From the Oct. 12, 2009, Columbia (SC) The State.
The light cruiser USS Columbia participated in most of the World War II battles in the Pacific. This week the few remaining crew members of the ship were honored in Columbia. About 24 veterans in their 80s and 90s and 100 family members came to town. They were last here in 2004.
An eight-foot highly detailed model of their ship was unveiled at the South Carolina Relic Room and Military Museum. The ship's flag from the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle of the war, was donated to the museum by the son of Admiral Maurice Curtis, who was then the ship's captain.
The model had already been in the collection, but not displayed, but the museum was renovated and the USS Columbia is now protected by a $5000 permanent display case.
The ship was commissioned ten days after Pearl Harbor. On January 6th and 9th, 1945, it was attacked by three Japanese kamikaze planes. Two hit, causing casualties and damage. During the war, 60 sailors were killed or MIA.
The Columbia was decommissioned in 1946, after earning ten Battle Stars. The name was revived in 1995, was the commissioning of a nuclear attack submarine.
The Story of a Ship. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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