Belleau Wood (LHA 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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COMMANDING OFFICER CAPTAIN HUBERT F. TAHANEY, JR. Captain Tahaney received his commission througin the Officer Candidate Program in December 1962. His sea assignments include USS CHARLES BERRY (DE-1035) USS SPROSTON (DD-577); shipboard advisor to the Vietnamese Fiavy; Aide Flag Secretary, COMSERVQRU THREE CTF 73; Executive Officer, USS SAMPLE (ff- 1048); Commanding Officer, USS SAN BERNARDINO (LST-1189); Chief Staff Officer, COMPHIBRON SEVEN. From April 1986 to May 1987, he commanded USS LA SALLE (AGr-3), permanently deployed to the Arabian Gulf as flagship. Commander Niddle East Force. Shore assignments included courses at the Naval De- stroyer School and the Naval War College; duty in the Bu- reau of Naval Personnel, Enlisted Distribution Branch; on the staff of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet; and staff of Commander Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Captain Tahaney holds a B.S. in History from St. Pet- er ' s College in New Jersey, andamastersdegreein Inter- national Affairs from George Washington University. His significant personal decorations and service awards in- clude the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with gold star in lieu of second award. Combat Ac- tion Ribbon and Navy Expeditionary Medal. Captain Tahaney is married to the former Mary Lynn Bliss of Port Huron, Mich. The Tahaneys and their two chil- dren, Kate and Pat, reside in San Diego.

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U.S.S. BELLEAU WOOD (CVL - 24) Like the Marines at the Bois de Belleau, USS BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24) was a fighter. From 1943 to 1945, she and her aircraft damaged countless land installations and destroyed 502 enemy planes. Of the enemy ships encountered, she sank 48 and damaged 83. BELLEAU WOOD was entitled to wear twelve battle stars on her Asiatic-Pacific Area Ser- vice Ribbon. After the war, she received the Presi- dential Unit Citation. BELLEAU WOOD ' S keel was laid on 11 August 1941, at the new York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, riew Jersey. Originally designed as a light cruiser, her hull was converted to a light aircraft car- rier because of a need for carriers. Mrs. Thomas Mol- comb, wife of the Marine Corps Commandant, chris- tened her on 6 December 1942 giving her the name of the World War I battle. • • After commissioning on 31 March 1943, BELLEAU WOOD ' S first comman ding officer, CAPT Alfred M. Pride, USn, took his ship through the Panama Canal and on to Pearl Har- bor. From 1943 to 1945, BELLEAU WOOD took part in nearly every major raid and battle in the Pacific. Tarawa, Wake, Pa- lau, Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima, Leyte Qulf, Okinawa and the main Empire Strike are representative of the action. BELLEAU WOOD was decommissioned in January 1947. Renamed Bois de Belleau, she was transferred to France. She returned to the United States in 1960, and was stricken from the list of navy ships. Japanese Kamikaze plane attacking USS BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24) off Okinawa, 6 April 1945. USS BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24) on fire after being hit by a kamikaze, off the Philippines, 30 October 1944. Flight deck crews move undamaged bombers away from flames.

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CAPTAIN HUBERT F. TAHANEY, JR.