USS Monterey: The Story of Sailor Pete

By Michael L Aldridge

The Diary of "Sailor Pete" on the USS Monterey and his adventures at sea as a young man from a small town in Indiana. Historical and personal insights including his own hand written diary about his love to his wife Betty and their children!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Aldridge
• Release date: Jul 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088097410

Book preview

Chapter 1: USS Monterey Launching

This is the launch of the USS Monterey February 28, 1943 in Camden, New Jersey.

Chapter 2:

The History of the USS Monterey CVL 26

The USS Monterey was converted from a light cruiser to an independence-class light aircraft carrier in Camden, New Jersey in 1941. She was launched and commissioned two years later.

Originally a Cleveland-class light cruiser, she was named Dayton (CL-78) for the city in Ohio. She was later named Monterey, after a city in California south of San Francisco. This city was founded by the Spanish and named for the Count of Monterey in 1598. During the Mexican war on July 7, 1846, 250 Marines and Bluejackets under Captain William M. Mervine, USMC captured the city.

The ship was renamed on March 31, 1942 and launched on February 28, 1943 with Captain Lester T. Hundt in command. She was the third US Navy vessel to be named after the Battle of Monterey.

But then she was reclassified from an independence cruiser on July 15, 1943. She departed Philadelphia for the western Pacific shortly after commissioning and shakedown. She arrived in the Gilbert Islands in November 1943 to help secure Makin Island.

After this island was secured, she went on to Kavieng, New Ireland and took part in strikes there. In December the Monterey supported the landings at Kwajelein and Eniwetok until February 1944. Then she went on to operate with the Task Force 58 during raids in the Carolines, the Marianas, northern New Guinea and the Bonins from February through July 1944. She was also involved in the Battle of the Philippines Sea on April 29 and 30.

After these battles she sailed to Pearl Harbor for an overhaul and departed again on the 29th of August. She launched strikes against Wake Island on September 3rd and then joined Task Force 38 in the southern Philippines and the Ryukyus. During the months of October through December 1944 she was in the Philippines supporting the Leyte and the Mindoro landings.

Enemy planes were unable to do damage to the Monterey but she did not complete her first full year of service unscathed. In December she headed into the path of a typhoon with winds over 100 knots. The storm lasted two days and several planes tore loose from their cables and caused several fires on the deck. She arrived in Bremerton, Washington for an overhaul in January of 1945. Then rejoined Task Force 58 supporting Okinawan operations by launching strikes against Nansei Shoto and Kyushu from May 9 to the first of June. Finally joining the Task Force 38, she helped with strikes against Honshu and Hokkaido from July 1 to August