USS Guam (CB-2) - Service History

Service History

Guam left Philadelphia on 17 January 1945, after completing her shakedown cruise off Trinidad. She proceeded through the Panama Canal to join the United States Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, which she reached on 8 February. While there, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal visited the ship. On 3 March, she departed Hawaii for Ulithi, where she joined her sister Alaska on 13 March. Shortly thereafter, Guam and the rest of Task Force 58, the main strike force of the US Navy under the command of Admiral Arthur W. Radford, departed for a raid on the mainland Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. Task Force 58 arrived off Japan on the morning of 18 March and was quickly attacked by Japanese kamikazes and bombers. Guam was detached from the unit to escort the badly damaged carrier Franklin back to port, which lasted until 22 March.

Guam then returned to Task Force 58, assigned to Cruiser Division 16, part of Task Group 58.4, and steamed to Okinawa. On the night of 27–28 March, Guam and the rest of Cruiser Division 16 bombarded the airfield on Minamidaitō. After concluding the bombardment, Guam returned to the carrier screen while they conducted operations off Nansei Shoto until 11 May. The ship then steamed to Ulithi for periodic maintenance and to replenish ammunition and supplies. She then returned to Okinawa, assigned to Task Group 38.4 of William Halsey's Third Fleet. She continued to provide anti-aircraft defense for the carriers while they launched fighter sweeps of Kyushu. Guam and Alaska bombarded Oki Daitō for an hour and a half on 9 June, after which they steamed to San Pedro Bay in the Leyte Gulf, arriving on 13 June.

After returning to Okinawa in July, Guam was assigned to Cruiser Task Force 95, where she served as the flagship, along with her sister Alaska, under the command of Rear Admiral Francis S. Low. On 16 July, Guam and Alaska conducted a sweep into the East China and Yellow Seas to sink Japanese shipping. They have only limited success, however, and returned to the fleet on 23 July. They then joined a major raid, which included three battleships and three escort carriers, into the estuary of the Yangtze River off Shanghai. Again, the operation met with limited success, and they returned to Okinawa by 7 August.

Shortly after returning to Okinawa, Guam became the flagship of the North China Force, again commanded by Rear Admiral Low. The unit was tasked with showing the flag in the region, including the ports of Tsingtao, Port Arthur, and Dalian. On 8 September, Guam entered Jinsen, Korea, to assist in the occupation of the country. She left Jinsen on 14 November bound for San Francisco, carrying a group of Army soldiers back to the United States. She arrived in port on 3 December and departed two days later for Bayonne, New Jersey, arriving on the 17th. She remained there until she was decommissioned on 17 February 1947. She was then assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, where she remained until she was stricken from the navy list on 1 June 1960. She was sold on 24 May 1961 for $423,076 to the Boston Metals Company in Baltimore. She was towed to the shipbreakers on 10 July 1961. Guam had served on 29 months on active duty. In the course of her career, she received two battle stars for her service during World War II.