Essex (CVS 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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Daring and dependable in combat, the ESSEX and her gallant oyjicers and men rendered loyal service in achieving the an l ultimate defeat of the fapanese Empire. For the President J AMES FORRESTAL Secretary of the Navy After her return from the States, ESSEX continued her valiant hard-working role, and by 23 May she was back in action, bringing destruction to Marcus, then Wake, then the Marianas and Palau Islands. During the Marianas occupation, ESSEX flew 3,078 sorties, and participated in one of the most significant actions of World War ll. By fall, ESSEX was launching strikes against Nansei Shoto, Formosa, and the Philippine Islands, as the war moved north, culminating in the strikes which virtually annihilated shipping in Manila Bay . . . a resounding climax to the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea. ln a little over a month, a total of 138 planes in the air were destroyed, and ll7 on the ground, while dozens of warships were sunk. In preparation for the landings in Lingayen Gulf, strikes were launched against Formosa, Sakishima Gunto and as far north as Okinawa Gunto, as well as installations on Lu- zon. From Formosa, ESSEX, as part of a task force, entered the South China Sea, launching effective strikes against Japanese shipping in the Saigon Bay area. By the beginning of l945, the scene had been set for strikes against Tokyo itself, to neutralize the enemy's air force preparatory to the Marines' landing on lwo Jima, and to cripple the Japanese aircraft industry. ln a standby position off lwo Jima during the actual land- ings, ESSEX launched strikes against Chichi Jima and other neighboring islands. Then at Ulithi, plans were laid for the Okinawa campaign, climax of the war in the Pacific, during which ESSEX's Air Group flew 6460 sorties. To bring the war to a rapid and now inevitable victory, Task Force 58 struck in great force against Tokyo on T0 July, and pounded at Hokkaido and Northern Honshu, as well as the Kure Naval Base. With further destructive harrassment from the fleet, and the final, punishing blow dealt by the two atomic bomb blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese Empire crumbled and fell in humiliating defeat. The war was over. 4 - wr 39' ,gy , . ff swf? x tix I X is x 17'

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s M HJ,,..,,- ..,, M W , V, ill ,1 ' ff 7 ,f ' 1, ff':,w:w . ,M , The war in the Pacific, an exhausting series of diH:icult battles, could not dampen the spirit or hard working abilities of the crew and air group of the Fightin'est Ship in the Fleet. Despite long hours, tragic iniuries and deaths, and incredible sacrifices, their loy- alty remained constant and their efforts un- wavering. Silhouette ot destruction...ESSEX lies off the Japanese coast in preparation tor the final strikes against the home islands.