, in 1948. The ship was laid down as
Valley Forge – one of the
"long-hull" Essex class – on 14 September 1943 at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was renamed
Princeton on 21 November 1944 to commemorate the light carrier , which was lost at the
Battle of Leyte Gulf on 24 October 1944. The new
Princeton was launched on 8 July 1945, sponsored by Mrs.
Harold Dodds, and commissioned on 18 November 1945,
Captain John M. Hoskins in command. Following shakedown off
Cuba,
Princeton — with
Air Group 81 embarked – remained in the Atlantic and operated with the
8th Fleet until June 1946. Then transferred to the
Pacific Fleet, she arrived at
San Diego, departing again on 3 July 1946 to carry the body of Philippine President
Manuel L. Quezon back to
Manila for burial. From Manila,
Princeton joined the
7th Fleet in the
Marianas, becoming
flagship of
Task Force 77 (TF 77). In September and October 1946, she operated in Japanese and Chinese waters, then returned to the
Mariana Islands where she remained until February 1947. In 1947 she had
Carrier Air Group 13 on board, and in October 1948 evacuated dependents from
Qingdao, returned to San Diego Dec 1948 and unloaded CAG 13. Maneuvers in
Hawaiian waters preceded her return to San Diego until 15 March. She cruised the West Coast, Hawaiian waters, and the Western Pacific (1 October – 23 December) in 1948. She then prepared for inactivation, and on 20 June decommissioned and joined other capital ships in the
Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Korean War Reactivated with
the outbreak of hostilities in Korea 15 months later,
Princeton recommissioned on 28 August 1950. Intensive training refreshed her Reservist crew. On 5 December she joined TF 77 off the Korean coast, her planes and pilots (
Air Group 19) making possible the reinstitution of jet
combat air patrols over the battle zone. She launched 248 sorties against targets in the Hagaru area to announce her arrival. For the next six days she continued the pace, supporting Marines retreating from the
Chosin Reservoir to
Hungnam. By the 11th, all units had reached the staging area on the coast.
Princetons planes, with other Navy, Marine, and Air Force squadrons, then covered the evacuation from Hungnam through its completion on the 24th. Interdiction missions followed, and by 4 April
Princetons planes had rendered 54 rail and 37 highway bridges inoperable and damaged 44 more. In May, they flew against the railroad bridges connecting
Pyongyang with
Sunchon,
Sinanju,
Kachon, and the trans-peninsula line. Next, they combined close air support with raids on power sources in the
Hwachon Reservoir area and, with the stabilization of the front there, resumed interdiction. For much of the summer they pounded supply arteries, concentrating on highways.
Princeton then returned to the US, arriving at San Diego on 29 August. During 1952, scenes for the movie
Flat Top were filmed aboard the ship, as acknowledged in the movie. On 30 April 1952,
Princeton rejoined TF 77 in the combat zone. For 138 days, her planes flew against the enemy. They sank small craft to prevent the recapture of offshore islands; blasted concentrations of supplies, facilities, and equipment behind enemy lines, participated in air-gun strikes on coastal cities,
pounded the enemy's hydroelectric complex at Suiho on the
Yalu River to turn off power on both sides of that river, destroyed gun positions and supply areas in Pyongyang; and closed mineral processing plants and munitions factories at
Sindok,
Musan,
Aoji, and
Najin. Reclassified
CVA-37 (1 October 1952),
Princeton returned to California on 3 November for a two-month respite from the western Pacific. In February 1953, she was back off the Korean coast and until the end of the conflict launched planes for close air support, for "Cherokee" strikes against supply, artillery, and troop concentrations in enemy territory, and against road traffic. She remained in the area after the truce on 27 July, and on 7 September got underway for San Diego.
