laststandonzombieisland

Original wartime caption: “25 December 1944, somewhere in the Pacific. Christmas night party, decorated tree, and presents aboard the escort carrrier USS Anzio (CVE-57).”

The bluejackets above had good reason to celebrate. Anchored in Ulithi Atoll during the above image, just the week prior the ship had, as described in this week’s Warship Wednesday, fought through the heart of Typhoon Cobra and survived, albeit having two of her escorts demasted and a third of the planes in her air group damaged or swept overboard. Still, her crew swept up the flight deck and resumed flying operations as soon as the sea calmed.

Anzio still had eight long months of war ahead of her, including operations off Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

She group bagged five Japanese submarines, splashed 31 confirmed enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat, shot down another eight via her ship’s guns, and conducted over 6,000 traps, including hundreds of sorties reducing Japanese troop concentrations, gun emplacements, and shore installations. In all, Anzio steamed 156,518 miles within two years of her commissioning.

She earned nine battle stars for her Pacific War.

Returning home in 1946 after Magic Carpet service, she was soon laid up and, after more than a decade in mothballs, was unceremoniously sold for scrap.