Belleau Wood (LHA 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE BATTLE OF BELLE AU WOOD The stage was set in World War I for the Battle of Bel- leau Wood by General Ludendorff when he launched his Chemin des Dames offensive against the Allied riorthem Front on 27 May 1918. The Fourth Brigade, American Ex- peditionary Forces, with other Allied Units, was ordered to move up from training areas. At four o ' clock on the morning of 50 May, Marines climbed into trucks and head- ed north. The caravan took a road that skirted Paris. The Americans were placed astride the strategic Par- is-Metz highway. Fragments of the Allied armies began re- treating along the highway, and a senior French officer ad- vised the Marines to join them. A Marine officer replied: Retreat hell. We just got here. To the left of the Marines was Bois de Belleau, three square miles of rocks, wood, and 1,200 elite sol- diers from the 461st Imperial German Infantry. On 4 and 5 June, Marines held their positions along the highway. On 6 June, the Fifth Marines counterattacked against the woods and Hill 142. By day ' s end, the edge of Belleau Wood and Hill 142 were taken at the expense of over 1,000 casualties. For four days. Marines hammered their way through the woods. On the 13th, the Germans counterattacked. The entrenched Marines started to drop the enemy at 400 yards with concentrated rifle fire. After the attack waned, the lines did not change until the 24th, when the Marines began mopping up the area. On 26 June, they proudly an- nounced that the ' Woods are now United States Marine Corps entirely. ' At the end of the battle, the Marine brigade had suf- fered 55% casualties: 1,062 killed and 5,615 wounded. What was gained was not just a small battered woodland. The action stopped the last major offensive of the war by the Germans. In doing so, it drew the Corps the respect and admiration of our allies and our coun- try. The 4th Brigade was awarded the French Citation, A L ' Orde de L ' Armee, and the wood was officially re- named Bois de la Brigade Marine. German soldiers later referred to the U.S. Marines, respectfully as Teufelhunde, Devil Dogs, because of their fierceness in battle. J SiF ' CfTATIOrf

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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION STAFF History 4 Comphibron 5 168 CO 6 Tacron 11 172 Ship 8 Medical Regulating Team 7 174 XO 10 CMC 12 EMBARKED Departing San Diego 14 ACU-1 176 BMU-1 182 UNDERWAY Medical 184 Track Map 18 Air Ops 20 MARINES LCAC Well Ops 26 15th MEU 188 Unrep 28 13th MSSQ 206 Smokers 30 Exercises 210 Sports 32 Uninvited Quests 36 LIBERTY Life at Sea 38 Subic Bay, RP 220 Talent Show 42 White Beach, Okinawa 230 Wog Day 45 Pohang Pusan, South Korea 232 Hong Kong 236 SHIP S COMPANY China, Day Tour 244 AIMD 50 Girls of West Pac 246 Air 62 Sydney, Australia 248 CBS 74 Brisbane, Australia 256 Comm 84 Honolulu, Hawaii 260 MarCom Det 89 San Diego, CA Homecoming 264 Command Religious Pgms 90 Exec 92 PHOTO CONTEST 268 Deck 102 Dental 110 MEMORIAM 270 Engineers 112 Medical 130 CREDITS 272 Navigation 134 Operations 136 Safety 146 Supply 147

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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.