1954–1962 onboard
Princeton in 1959 In January 1954,
Princeton was reclassified
CVS-37 and, after conversion at
Bremerton, Washington, took up antisubmarine/
Hunter-Killer (HUK) training operations in the eastern Pacific. For the next five years she alternated HUK exercises off the West Coast with similar operations in the western Pacific and, in late 1957-early 1958, in the
Indian Ocean–
Persian Gulf area. Reclassified again, 2 March 1959, she emerged from conversion as an amphibious assault carrier,
LPH-5. Capable of transporting a
battalion landing team and carrying
helicopters in place of planes,
Princetons mission became that of
vertical envelopment—the landing of Marines behind enemy beach fortifications and providing logistics and medical support as they attack from the rear to seize critical points, cut enemy supplies, sever communications, and link up with assault forces landed on the beaches. Since this was a Marine Corps mission, Marines made up a major portion of the ship's company in the Air, Operations, and Supply Departments. From May 1959 – January 1960,
Princeton trained with Marine units from
Camp Pendleton, then deployed to WestPac to train in
Okinawan waters. For the next three years, she followed a similar schedule, gaining experience in her primary mission. Interruptions came in October 1961 when she rescued 74 survivors of two merchantmen
Pioneer Muse and
Sheik grounded on
Kita Daito Shima and in April 1962 when she delivered Marine Corps advisors and helicopters to
Sóc Trăng in the
Mekong Delta area of the Republic of Vietnam (
South Vietnam). From September–November 1962,
Princeton served as flagship of Joint Task Force 8 during the nuclear weapons test series,
Operation Dominic.
Vietnam War , Commander of
Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, with
Captain Paul J. Knapp (USN) and a pair of
ARVN generals, aboard
Princeton, November 1964. In October 1964,
Princeton exchanged WestPac training for the real thing as she returned to Vietnam and joined the Pacific Fleet's Ready Group in operations against
North Vietnamese and
Viet Cong (VC) forces. Combat operations, interrupted in November for flood relief work, continued into the new year, 1965, and culminated in May off
Chu Lai as she carried out her primary mission,
vertical envelopment, for the first time in combat. Returning to her homeport,
Long Beach, California,
Princeton visited San Francisco, Puget Sound, and Hawaii as part of the 1965 Pacific Midshipman Training Squadron. She then transported
Marine Aircraft Group 36 to Vietnam in August, and in February 1966 got underway for another tour in the combat zone. Relieving as flagship for the
Amphibious Ready Group, she engaged the enemy in operations
Jackstay, 26 March – 6 April, to clear the
Rung Sat Special Zone of Viet Cong guerrillas, and
Osage, 27 April – 4 May, to protect Vietnamese in the
Phu Loc area from VC harassment.
Search and destroy missions against Viet Cong and
People's Army of Vietnam units followed as
Princeton provided transportation, medical evacuation, logistics and communication support for the amphibious operation
Deckhouse I, 18 – 27 June, in the
Song Cau district and the
Song Cai river valley, then supported
1st Cavalry and
101st Airborne units engaged in
Operation Nathan Hale to the south of the Deckhouse I area.
Operation Deckhouse II and support for
Operation Hastings followed as Navy, Marine, and Army units again combined, this time to impede enemy infiltration from the
DMZ. After Operation Hastings,
Princeton sailed for home, arriving on 2 September. She deployed again to Vietnam from 30 January – 19 June 1967, and again ranged along the coast. In March, she assisted in countering an enemy threat to the Marine artillery base at
Gio Linh and evacuated wounded from
Con Thien. In April, she participated in
Operation Beacon Star, in the
Khe Sanh area, and supported search and destroy operations in conjunction with
Operation Shawnee. In May, her helicopters lifted Marines to the DMZ to block enemy forces withdrawing across the
Bến Hải River. A much-needed overhaul followed
Princetons return to the west coast, and in May 1968 she again sailed west to Vietnam. There, as flagship for
Amphibious Ready Group Alpha, she provided amphibious assault carrier services for operations
Fortress Attack III and IV,
Proud Hunter,
Swift Pursuit, and
Eager Hunter. In December, she returned to the United States.
Later career in 1969 In April 1969 she was designated the
prime recovery ship for
Apollo 10, the lunar mission which paved the way for
Apollo 11 and the first crewed landing on the
Moon. Apollo 10, carrying astronauts
Eugene Cernan,
John Young, and
Thomas P. Stafford, was recovered in the South Pacific on 26 May. On 30 January 1970,
Princeton was decommissioned and struck from the
Naval Vessel Register, and sold for scrapping to Zidell Explorations Inc., Portland in September 1972 by
Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service. After the ship was sold for scrapping, some of the steel deck plate was acquired by
Fermilab in 1972 for use in its experimental areas. In 1978,
Robert R. Wilson used portions of that steel to create the
Broken Symmetry sculpture that stands over one of the laboratory's gates. == Awards ==