A WWII Yorktown love story

Sixty-seven years ago, a couple of kids from South Carolina met in Washington, D.C.

They were from different parts of the state -- Evelyn was from Spartanburg, Harold from Orangeburg. The same thing had brought them there: Pearl Harbor.

At the time, Harold was a clerk in a grocery store. He came to Charleston and enlisted in the Navy, like so many members of that Greatest Generation did. After basic training, in October 1942, he went to D.C. for a six-month course in interior communication electricity.

Evelyn was a clerk in a pawn shop and made her way to D.C. that same month to take a job with the FBI as a "fingerprint girl" so the agents could join the war effort.

Within a couple of weeks, Harold and Evelyn met at Grace Baptist Church. Someone introduced them, mentioning they both were from South Carolina.

That night, Harold wrote a letter to his mother. In it, he asked:

"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Dick Trammell, executive director at Patriots Point, recently said there are an infinite number of stories on the aircraft carrier Yorktown.

This is one of them.

Out in the Pacific

For six months, Evelyn and Harold spent much time together, going out to eat, visiting the monuments. Harold was quite sure he had met his future wife.

In April 1943, Harold was ordered to the new Yorktown. Harold spent more than a year aboard the aircraft carrier, participating in every major battle in the Pacific, including the bombing of Marcus Island.

Harold was the ship's telephone electrician and chaplain's assistant. He led a Bible study group and preached his first sermon aboard the ship.

By August 1944, the Yorktown docked on the West Coast for maintenance. Harold had 20 days of leave.

He set out for the East Coast and sent Evelyn a short cablegram: "Prepare for the wedding."

They were married Aug. 22, 1944, in Spartanburg, in Evelyn's home. They honeymooned in Orangeburg, Harold's hometown.

Then it was back to the war.

A match made in D.C.

Harold and Evelyn Syfrett have been married 65 years and make their home in the Charleston area.

Since they first met in the early days of World War II, their family has expanded to include five children, 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Theirs is a grand love story, a quintessential American story of the 20th century.

And the Yorktown is still very much a part of their lives. Harold is the chaplain for the USS Yorktown Association.

Standing on the ship's hangar deck recently, Harold reflected on what the ship means to him. He spent months aboard the aircraft carrier, serving his country and dreaming of his bride-to-be.

If you see him over there, ask him what he thinks about the calls to scrap the ship rather than spend the money to repair it. It's not hard to guess where he stands.

"I think it'd be a crime," Harold says.

Reach Brian Hicks at 937-5561 or bhicks@postandcourier.com. Read more columns by Brian Hicks here.