WWII destroyer returns home to SC after repairs
WWII destroyer returns home to SC after repairs
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — “The Ship That Would Not Die” has returned to its South Carolina home.
The World War II destroyer USS Laffey returned to the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum on Charleston Harbor early Wednesday. The vessel had been moved more than two years ago to a dry dock so its hull could be repaired at a cost of about $9 million.
It was returned to a berth near the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown at the museum. Some veterans from the Laffey were on hand to welcome the destroyer. Some on the carrier deck sounded air horns and drank champagne as the ship returned.
The Laffey is known as “The Ship That Would Not Die” because it didn’t sink despite Japanese bombs and kamikaze attacks during the war.