Uss Guam
War in the Pacific NHP: The Defense of Guam
b. Naval Station personnel included 210 Insular Force, 47 attached to USS Penguin, 137 assigned to USS Gold Star, 54 attached toNaval Hospital, 61 assigned to Naval Station, and 21 attached to theNaval Radio Station. c. A total of 150 local men enlisted as messattendants during the fiscal year. The number increased the totalChamorro mess attendants to 628. The Bureau of Navigation had authorizeda maximum of 700 Chamorros in the mess attendant branch of the Navy. d. Capital improvement projects completed during thefiscal year included the Almagosa water system at a cost of $260,000;site preparation for the construction of a 25,000-barrel fuel oil tank;four fuel tanks owned by Standard Oil of California; and two fuel tanksowned by Pan American Airways. ... [Read More]
Navy Yard
Cassin Young, the man. Destroyers in the U.S. Navy are generally named for Navy and Marine Corps personnel who have distinguished themselves in the service of their country. USS Cassin Young bears the name of a navy commander awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Commander Young was in command of the repair ship Vestal which was moored alongside battleship Arizona . When Arizona blew up, he was blown overboard along with many members of his crew. With Vestal taking on water from several hits and set afire from the blazing inferno that had been Arizona , the remaining crew began to abandon ship. ... [Read More]
War in the Pacific NHP: Liberation - Guam Remembers
At 9:04 a.m. on Sept. 2,1945, aboard thebattleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, World War II ended. Above,signing on behalf of Japanese Emperor Hirohito is Foreign MinisterMamoru Shigemitsu. Conducting the ceremony and standing behind themicrophone is General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for theAllied Powers. Standing near table with MacArthur is Admiral Chester W.Nimitz, Commander-in-chief, Pacific and Pacific Ocean Areas. Nimitzwould sign the surrender document as the representative of the UnitedStates. Also signing were representatives of the Japanese military, andthe Allied powers from the Republic of China, United Kingdom, the Unionof Soviet Socialist Republics, Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominionof Canada, the provisional government of France, the Kingdom of theNetherlands, and the Dominion of New Zealand. Witnessing the historicevent were two Chamorro sailors, Ramon White and Frank B. Manibusan,both members of Nimitz's staff. ... [Read More]
War in the Pacific NHP: Liberation - Guam Remembers
The date was the feast of the Immaculate Conceptionand many families were still in church when the planes struck. The cityof Agana, the hub of the island, was instantly transformed into a cityof shocked people. Mothers and children wept and wailed. Fathers soughtmissing members of their families in efforts to flee from the town. Among the first victims of the attack were Teddy Cruzand Larry Pangelinan, young Chamorro kitchen workers who perished whena bomb hit the Pan American hotel at Orote Point. Also killed was EnsignRobert White, who manned an anti-aircraft gun aboard the USS Penguin.The vessel, the only seaworthy ship in Guam at the time, fought theJapanese aircraft off Orote Point, but to no avail. The Penguincommander then decided to scuttle the ship. By the end of the day, the feast that was to be wastransformed into the beginning of one of the most tragic periods in thehistory of Guam. A day later, the planes returned for more, againstriking military facilities and the Pan ... [Read More]
NASA Observatorium Image Gallery- Gemini
The Gemini 11 spacecraft as it was lowered onto a dolly on the deck of the USS Guam, which was the prime recovery vessel for the Gemini 11 mission. (54K) Image: NASA ... The Gemini 4 spacecraft is hoisted aboard the USS Wasp after a recovery operation following a successful four-day day mission. The photo was taken on June 11, 1965. (64K) Image: NASA ... [Read More]
From Sea to Shining Sea - Navy Ships
USS Valley Forge – CV45, later CVA45, CVS45 and LPH8 : USS Valley Forge 1946-1971. USS Valley Forge, a 27,100-ton Ticonderoga class aircraft carrier, was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, paid for by a special war bond drive in that city. Commissioned in November 1946, she transferred to the Pacific Fleet in the following year. Valley Forge made a cruise to Australia and the Far East early in 1948 and then steamed the rest of the way around the World. In May 1950, she again deployed to the Western Pacific. She was the only U.S. aircraft carrier in that region when the Korean War broke out in late June. For the next three years, Valley Forge was heavily engaged in Korean War operations, making four separate combat tours. During this time, in October 1952, she was redesignated CVA-45. With her flight deck essentially unchanged from its World War II design, Valley Forge was increasingly unable to handle the new high-performance, heavier jet aircraft of the post-Korean W ... [Read More]
A Guide to the War in the Pacific: Outbreak of the War in the Pacific
The U.S. Navy sailor represents many who wereinitially involved in the attacks in the Pacific Theater. The uniformconsisted of Navy dress shirt and pants, and work-detail dungarees.Weapons issued included the 1903 Springfield bolt-action rifle ofvintage World War I times. Besides manning naval vessels, U.S. sailorswere charged with defending naval ports, air stations, and fueldepots. At the time of the December 8, 1941, attack the totalU.S. naval strength consisted of four vessels. The USS Robert L. Barnes, a decommissioned oilstorage vessel, was referred to as the "USS Never Move" by localresidents since it never left its Apra Harbor mooring. The Barnes received substantial damage from the bombing and strafing, but did notsink. The Barnes was later captured and taken into Japaneseservice. ... [Read More]
War in the Pacific NHP: Liberation - Guam Remembers
The USS Penguin, a minesweeperscuttled by her crew after an attack by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 8,1941. Ensign Robert White was killed in that engagement. ... [Read More]
A Guide to the War in the Pacific: Outbreak of the War in the Pacific
Chamorro farmers and fishermen knew not of theincreasing political tensions between the United States and Japan as thedusk of 1941 approached. The increased volatility between the twonations eventually leads to the evacuation of all U.S. dependents andcivilians on Guam. By October 17, the evacuation was completed with theexception of an officer's wife who was confined for childbirth. Afterreceiving warning messages on December 6, the Navy Department orderedall classified materials destroyed. On December 7, 1941, the USS Goldstar waspreparing to leave the Philippines enroute to Guam but was delayed bythe Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet because of the intensifiedinternational situation between the United States and Japan. The Goldstar never arrived on Guam. ... [Read More]
NARA | Prologue | Prologue: Selected Articles
For the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, the casualties that resulted from the explosion of the USS Maine (which actually occurred nearly three months before the declaration of war) were far greater than those sustained during the war itself. Only 90 of the 350 men on board the USS Maine at the time of the explosion survived. During the war, there were eighty-five U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps casualties, of which sixteen were men killed in action. A list of the "men lost" and "men saved" for the USS Maine is available in the Navy Subject File. This list of casualties was reprinted in the Annual Reports of the Secretary of the Navy for 1898. Due to the widespread newspaper coverage of the incident and the significance of the event to the outbreak of the war, there are special records that provide information about both the victims and survivors. These special records provide a wealth of family and personal information that one rarely finds among government records of that era ... [Read More]
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