Exploring the USS Cassin Young in Boston Massachusetts
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00:00Welcome back to another exciting episode. Today we are in the USS Cason Yon. So come
00:23along with us and see what we can see. While we were at the Boston National Historic Park,
00:31Charlestown Navy Yard, we had the opportunity to visit the USS Cason Yon. We just followed
00:40the signs, walked past the mock bunker and the USS Boston Bell and saw an itty bitty
00:49little naval boat. This is perhaps one of the world's smallest Navy vessels. Look at that cute
00:56little thing. Until we came upon the Cason Yon, which is a very impressive ship as you see here.
01:05Being that this is a ship still owned by the United States Navy, there is no admission cost.
01:12It is free admission. However, please be aware that this is a World War II
01:18vessel and it has not been modified. So for your safety, watch your step and watch your fingers.
01:26Because you want to have just as many body parts coming out as when you went in.
01:43This ship has a really long and industrious history and I'm going to let my buddy Davis
01:50tell you all about it. USS Cason Yon, designated DD-793, is a Fletcher class destroyer of the
01:57United States Navy named for Captain Cason Yon who lived from 1894 till 1942. He was awarded
02:04the Medal of Honor for his heroism at the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and unalived in the naval
02:10battle of Guadalcanal in the fall of 1942. Cason Yon was launched September 12, 1943,
02:17by Bethlehem Shipbuilding in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California and commissioned on December
02:2231, 1943. After serving in World War II, including the Battle of Lady Gulf and the Battle of Okinawa,
02:30Cason Yon was decommissioned, but was reactivated during the Korean War and continued in active
02:35service until 1960. She is preserved today as a memorial ship, birthed at Boston Navy Yard in
02:42Massachusetts, across from the USS Constitution. She was designated a National Historic Landmark
02:49in 1986 as one of only four surviving Fletcher class destroyers still afloat.
02:54Cason Yon was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on December 1, 1974. The U.S. Navy
03:01has permanently loaned Cason Yon to the National Park Service to be preserved as a floating memorial
03:06ship birthed at the Boston Navy Yard, part of the Boston National Historical Park in Boston,
03:11Massachusetts, across from Constitution. She arrived on June 15, 1978 and was opened to the
03:18public in 1981. The ship is maintained and operated by the National Park Service and Cason Yon
03:24volunteers. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National
03:30Historic Landmark in 1986 as a well-preserved example of the Fletcher class destroyer, the most
03:36numerous class of destroyer produced by the United States during World War II. In late July of 2010,
03:43Cason Yon closed to the public in preparation for dry docking. On August 9, 2010, she was moved into
03:50Historic Dry Dock No. 1 and for the first time in 30 years for some much-needed repairs to her hull.
03:56On September 4, 2012, the ship was closed to the public to allow contractors to make final
04:01repairs to the hull. She returned to her position at Pier 1 on May 14, 2013. On June 4, 2013,
04:10she was moved to the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston while repairs were made to
04:15her birth in Charlestown. By September of 2013, she had returned to her museum birth. The USS
04:22Cason Yon can now be visited seasonally free of charge in the Boston Navy Yard at Boston National
04:28Historical Park. Why thank you, Davis. You are a wealth of knowledge. I really appreciate it.
04:36You are very welcome.
04:40Hedgehogs.
04:44This is a really cool ship to explore and it is an honor to be able to touch such incredible history.
04:52We really enjoyed our time exploring the USS Cason Yon and we think you will too. We look forward
04:59to you coming along with us again on other excursions to Massachusetts and future places
05:06unknown. But until then, as always, have a great day.