SPIRITS OF
THE BLUE GHOST
R
esting in the Corpus Christi Bay,
along the gulf coast of Texas is
the USS Lexington. The great
ship was originally named
USS Corbat, commissioned in
1942 as a fleet aircraft carrier in Pearl
Harbour, during World War II. This new
carrier was recommissioned as the USS
Lexington in honour of the recently
sunk original “Lady Lex” in the Coral
Sea.During it’s time of duty, the mighty ship
continuously became a target of the
enemy, more specifically Japanese enemy
fighters who thought the grey lady was
sunk. On more than one occasion theJapanese thought that they had hit their
target and sunk the Lexington, only to
find out later that she had survived the
damage and continued in the war. This
is what has given the carrier her most
famous nickname, the “Blue Ghost.”After the war, the USS Lexington was
decommissioned and served as a
training ship for many years at numerous
locations. Nowadays she stands as a
National Historic Landmark and is a
museum dedicated to the memory of
those who served and most importantly
those numerous sailors who made the
ultimate sacrifice during their time of
service.By Jason Fellon