WWII's "Ship That Wouldn't Die" Survives Again-- Part 2

The USS Laffey is also the only surviving World War II destroyer that served in the Atlantic and took part during D-Day. It was decommissioned in 1975 and brought to Patriot Point in 1981.

Lee Hunt, 89, said, "It's where I spent my youth. I grew up on that ship." He is a Plankholder, meaning that he was a member of the original crew. "I was on it when I was 17 and spent my 18th birthday killing people in Germany in the invasion of France and right on to Okinawa and the Philippines and what have you."

Hunt was not surprised on that March 1945 attack. "We knew we were going to get hit. Every destroyer out there on picket duty knew they were going to be attacked."

Renovation of the Laffey was paid by a state loan which the museum intends to pay back from operating expenses.

Next Time in Charleston, I Know Where I'm Headed. --GreGen