USS ''Point Cruz'' (CVE-119) was a of the United States Navy. Originally named ''Trocadero Bay'' until 5 June 1944 when it was renamed after the

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lie ...

suburb Point Cruz, which was an important location during the

Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

. She was laid down on 4 December 1944 by Todd Pacific Shipyards Incorporated, Tacoma, Washington; launched on 18 May 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Earl R. DeLong; and commissioned on 16 October 1945, with

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Douglas T. Day in command.

Operational history

Flight Deck, USS Point Cruz, San Diego Nov 1945

Following acceptance and shakedown, she conducted pilot qualifications off the West Coast from October 1945 to March 1946. Thereafter she ferried aircraft to forward bases in WestPac. (Captain Donald S. McMahan took command 27 November 1946, serving until 22 April 1947 when he was replaced by Commander William A. Smyth.) She entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 3 March 1947 for inactivation; was decommissioned on 30 June 1947 and entered the

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and ...

, Bremerton, Washington. After the start of hostilities in Korea the ship was activated and recommissioned on 26 July 1951, with Captain

Horace Butterfield Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ...

in command. (He was replaced by Captain J.W. Davison in December 1951, and Captain C.C. Marcy became commanding officer in November 1952.) ''Point Cruz'' departed Bremerton on 4 January 1953 after coastal operations and an extensive overhaul modifying her for use as an anti-submarine warfare Hunter-Killer Group carrier. During the transit to San Diego, ''Point Cruz'' was damaged in a severe Pacific storm and repairs required several months. Based at Sasebo, Japan, ''Point Cruz'' patrolled the Korean coast in the spring of 1953.(Captain

John T. Hayward John Tucker "Chick" Hayward (15 November 1908 – 23 May 1999) was an American naval aviator during World War II. He helped develop one of the two atomic bombs that was dropped on Japan in the closing days of the war. Later, he was a pioneer ...

took command in July 1953.) After the armistice, she served as base for a helicopter squadron that took part in "

Operation Platform Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

", airlifting Indian troops to the Panmunjom buffer zone to supervise the prisoner of war exchange. (The incident on which the television movie '' A Thousand Men and a Baby'' was based took place during Operation Platform.) The CVE returned to San Diego in late December 1953, and after training and additional overhaul deployed to WestPac again in April 1954, under the command of Captain

. Captain Frederick J. Brush assumed command of the ship in May 1954. In the Far East the carrier served as command ship for

Carrier Division 17 Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

under

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

James S. Russell James Sargent Russell (March 22, 1903 – April 14, 1996) was an admiral in the United States Navy. Biography Russell was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of noted architect Ambrose J. Russell and Loella Janet (Sargent) Russell. He attended D ...

. The ship returned to San Diego in November 1954, and deployed again on 24 August 1955 (shortly after Captain Brush was relieved by Captain A.R. Matter) .While in the Pacific operating with the 7th Fleet, she served as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

Carrier Division 15 Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

. ''Point Cruz'' departed Yokosuka on 31 January 1956 and arrived at Long Beach, California, in early February for inactivation at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Decommissioned on 31 August 1956, CVE-119 was placed in the Bremerton Group of the

. While in a reserve status, she was redesignated an aircraft transport, AKV-19, on 17 May 1957. ''Point Cruz'' was reactivated on 23 August 1965 and placed under the operational control of the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS ''Point Cruz'' (T-AKV-19) in September 1965. Commencing service as an aircraft ferry for MSTS, ''Point Cruz'' provided logistical support for American forces in South East Asia.

Decommissioning

She was placed out of service on 16 October 1969, struck from the Navy list on 15 September 1970, and sold for scrap in 1971.

References

External links

history.navy.mil: USS ''Point Cruz'' hazegray.org: USS ''Point Cruz''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Point Cruz (CVE-119) Commencement Bay-class escort carriers 1945 ships Korean War escort carriers of the United States Korean War aircraft carriers of the United States Cold War aircraft carriers of the United States Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States