All Hands On Deck

There's a few Navy types who wander by here once in a while. This should be of interest to them.

Brad and Barry Klinge are brothers who were featured in Ghost Lab, a Discovery Channel series whose stated mission is to "visit the most haunted places in America, find evidence, and test new theories to probe the existence of the afterlife" using a fringe-scientific approach.

Join Brad and Barry Klinge, founders of Everyday Paranormal, as they travel the country using some of the world's most sophisticated equipment to gather powerful supernatural research.

I'm not a big believer in paranormal investigation (ghosts? little green men? really?) but there are plenty of people out there who are. If you're one of them, or even if you're not but have an interest in naval history, Brad and Barry have a deal for you.

Friday, February 8th, 2013, from 7pm - Midnight: Investigate the USS Lexington with the Klinge Brothers

Get lost on the massive aircraft carrier that the Japanese could not sink. Many sailors lost their lives from torpedo and kamikaze attacks, but "The Blue Ghost" kept fighting.  Now, the history of World War II lives in the steel walls and wandering passageways of this naval monster now at rest in Corpus Christi Bay.  From the flight decks to the boiler rooms, you will have full access for the night in your search for spirits that haunt this ship.

Why was she called the Blue Ghost? Here's a brief history:

Commissioned in 1943, she set more records than any other Essex Class carrier in the history of naval aviation.The ship was the oldest working carrier in the United States Navy when decommissioned in 1991. An Essex-class carrier, LEXINGTON was originally named the USS CABOT. During World War II, final construction was being completed at Massachusetts’ Fore River Shipyard when word was received that the original carrier named USS LEXINGTON, CV-2, had been sunk in the Coral Sea. The new carrier’s name was changed to LEXINGTON.

After training maneuvers and a shakedown cruise, LEXINGTON joined the Fifth Fleet at Pearl Harbor ... During World War II, the carrier participated in nearly every major operation in the Pacific Theater and spent a total of 21 months in combat. Her planes destroyed 372 enemy aircraft in the air, and 475 more on the ground. She sank or destroyed 300,000 tons of enemy cargo and damaged an additional 600,000 tons. The ship’s guns shot down 15 planes and assisted in downing five more.

The Japanese reported LEXINGTON sunk no less than four times! Yet, each time she returned to fight again, leading the propagandist Tokyo Rose to nickname her “The Blue Ghost.” The name is a tribute to the ship and the crew and air groups that served aboard her.

If there are spirits aboard the ship representative of the men who crewed her, it would be an honor to meet them.

After the war, LEXINGTON was briefly decommissioned (1947-1955). When reactivated, she operated primarily with the Seventh Fleet out of San Diego, California. Although not involved in actual combat, LEXINGTON kept an offshore vigil during tensions in Formosa, Laos, and Cuba.

In 1962, she sailed into Pensacola, Florida, and began training operations, eventually being officially designated CVT-16, Navy Training Carrier.

LEXINGTON was decommissioned in 1991, and in 1992 became a floating museum in Corpus Christi, Texas. So after you get done chasing ghosts all over the ship, you can relax on the beach and soak up some Texas sun and a few Texas Shiners.

Enjoy enough sun and Shiners and I guarantee you'll see things that aren't there...