USS Boxer (Cv-21) During Korean War

USS Boxer (Cv-21) During Korean War Conceived in the 1920s and early 1930s, the US Navys  Lexington- and  Yorktown-class aircraft carriers were built to fit within the restrictions set forth by the  Washington Naval Treaty. This placed limitations on the tonnage of different types of warships as well as capped each signatory’s overall tonnage. These types of restrictions were continued through the 1930 London Naval Treaty. As global tensions rose, Japan and Italy left the agreement in 1936. With the end of the treaty system, the US Navy began developing a design for a new, larger class of aircraft carrier and one which utilized the lessons learned from the   Yorktown-class. The resulting type was wider and longer as well as incorporated a deck-edge elevator system. This had been employed earlier on  USS  Wasp   (CV-7). In addition to carrying a larger air group, the new class mounted a greatly enlarged anti-aircraft armament. The lead ship,  USS  Essex  (CV-9), was laid down on April 28, 1941 . With the US entry into  World War II  after the  attack on Pearl Harbor, the  Essex-class became the US Navys standard design for fleet carriers. The first four ships after  Essex  followed the types initial design. In early 1943, the US Navy made changes to enhance future vessels. The most noticeable of these was the lengthening the bow to a clipper design which allowed for the addition of two quadruple 40 mm mounts. Other changes included moving the combat information center below the armored deck, installation of improved aviation fuel and ventilation systems, a second catapult on the flight deck, and an additional fire control director. Though known as the long-hull  Essex-class or  Ticonderoga-class by some, the US Navy made no distinction between these and the earlier  Essex-class ships. USS Boxer (CV-21) Construction The first ship to move forward with the revised  Essex-class design was USS  Hancock  (CV-14) which was later renamed Ticonderoga.   It was followed by several others including USS Boxer  (CV-21).   Laid down on September 13, 1943,  construction of Boxer  began at Newport News Shipbuilding and rapidly moved forward.   Named for HMS Boxer  which had been captured by the US Navy during the War of 1812, the new carrier slid into the water on  December 14, 1944, with Ruth D. Overton, daughter of Senator John H. Overton, serving as sponsor.   Work continued and  Boxer  entered commission on April 16, 1945, with Captain D.F. Smith in command. Early Service Departing Norfolk,  Boxer  commenced shakedown and training operations in preparation for use in the Pacific Theater of World War II.   As these initiatives were concluding, the conflict ended with Japan asking for a cessation of hostilities.   Dispatched to the Pacific in August 1945, Boxer  arrived at San Diego before departing for Guam the following month.   Reaching that island, it became flagship of Task Force 77.   Supporting the occupation of Japan,  the carrier remained abroad until August 1946 and also made calls in Okinawa, China, and the Philippines.   Returning to San Francisco,  Boxer  embarked Carrier Air Group 19 which flew the new Grumman F8F Bearcat.   As one of the US Navys newest carriers, Boxer  remained in commission as the service downsized from its wartime levels. After conducting peacetime activities off California in 1947, the following year saw  Boxer  employed in jet aircraft testing.   In this role, it launched the first jet fighter, a North American FJ-1 Fury, to fly from an American carrier on March 10.   After spending two years employed in maneuvers and training jet pilots,  Boxer  departed for the Far East in January 1950.   Making goodwill visits around the region as part of the 7th Fleet, the carrier also entertained South Korean President Syngman Rhee.   Due for a maintenance overhaul,  Boxer  returned to San Diego on June 25 just as the Korean War was beginning. USS Boxer (CV-21) - Korean War:   Due to the urgency of the situation,  Boxers overhaul was postponed and the carrier was quickly employed to ferry aircraft to the war zone.   Embarking 145 North American P-51 Mustangs and other aircraft and supplies, the carrier departed Alameda, CA on July 14 and set a trans-Pacific speed record by reaching Japan in eight days, seven hours.   Another record was set in early August when  Boxer  made a second ferry trip.   Returning to California, the carrier received cursory maintenance before embarking the Chance-Vought F4U Corsairs of Carrier Air Group 2.   Sailing for Korea in a combat role,  Boxer  arrived and received orders to join the fleet gathering to support the landings at Inchon.   Operating off Inchon in September,  Boxers aircraft provided close support to the troops ashore as they drove inland and re-captured Seoul.   While performing this mission, the carrier was stricken when one of its reduction gears failed.   