Commissioning and Interwar period Boise was
launched on 3 December 1936 by
Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company,
Newport News, Virginia, sponsored by Miss Salome Clark, the daughter of
Governor Clark of
Idaho. The ship commissioned on 12 August 1938 with Captain
Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish in command. In February 1939, following a shakedown cruise to
Monrovia, Liberia and
Cape Town,
Union of South Africa,
Boise joined Cruiser Division 9 (CruDiv 9), Battle Force, at
San Pedro, California. Until November 1941, she operated alternately off the west coast and in Hawaiian waters. She then escorted a convoy to
Manila,
Philippine Islands, arriving on 4 December. Under the command of Captain "Mike" Moran, who was later awarded the
Navy Cross for his leadership during the battle,
Boise made her way to
Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she underwent repairs from 19 November 1942 to 20 March 1943. The gunfire damage was the first case available for complete
Bureau of Ships analysis. It was discovered that one of the shells was of English manufacture.
Boise departed on 8 June for the
Mediterranean, arriving at
Algiers, Algeria on 21 June. From 10 July to 18 August, she acted as a cover and fire support ship for the
Amphibious Battle of Gela during the
Invasion of Sicily. In September, she took part in the Italian mainland landings at
Taranto (9–10 September) and
Salerno (12–19 September). She returned to New York on 15 November, and once again steamed to the South Pacific, arriving at
Milne Bay,
New Guinea on 31 December.
Luzon covering force (14–31 January);
Bataan-
Corregidor occupation (13–17 February); and
Zamboanga landings (8–12 March). She then moved to
Borneo for the
Tarakan landings (27 April – 3 May).
Nueve de Julio remained in service with the Argentine Navy until 1978, when she was decommissioned and towed to
Brownsville, Texas. ==Awards==