>>> Underneath the holes of these ships, a museum
of stories comes alive. The Boneyard is often described as
an accidental Marine Museum, but you wouldn't know it
on the surface. Perhaps the most well-known ship in
The Boneyard is the USS PC-1264. A submarine chaser
PC-1264 was one of only two U.S. Navy vessels to be
manned by a predominantly African American crew
during World War Two.
♪ [Theme Music] ♪
♪ [Ominous Music] ♪
[Ships Creaking] [Bell Ringing]
[Water Lapping]
[Ships Creaking]
♪ [Single Piano Notes Playing] ♪ [Water Lapping]
[Water Lapping]
[Water Lapping] [Ships Creaking]
[Children Whispering]
[Footsteps Crunching]
Located along the Arthur Kill, the Staten Island
ship graveyard or Witte's Marine Scrap Yard serves as
the final resting place for these forgotten ships.
Opened in the early 1930's at its peak The Boneyard was
home to more than 400 ships, ferries, and barges.
Today less than a hundred vessels remain,
most decayed beyond repair serving as hollowed shells
over their old self. All that remains is rusted steel as
the water slowly eats away the stories these ships could tell.
Surrounded by thick brush in muddy marshland,
the Boneyard is inaccessible without perseverance.
During its operation, ferocious dogs roamed
among the wrecks defending Witte's property against
looters and trespassers. While those days are long gone,
the isolation and the eerie sight of decay makes the
Boneyard a place to seldom travel alone.
Brave the dense swampland
and thorn field brush, a world is opened.
Eighty years of history; history that's disappearing day by day.
♪ [Ominous Music] ♪
Underneath the holes of these ships, a museum
of stories comes alive. The Boneyard is often described
as an accidental Marine Museum, but you wouldn't know it on
the surface. Perhaps the most well-known ship in
The Boneyard is the USS PC-1264. A submarine chaser,
PC-1264 was one of only two U.S. Navy vessels to be
manned by a predominantly African American crew
during World War Two.
♪ [Somber Piano Music] ♪
Built in 1943, she has an
active service record during World War Two as an
escort ship defending Merchant vessels across
U.S. shores against German U-boats. Submarine Chasers
were small agile ships often serving as patrol
boats defending U.S. shores. Armed with two
depth charge racks and five twenty-millimeter
guns PC-1264 served at the height of World War Two.
Incredibly, archived footage of the USS
PC-1264's commissioning survives today,
nearly 80 years later.
♪ [Somber Piano Music] ♪
Her crew of 65 men can be seen clearly
as this historic vessel prepares for war.
♪ [Somber Piano Music] ♪
These are her remains today.
♪ [Somber Piano Music] ♪
Her bow completely submerged,
her guns removed, and her white lettering long worn away.
♪ [Somber Piano Music] ♪
All that remains is her iconic circular wheel house which
serves as her only unique identifier.
♪ [Somber Piano Music] ♪
♪ [Somber Piano Music] ♪ ♪ [Choir Singing] ♪
♪ [Uplifting Music] ♪
Witte's Marine Scrap Yard is home to multiple
World War Two-era ships including the gasoline
tanker YOG-64. Commissioned in 1944,
YOG-64 was intended to serve during the Pacific Theater
but arrived after the war had ended. Despite missing
the war, she would serve as a refueling vessel
during Operation Magic Carpet, the post-World War
Two massive undertaking of transporting eight million
Allied troops back to the United States. Two years later,
in 1948 stationed at the Bikini Atoll,
YOG-64 participated in Operation Sandstone,
the United States' third nuclear weapons test.
YOG-64 was then decontaminated, renamed,
and sold to the Reinauer Transportation Companies
to live the remainder of her life under the name
Reinauer. She
the Boneyard since 1976.
Built in 1943, the USS ATR-89 is a large rescue
tug originally having been manned by 47 crew.
On April 5th, 1945, U-Boat U-879 torpedoed the U.S.
tanker Atlantic States off the coast of Cape Cod.
ATR-89 served as a transport, towing the damaged tanker back
to Boston for a pair. U-879 was later sunk by American
destroyers less than 30 days after her initial attack.
♪ [Music] ♪
USS ATR-89 is one of the most intact wrecks in
the Boneyard, but her almost entirely wood hull
would not aid in her preservation.
♪ [Piano Music] ♪
[Water Lapping]
[Water Lapping] ♪ [Somber Music] ♪
The Boneyard is beautiful. Calm. Still. Quiet.
It's a peaceful chaos. While these ships are lying together,
each are unique, all with stories waiting to be told.
For the curious mind, this site of abandoned wrecks is a
fascinating exploration of a history that is
literally washing away. The life of these ships are
measured in years not centuries. And they'll soon
disappear leaving behind nothing but fading memories.
♪ [Swelling Violin Music] ♪ [Water Lapping]
What do you do when a site so raw in beauty is breathing
its last breath? When you know it's fading away with each
passing tide? To appreciate the Boneyard is to live in
the present. It's the subtle expectation that your eyes
are witnessing a disappearing act.
♪ [Swelling Violin Music] ♪
Future generations would remember these ships as
they were not as they are; learning from stories
and pictures, devoid of feeling and emotion.
♪ [Swelling Violin Music] ♪
And if all we can do is appreciate the present
and the beauty this world has to offer,
I think that's enough.
♪ [Violin Music] ♪ [Waves Crashing]
[Waves Crashing]
♪ [Music] ♪