitors who have seen apparitions of sailors walking through doorways that are no longer there but that used to lead into other passageways in the past.

Mechanical parts that are no longer operational have been heard as if they were up and running. When volunteers or staff members have gone to inspect the equipment, nothing appears to have changed.

Not every paranormal experience aboard the ship has been residual. Another popular story is that of a painting crew hard
at work restoring part of the ship. After having taken a short break, the crew returned to their work area only to find that their job had been completed for them in their absence. People have heard disembodied voices in nearly every section of the ship without seeing anyone around that might be responsible for them.

One of the biggest mysteries to me is the manner in which paranormal specters sometimes appear. Some apparitions seem more fluid and translucent, as if they are floating through the air. Most people believe this is what a ghost would typically look like if they saw one. I know from my own past experience that a ghost can look just as real and solid as you or I, and can even be mistaken for a living, breathing person. Some visitors and staff at the
Lexington
have seen both transparent apparitions and solid ones.

I wonder if it is a matter of choice. In other words, does the spirit of a deceased person decide how he or she will appear to the living? Is it like picking out what outfit to wear, or is it simply a matter of the energy or other resources available to them to manifest? I wonder if we as human beings can even fully perceive them in their entirety to begin with. We have very limited senses, and our physical and biological make up might have a lot to do with how we see and experience the paranormal.

I know that, as investigators, we sometimes become frustrated with the inconsistency and lack of a phenomenon’s longevity. I think we have a long way to go before we can even partly understand what is going on around us at any given moment. I have dreams that one day, we’ll be able to pick up the phone and call our late relatives as if they had their own direct line, or ask them to come by one afternoon to sit on the couch and talk about how things are in
their
world.

How I would love to walk along the deck of the USS
Lexington
with a sailor who fought in WWII and hear all of his
stories of hardship and camaraderie. I’d like to shake his hand and thank him, along with every other military veteran, for their dedication to their country. History would have no holes, and ghosts would not be the feared phantoms in our closets or under our beds. Instead, they could heal our hearts and keep the ones we love accessible to us. I am a dreamer, but it is thoughts like these that keep me searching for answers that have yet to be found, and to turn the “unknown” into the “known.”

The USS
Lexington
is one of my favorite places to visit. Whether or not I will ever have the opportunity to experience the phenomena so many others have while aboard, I’ll keep on believing that Charlie and the other spirits attached to this amazing piece of U.S. naval history will be there to welcome me upon my return.

2705 W. Sixth Avenue
Amarillo, TX 79106
Phone: (806) 220-0251
Website:
www.myspace.com/thenatbookstore
Bookstore is open Wed.-Sat. noon to 7 P.M.
For a visit to the ballroom, ask to speak with Branden.

709 Main Street
Matador, TX 79244
Phone: (806) 347-2234 (County Courthouse)
Please contact the county courthouse to schedule a visitation time.

Located on the east side of FM 600, in Jones County.
Follow FM Road 600 and exit I-20. Go 11 miles north.
Phone: (325) 677-1309
Website:
www.fortphantom.org/fort/ftphantm.nsf/home?openpage
Open daily to the public from dawn until dusk.

225 West Main Street
Archer City, TX 76351
Phone: (940) 574-2700
Website:
www.lonesomedoveinn.com/index.html
Please call for nightly rates and availability.

Located on N. Denton Street
Gainesville, TX 76240
Website:
www.hillhousemanor.com
Please e-mail [email protected] for reservation times and rates.
Exact address is given when a reservation is confirmed.

No exact address listed.
Located over Hickory Creek on Copper Canyon Road in Denton
GPS Coordinates: 33°07'46" N, 97°06'15" W
Common area / Open to the public

112 E. Exchange Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76164
Phone: (817) 624-2222
Website:
www.fortworthstockyards.org/business_page.aspx?fwsy_id=5&sort=59
Open Wed.-Fri. 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Sat. and Sun. 8:30 A.M. to varying closing time
Closed Mon. and Tues.

1925 Elm Street
Dallas, TX 75201
Phone: (214) 880-0137
Website:
www.liveatthemajestic.com
Please contact box office for performance dates and times.

1515 S. Harwood Street
Dallas, TX 75215-1273
Phone: (214) 428-5448
Website:
www.dallasheritagevillage.org/VisitorInformation.aspx
Open daily at 1:30 P.M. for public tours.
Admission prices to the park vary by season.

209 W. Moore Avenue
Terrell, TX 75160
Phone: (972) 563-5481
Website:
www.bookscrannies.com
Open Mon.-Thurs. 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Sat. 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Closed Sun.

814 Water Street
Waxahachie, TX 75165
Phone: (972) 937-9468
Website:
www.catfishplantation.com
Open Wed.-Sat 11 A.M. to 9 P.M.
Sun. 11 A.M. to 8 P.M.

125 Pioneer Plaza
El Paso, TX 79901
Phone: (915) 534-0600
Website:
www.theplazatheater.org
Please visit the online calendar for schedule of events.

101 Highway 90 West
Marathon, TX 79842
Phone: (432) 386-4205
Website:
www.gagehotel.com
Please call for nightly rates and availability.

630 S. Oakes Street
San Angelo, TX 76903
Phone: (325) 481-2646
Website:
www.fortconcho.com
Museum open Mon.-Sat. 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.
Sun. 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.
Admission for adults is $3.00; seniors and military $2.00; students $1.50,
children under 6 are free.

2124 S. Fifth Street
Waco, TX 76706
Phone: (254) 754-1631
Grounds are open daily to the public from dawn until dusk.