Belleau Wood (LHA 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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and - , Tarawa in' NoveIllbCl'f1943a ' 'ind' successi in 'Ietaking the Marine se me of the ., When advised to his unit iinally settled with the Sth ,Marines the 6th'7Marines to ,the east. Most without ,machine guns, but 2nd Bn, Germans the effects of their rsmanship- i e V I Q On Jriiie 6, the Marines make two assaults- fi 4? The lst' Battalion. Sth- Marine 'Regiment attacks ' T i'1'i Belleair Wood and captures strategically Q T Qfirgrlportant Hill5l42. Later the same day battalions-of Z .. M 'tliepjtlr andi6th Marine Regiments assault the woods n Q, the south and west in an effort to capture the town f'? tcrt'TrfIhefeattack against the woods fproper goes A grimly. Crossing a wheat field where -they are grrn iire. Gunnery Sergeant is men, 'Tome on ya sons-of- to ,live forever?i' The attack is a small comer of the wood. .heave artillery bombardment, :L exposed Dani Daly, h 5 again with heavy casualties. their way through the woods counterattacked with intense artrllery fire. and three divisions on .lrme 13, almost fretaking Bouresches. Therlvlarines held, and on Jrme , the German cormterattack culminated in tailure. A linesdid not change until June 24 when the French ,jfggrcommand committed sufficient artillerv to reduce the a the Marines to prepare for a renewed A it 'gggg on Jrrne25, after a 14-hour bombardment, the ' I 'P Marines overran the remaining machine gun outposts. After tending oli several early moming corrnterattacks .Lg 5 . f' 'Q - ,t,f .. , Berreau womrstkeera was raid on August ll, P in ,securing 'two-thirds of I I a The -first ship to bear the name Belleau stayed true to heriroots and, as the Marines the World Warjl battle, was truly a heroic their New 'York Shipbuilding Corporation, I' NJ. Though initially designed 'as a light Haven, QCL-761 - the needs of the Navy conversion to a light aircraft carrier that participate in some of the Hercest battles in the After a brief shakedown cruise, the ship Pacific Fleet, arriving. in Pearl Harbor July 26 Soon thereafterg Belleau lVood supported the of Baker Island, took part in the raids at Tarawa and Island, and then joined Task Force 50 for the the Gilbert Islands in November 1943 In January 1944, she joined Task' Force 58 ,Q the Mariana Island chain. Later that April Bellea supported the landings at Hollandia, New Gurn later the occupation, of Saipan in mid June. S instrumental in the Battle ofthe Philippine Sea 19-20, where her planes sank the Japanese carrr After an overhaul at Pearl Harbor, she rejoinedl' 58 and participatedin the last stages ot the occu - Guam that August. Belleau Wood then joined Tp r ' 38 and first supported the occupation of the Palaus, and later saw action during the Philippine 1 participated in the seizure of islands and atolls throu l f u 1174 - J- ' I ' e I a o 'er . as! V N P3 asl sr raidsg Morotai landingsg Okinawa raidg northern f 9- and Fonnosa raids: Luzon ln October l f participated in the Battle of Cape Engario. U G with her task group' east of Levte when a .I Iiamikaze attacked. The crew shot ,dorm the pl onocmberso, 1944, Berreaurvaqdeas pm - 3 G a f rt crashed into the ships aft flight deck. The fires ignited ammunition, killing! more than After receiving permanent repairs and an overl Hunteris Point, Calii, she departed San Francisr Januaryt20, 1945. She joined Task Force 58 ar X in early February, and tookpart in the raids on Honshij 'x 1 V x rl Y 'ii l .W L

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The Ship' s Seal The official seal of BELLEAU WOOD is a combination of symbols. first is an image of a fighting U..S. Marine at the center of the seal. in World War I battle dress, he carries a rifle and bayonet, and to beckon us to follow him. 4 Surroundmg the Marine are the gold cross, shield and swords of the de Guerre, the French medal awarded to the Marines who distin- themselves at Belleau Wood. Fourth Brigade Marines may still wear the French Fourragere today. War II record of our Shlp s namesake USS BELLEAU WOOD CCVL The Space between the srxth and seventh stars represents the ship' s only in her war record. On October 30, 1944, while off the Leyte Gulf, at airplane struck BELLEAU WOOD. The ship was later repaired erhauled. , , Twelve gold battle stars in a field of blue line the top, highlighting the J ' of Blue and Gold, prevailing hues of the plaque, are traditional colors of Navy. The tricolor Cred over white over blueb reminds us that the Battle of Belleau Wood occurred in France, and that Marines who sacrificed their lives at Belleau Wood did so in the defense of another nationis freedom.

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Island. Japan, and Nansei on Iwo Jima. I and I THIRD Fleet strikes May tok: ,early June, She group at ,Leyte and the final strikes Belleau Wood remained in 13. Arrivingat Pearl Harbo three 'days later' with 1,248 Diego. She' remained on 'fMagic servicemen from Guam and Saipa 1946! Belleau Wood also r I Placed out of commission in reserve at Alameda Belleau Wood to France in September under the Mutual Defense Assistance Pro ram returned to the United Statesg and finally from the Navy list on October 1, 1960. Wood received theHPresidentia1 Unit Citation and Battle Stars for her valiant service during World Nearly two decades later on September 23, 1978, ship' christened-Belleau Wood steamed from in Pascagoula, Miss., and relocated to San 1978. , + , Ur WOOD CLHA 35 is the third ship of W design incorporates the best features and several amphibious assault ships Currently Since her commission asnthe center of a or ARG. The ship deployment, and ashore by either combat and humanitarian Present The ship . in 1979 l'St hird January to Air Station in January 1947,the United States, ship served under the navy BOIS BELLEAIU- 1' 'the French navy until 1960. when fvshe fi A-Class Amphibious 'Assault' and Command 1 crew Guam