Please join the USS Hornet as we honor our Vietnam War Veterans on March 30th, 2024. National Vietnam War Veterans Day (actual holiday is 03/29/2024) is a day to remember and honor the 9 million Americans who served during that war, as well as the 58,000 names on the wall at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. 

The USS Hornet CVS-12 was an anti-submarine aircraft carrier that served 3 tours off the coast of Vietnam at Yankee Station in the latter years of her active service. Most of the ship has been left in the exact state it was when it was decommissioned in 1970. Included in our aircraft collection are several from this era, including our US-2B Tracker, F8U-1 Crusader, TA-4J Skyhawk, UH-34D Seahorse, SH-2 Seasprite, SH-3H SeaKing, and our F4J Phantom II.  

We have a special speaker coming to the USS Hornet on March 30th, starting at 11 AM: Bill Collier, Vietnam War Marine Helicopter Pilot and author. Bill also flew for Air America after the Vietnam War.  

Bill flew the UH-34D Seahorse Helicopter on display at the USS Hornet Museum and will share his experiences with everyone who comes to the museum on the 30th. The main presentation starts at 11 AM and Bill will also have copies of his books for sale that he will be happy to autograph.  

For a preview: Marine Corps pilot returns to the same Helicopter he flew during Vietnam (youtube.com)

Bill has also written several books about his experiences:

Amazon.com: The Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot: Flying the H-34 Helicopter in Vietnam for the United States Marine Corps eBook : Collier, Bill: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: The Worldwide Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot: …the Rest of the Story (The Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot) eBook : Collier, Captain Bill: Kindle Store

The USS Hornet Museum will also have a special Vietnam War temporary exhibit up all weekend, curated by our partners from the Nisei Veteran’s Exhibit.  

Please come by and join us to see the exhibit, meet Bill Collier and hear some of his stories and/or buy one of his books and to see the rest of our collection of Vietnam War era aircraft and just to spend the day on our Vietnam Era Aircraft Carrier.  

Please note all veterans and active duty military will be allowed on for free on this date. 

Just announced: The USS Hornet Memorial Squadron will be doing a flyover of the ship around 12 Noon.