Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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The Their Y' v,. . ? is if' X' W i are -Q, x E, i i ,fi . F f ' Q, mia F , . . .MN ,?4' p .. he Bunker Hill IS proud of the men who flew up from her deck for it was her good fortune to have a pair of hard-Hying Groups aboard during her first busy year. Seventeen went with the ship in her baptism of fire at Rabaul, Hew hell-for- leather against the Jap in the Gilberts, at Kavieng, at Eniwetok, Truk and the Mari- anas, passing the burning torch of achieve- ment to Air Group Eight. Well-schooled, fired by indomitable determination and hard- iness to fulfill work-horse Hight schedules, Eight flew past the milestones of a hot year of Jap-smashing SH and Plane strikes and became one of the first Groups to Haunt their star-spangled wings over the Philippines. The Air Groups were an integral part of our life. We knew them beyond the glamor and glitter of their calling, sharing with them their own victories and disappointments and sweating out their every foray into enemy strongholds. They were the men we worked for, cheered for and yes, prayed for, as they went about the fierce drudgery of their tasks. To them go our thanks, deep, honest admiration, and a sincere pride in the records they compiled.

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W- -Mer..-. H , '- ,, , AIR GIQOUP 17 ..,jw '! W., c,,,...,.........,-.,- ..,. ,,,. ., .. 'TI'---..,.,.....,M.,..,-A---Je ., , B 1 X, CY I . , , gffi 5 an .f Iv u r- .Lf N 'K l- .f ' 1 1 a' t 'fi . I 4 1 . N T5 A .. l f ,. 1 l 2 J. J ,, Y ,in e 4 ,-,f r .ef X' xl J ,r ,Y 1 fa -' made an achievement o every command performance Savage, audacious blows at enemy stronglzolals were the assignments ana' the victories of the Bunker HiIl's yfrst squadrons, dir Group Seventeen. lp.. Y Y ,f11,.wi-te-::afa:.-. 4.-wave.:.,i e.:Y-..v....-2.n.e-:112f.vu1f,-,..--ie.E-n-q..'ee..,,,w1-n.fw-:.v.-ev,.4.-.-.-,nf-4......-.-. ommander M. P. Bagdanovich was one of those rare men whose ability to enjoy life cannot be beaten. The first Commander, Air Group Seven- teen, possessed a hearty, hard-driving nature that was the answer to the organization of the new Group and, particularly, the gearing of a maintenance unit to the squadrons in line with Bureau orders reducing the comple- ment of service personnel. His forceful personality had an impact on the Group that knit it into a well-run machine administratively as well as operationally. W7hen he left in January, 1944, he turned command over to Commander R. H. Dale small, red-haired Hellcat specialist who held the post until the Group's return to the States, leading them in the destructive raids on the Marshall Islands, preceding and supporting their invasion, and on Truk and the Carolines. Air Group Seventeen was the Bunker Hill's 'first love. From the earliest days before commissioning, the ship's company at Boston and Quincy heard reports of the Air Group, J J ..-.4-1 an-..-.-.,.... -f..-fv.-M. .-s..-.Ye-.....:f-Y V -,-- P1-.fwq-,-416: ,A-:eg- e::-.-: W . Y received second-hand accounts of the game battle it was putting up to make the Corsair and the Helldiver fit for carrier operation. And when they Hew aboard, headed by colorful, sincere Commander M. P. Ba89H Bagdanovich, their problems became the ship's and it was with high pride that the shakedown was completed with definite Proof that where others had failed, Air Group Seventeen and the Bunker Hill had won: the Corsair and the Helldiver were going t0 be all right, operating experiences had proven lf- But the rest of the Fleet did not concur 011 the Corsair and somewhere between the East Coast and Pearl Harbor orders were received detaching Fighting Seventeen. So they Went their way, returning but for one day f0 the ship that had mothered them, but in that one d-35' Paying in full every bit of love the Bunker Hill had given them. They went their way, and few aboard Wfll ever forget the memorable attack--our 5f5F'i when they roared from their South P2556 base to conduct a slam-bang air fight GH