All the following pages are declassified per above.



USS Helena War Diary February 1943
Page 1 of 4 pages


USS Nashville (CL-43)

USS Nashville (CL-43), a Brooklyn-class light cruiser, was laid down on 24 January 1935 by New York
Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey; launched on 2 October 1937; sponsored by Misses Ann
and Mildred Stahlman; and commissioned on 6 June 1938, Captain William W. Wilson in command.

From August December 1941, Nashville was based at Bermuda for the Neutrality Patrol in the Central
Atlantic. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Nashville steamed to Casco Bay, Maine, where she joined
with a troop and cargo convoy to escort them to Iceland. She continued escort duty to Bermuda and
Iceland until February 1942.


USS Helena (CL-50) was a St. Louis class light cruiser of the United States Navy. Completed shortly before
World War II, she was damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor, and participated in several battles in the Pacific War
She was sunk by surface-fired torpedos at the battle of Kula Gulf in 1943. She was one of three U.S. light cruisers to
be sunk during the war.
Helena was the first US Navy ship to be awarded the Navy Unit Commendation medal in November 1942.

USS Honolulu (CL-48) of the United States Navy was a Brooklyn-class light cruiser active
in the Pacific War (World War II)

Honolulu sailed from Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands to intercept a Japanese Navy
convoy attempting to reinforce their positions on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
The Battle of Tassafaronga began shortly before midnight on 30 November, continuing through
the night. One Japanese destroyer was sunk by American cruiser gunfire, but four cruisers were
hit by Japanese torpedoes, with one of the cruisers, Northampton , sinking. Honolulu escaped
serious damage in this, one of the worst defeats suffered by the US Navy during World War II.

Honolulu operated out of Espiritu Santo in early 1943 with Task Force 67 (TF 67) in an attempt to
engage the "Tokyo Express".

St. Louis was laid down on 10 December 1936 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company,
Newport News, Virginia; launched on 15 April 1938; sponsored by Miss Nancy Lee Morrill; and commissioned
on 19 May 1939, Captain Charles H. Morrison in command.

On 6 January 1942, she departed San Francisco with Task Force 17 (TF 17), centered around Yorktown, and
escorted the ships transporting the Marine Expeditionary Force to Samoa to reinforce defenses there. From
20–24 January, the Yorktown group covered the offloading at Pago Pago, then moved to conduct air strikes
in the Marshalls and the Gilberts before returning to Pearl Harbor on 7 February.




The following information provided by Wikipedia.
To view more about the USS Enterprise (CV-6) and her awards, click HERE!
Then scroll down to about the middle of their page.
USS Enterprise (CV-6), was the seventh US Navy vessel, colloquially called "the Big E". She was the sixth aircraft carrier
of the United States Navy. A Yorktown-class carrier, she was launched in 1936 and was one of only three American carriers
commissioned before World War II to survive the war (the others being Saratoga and Ranger). She participated in more
major actions of the war against Japan than any other United States ship. These actions included the Attack on Pearl Harbor
(18 dive bombers of VS-6 were over the harbor, 6 were shot down with a loss of eleven men, making her the only American
Aircraft carrier with men at Pearl Harbor during the Attack and the first to receive casualties during the Pacific War), the
Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, various other air-sea engagements
during the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Enterprise earned 20
battle stars, the most for any U.S. warship in World War II, and was the most decorated U.S. ship of World War II, She is also
the first American ship to sink an enemy vessel during the Pacific War, the sole surviving pilot of the six planes shot down
over Pearl Harbor sank Japanese submarine I-70 on 10 December 1941. On three occasions during the Pacific War, the
Japanese announced that she had been sunk in battle, resulting in her being named "The Grey Ghost".



USS Enterprise (CV-6)
Web Page



USS O'Bannon (DD/DDE-450), a Fletcher -class destroyer , was the second ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon (1784–1850), the Marine Corps's "hero of Derna ".
O'Bannon was laid down by Bath Iron Works Corp. in Bath, Maine on 3 March 1941, and
launched 19 February 1942, sponsored by Mrs. E. F. Kennedy, descendant of Lieutenant O'Bannon.
O'Bannon and her sister ship Nicholas (DD-449) were the first two Fletchers to be launched.
O'Bannon was commissioned at Boston on 26 June 1942, Commander Edwin R. Wilkinson in command.
O'Bannon was the US Navy's most decorated destroyer during World War II ,
earning 17 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation .




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