[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 14, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO THE USS HORNET CV-12 ON ITS 80TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 14, 2024

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
80th anniversary of the USS Hornet CV-12, a ship served the US Navy 
during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
  The predecessor aircraft carrier, USS Hornet CV-8 was known as 
``Shangri-La'', the mysterious base from which Lt. Colonel James 
``Jimmy'' Doolittle led the Doolittle Raiders, 21 B-25 bombers, on the 
Tokyo Raid on April 18, 1942.
  In World War II, during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, on 
October 26,1942, the USS Hornet CV-8, was attacked and sunk by Japanese 
dive bomber and torpedo planes with the loss of 140 of her 2,200 
sailors. 21 aircraft went down with the ship.
  A new Essex-class carrier was commissioned the USS Hornet CV-12 on 
November 29; 1943, 80 years ago.
  The USS Hornet CV-12 joined the Pacific Fleet in 1944. Her first 
battle was a strike on the Palau Islands on March 30th 1944. After 
this, the USS Hornet CV-12 participated in almost every major naval 
engagement in the Pacific for the rest of the war, including the Battle 
of the Philippine Sea, the invasion of the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and 
Okinawa.
  In WWII, in 18 months of combat operations, the aircraft that served 
on the USS Hornet CV-12 destroyed more Japanese aircraft than any other 
aircraft carrier--668 Japanese planes shot down, 742 Japanese planes 
destroyed on the ground, 1,269,710 tons of enemy ships sunk or heavily 
damaged. 73 ships sunk, 37 probable, and 413 damaged.
  The USS Hornet CVS-12 served 3 tours at Yankee Station during the 
Vietnam War in the 1960s.
  On July 24th, 1969, the USS Hornet CV-12 was the recovery ship for 
the Apollo 11 astronauts, hosting President Nixon as he welcomed back 
the first men to ever walk on the Moon.
  On November 24th, 1969, the USS Hornet CVS-12 recovered the Apollo 12 
astronauts.
  The USS Hornet CVS-12 was decommissioned on June 30, 1970.
  On her way to the scrapyard, the USS Hornet CVS-12 was saved and 
turned into a floating museum. She opened her doors on October 17, 
1998, 25 years ago as the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum at the 
former Alameda Naval Air Station in Alameda, California.
  The USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum now projects its power as an 
Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the largest museum, research, 
and educational facility in the world.
  Please join me as I salute the sailors who served on the USS Hornet 
CVS-12. I also thank those who now use the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space 
Museum and its collections, exhibitions, and educational programming to 
promote awareness and understanding of history, science, technology, 
and service as a Smithsonian Affiliate. This historic ship has the 
unique opportunity to live on, welcoming visitors from across the 
country to learn about its 80-year legacy.

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