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... an intriguing side story: "Navy Had Word of Jap Plan to Strike at Sea."It was a fascinating, and detailed, description of much of what American intelligence knew beforehand of the enemy's fleet and plans. Indeed, it was too detailed. The report - 14 paragraphs long - suggested a secret U.S. intelligence coup, and became one of the biggest and potentially damaging news leaks of World War II. "This is the only time in American history that the United States government has ... taken steps toward prosecuting a member of the media under the Espionage Act," The story went on...

World War II was less than six months old when the American public, already stunned by the debacles at Pearl Harbor and Guam, faced one of its darkest moments. Thousands of miles across the Pacific, the American commander in the Philippines, Maj. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, surrendered to the Japanese. But the tides of war often turn dramatically. Within 72 hours, American ships, planes, and sheer guts would turn gloom and despair into optimism and hope in a little-known portion of the South Pacific. The naval encounter in the Coral Sea, the lustrous waters bordering Australia’s northeast coast, would knock the...

Searchers from vessel Petrel, owned by billionaire explorer Paul Allen have found the wreckage of the USS Lexington. The aircraft carrier sunk 76 years ago near Australia. The Lexington was critically damaged by Japanese forces during the battle of the Coral Sea on May 8, 1942. "Lexington was on our priority list because she was one of the capital ships that was lost during WWII," said Robert Kraft, director of subsea operations for Allen, in a statement. One of the first US aircraft carriers ever built, the vessel dubbed "Lady Lex" was located at the bottom of the Coral Sea...

Known for deep-sea exploration efforts uncovering military ships in the past, Paul Allen's personal search team has helped to discover a lost aircraft carrier. The U.S.S. Lexington has finally been found, decades later and thousands of feet underwater. The crew of Research Vessel Petrel (R/V Petrel), the exploration ship of billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, discovered the wreckage of the World War II-era aircraft carrier Monday. It was found about two miles below the surface of the Coral Sea and more than 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia. The Lexington is one of the first aircraft carriers...

Lying on the floor of the Coral Sea some 500 miles (800 kilometers) off the eastern coast of Australia, the wreckage from the USS Lexington, a U.S. aircraft carrier used in WWII, appears frozen in time, covered in the detritus of the sea. An expedition aboard the research vessel Petrel — funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's company, Vulcan Inc. — discovered the huge wreck about 2 miles (3,000 meters) below the sea surface. It had been lying there for 76 years. "Lexington was on our priority list because she was one of the capital ships that was lost during...

The wreck of a US aircraft carrier that was sunk during World War Two has been found off the coast of Australia. The USS Lexington was found 3km (2 miles) underwater in the Coral Sea, about 800km off Australia's east coast. The ship was lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea, fought with Japan from 4-8 May 1942. More than 200 crew members died in the fighting. The US Navy confirmed the ship had been discovered by a search team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

The wreckage of a United States aircraft carrier, named USS Lexington that was sunk by the Japanese during World War II, was found on the floor of the Coral Sea more than 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia. The carrier was discovered by a team of explorers led by billionaire Paul Allen, the U.S. Navy confirmed Monday. The ship, which was part of the Battle of the Coral Sea from May 4-8, 1942, was found in a remarkably well-preserved condition. Microsoft co-founder Allen released a statement Monday along with photos and a video of the carrier. ​

Billionaire Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder and Seattle Seahawks owner, has made another huge nautical find: the USS Lexington, which was lost at the Battle of Coral Sea 76 years ago. The fleet aircraft carrier, the first to be sunk by opposing carrier aircraft in World War II, was found near Australia below Coral Sea in a remarkably well-preserved condition, news.com.au reported.

The Battle of the Coral Sea was fought between the Japanese and Allied navies from May 4 through May 8, 1942 in the Coral Sea, about 500 miles northeast of Australia. Occurring only six months after the surprise Japanese attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and a month before the decisive battle at Midway, it was one of the first naval battles fought in the Pacific during World War II. The battle, roughly a draw, was an important turning point in the Pacific campaign. My uncle, Bill Leu, fought at the Battle of the Coral Sea on the...

From NavSource Online, John C. Driskill - "In 1972, I was stationed on the Lexington (CVT-16) as a PH3. President Richard Nixon asked Don Garlits to do a "Fly Navy Promo" with his car the Swamp Rat 16. We photographers mates were allowed to photograph the scene while assisting the photographers from "Hot Rod" Magazine. We had to swear we would not sell the photographs we took to any other magazines. This is my shot of the Swamp Rat 16 on the flight deck of the Lexington," [ready to race an A-7E Corsair II of VA-81 "Sunliners."] William Carter Fields...

US NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIER MUSEUMS (Click map for a high resolution image) Currently (July 2013) there are five US Navy Aircraft Carrier museums. Four are of Essex class carriers commissioned during World War II which underwent the SBC-125 refit in the 1950s to modernize them. All were commissioned in 1943 & served into modern times. The last, the USS Lexington, was decommissioned in 1991 after 48 years service. The other is the USS Midway, namesake of a larger class carrier built at the end of the war. She underwent two major refits, in the 1950s & in 1970 greatly enlarging...

"Why don't you take a picture of our antenna up there above that Rising Sun?" Larry asked. "A kamikaze plane hit the Lex right there in 1942." The decal on the superstructure of the USS Lexington shows the location of a kamikaze aircraft hit during an engagement in World War II. To the right and above it is the ship's ham station Hustler 5BTV antenna. Larry Boudreau, W5LDB, was the host during my operation in the 2004 Texas QSO Party aboard the USS Lexington. We were standing on the busy gangway leading up from the beach to the entrance...

Retired NBC Nightly News anchorman Tom Brokaw learned many life lessons at the knee of what he calls the "Greatest Generation" - the men and women who survived World War II and helped build the nation. Their lessons - unity, humility and sacrifice - are sorely lacking in today's culture of political polarization, where there is little dedication to maintaining common ground, he said Thursday during a visit to Corpus Christi. The challenges Americans face today, whether it be the war on terrorism abroad or the war against mother nature at home, present an opportunity to find that common ground...

Mayor Loyd Neal also unveils special marker on portion of U.S. 181 Sixty-three years ago Tuesday, Dan Wentrcek thought his duty aboard the USS Nevada in Pearl Harbor would be a pretty good gig. Free housing, food and sunny skies in Hawaii. A snapshot taken at the time shows his 19-year-old face beaming with excitement. Today, that photo hangs in a special exhibit aboard the Lexington Museum on the Bay as a reminder of how the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor changed the direction of Wentrcek's life and the lives of all those who served in World War II. His...