YANO T-AKR 297
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
- USNS YANO T-AKR-297
Placed in service 8 February 1997
Shughart Class Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ship
Originally constructed as the container ship LEISE MAERSK on 1 June 1980
Lengthened in 1987 and again in the 1990s
Acquired by the US Navy 1995 and renamed
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- Covers Page 1 (DATE RANGE)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
|
Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
|
Ships Marking |
1998-03-30 |
 |
N/A |
Collectors request, cover serviced by Richard P. Motz
Other Information
NAMESAKE - Named in Honor of Sergeant First Class Rodney James Takahashi Yano, US Army (December 13, 1943 – January 1, 1969).
Yano left high school without graduating, joined the Army from Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961, and served in the field of helicopter maintenance. By January 1, 1969 was serving as a Staff Sergeant in the Air Cavalry Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. On that day, near Bien Hoa in the Republic of Vietnam, Yano, who was normally a technical inspector, volunteered to act as helicopter crew chief and door gunner on the aircraft commanded by John Bahnsen during combat action. As one of two door gunners, he delivered machine gun fire while marking enemy positions with smoke and white phosphorus grenades, enabling Bahnsen to direct artillery fire against them.
During the fight a white phosphorus grenade exploded prematurely inside the aircraft. The pilot and co-pilot couldn't see because of the smoke, and the aircraft began to descend. Despite being burned and partially blinded because he was covered in white phosphorus, and having lost the use of one arm, Yano proceeded to throw and kick the remaining ammunition off the helicopter as flaming fragments of the grenade were causing it to catch fire and detonate. He received additional wounds as a result of these actions, which caused his death later that day. His actions enabled the crew to regain control of the aircraft, fly to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital, and land safely, and was credited with saving the lives of the others on board the helicopter. He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant First Class.
By his conspicuous gallantry at the cost of his life, in the highest traditions of the military service, Sfc. Yano has reflected great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army and was posthumously awarded the MEDAL of HONOR.
Yano, age 25 at his death, was buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.
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