Caused due to postponed maintenance on the vessel, it limited the carriers speed to 26 knots.   On November 11,  Boxer  received orders to sail for the United States to make repairs.   These were conducted at San Diego and the carrier was able to resume combat operations after embarking Carrier Air Group 101.   Operating from Point Oboe, approximately 125 miles east of Wonsan,  Boxers aircraft struck targets along the 38th Parallel between March and October 1951.    Refitting in the fall of 1951, Boxer  again sailed for Korea the following February with the Grumman F9F Panthers of Carrier Air Group 2 aboard.   Serving in Task Force 77, the carriers planes conducted strategic strikes across North Korea.   During this deployment, tragedy struck the ship on August 5 when an aircrafts fuel tank caught fire.   Quickly spreading through the hanger deck, it took over four hours to contain and killed eight.   Repaired at Yokosuka,  Boxer  re-entered combat operations later that month.   Shortly after returning, the carrier tested a new weapons system which used radio-controlled Grumman F6F Hellcats as flying bombs.   Re-designated as an attack aircraft carrier (CVA-21) in October 1952,  Boxer  underwent an extensive overhaul that winter before making a final Korean deployment between March and November 1953. USS Boxer (CV-21) - A Transition: Following the end of the conflict,  Boxer  made a series of cruises in the Pacific between 1954 and 1956.   Re-designated an anti-submarine carrier (CVS-21) in early 1956, it made a final Pacific deployment late that year and into 1957.   Returning home,  Boxer  was selected to take part in a US Navy experiment which sought to have a carrier solely employ attack helicopters.   Moved to the Atlantic in 1958,  Boxer  operated with an experimental force intended to support the rapid deployment of US Marines.   This saw it again re-designated on January 30, 1959, this time as a landing platform helicopter (LPH-4).   Largely operating in the Caribbean, Boxer  supported American efforts during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 as well as used its new capabilities to aid efforts in Haiti and the Dominican Republic later in the decade. With the US entry into the Vietnam War  in 1965, Boxer  reprised its ferry role by carrying 200 helicopters belonging the US Armys 1st Cavalry Division to South Vietnam.   A second trip was made the following year.   Returning to the Atlantic, Boxer assisted NASA in early 1966 when it recovered an unmanned Apollo test capsule (AS-201) in February and served as the primary recovery ship for Gemini 8 in March.   Over the next three years, Boxer  continued in its amphibious support role until being decommissioned on December 1, 1969.   Removed from the Naval Vessel Register, it was sold for scrap on March 13, 1971.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   USS Boxer  (CV-21) At a Glance Nation:  United StatesType:  Aircraft CarrierShipyard:  Newport New ShipbuildingLaid Down:  September 13, 1943Launched:  December 4, 1944Commissioned:  April 16, 1945Fate:  Sold for scrap, February 1971 USS Boxer (CV-21) - Specifications Displacement:  27,100 tonsLength:  888 ft.Beam:  93 ft.Draft:  28 ft., 7 in.Propulsion:  8 Ãâ€" boilers, 4 Ãâ€" Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 4 Ãâ€" shaftsSpeed:  33 knotsComplement:  3,448 men USS Boxer (CV-21) - Armament 4 Ãâ€" twin 5 inch 38 caliber guns4 Ãâ€" single 5 inch 38 caliber guns8 Ãâ€" quadruple 40 mm 56 caliber guns46 Ãâ€" single 20 mm 78 caliber guns Aircraft 90-100 aircraft Selected Sources DANFS: USS  Boxer  (CV-21)NavSource: USS  Boxer  (CV-21)USS  Boxer  (CV-21) Veterans Association

History of the Asian American Civil Rights Movement

History of the Asian American Civil Rights Movement During the Asian American civil rights movement of the 1960s and 70s, activists fought for the development of ethnic studies programs in universities, an end to the Vietnam War, and reparations for Japanese Americans forced into  internment camps during World War II. The movement had come to a close by the late 1980s. The Birth of Yellow Power By watching African Americans expose institutional racism and government hypocrisy, Asian Americans began to identify the ways in which they, too, had faced discrimination in the United States. â€Å"The ‘black power’ movement caused many Asian Americans to question themselves,† wrote Amy Uyematsu in â€Å"The Emergence of Yellow Power,† a 1969 essay. â€Å"‘Yellow power is just now at the stage of an articulated mood rather than a program- disillusionment and alienation from white America and independence, race pride and self-respect.† Black activism played a fundamental role in the launch of the Asian American civil rights movement, but Asians and Asian Americans influenced black radicals as well. African American activists often cited the writings of China’s communist leader  Mao Zedong. Also, a founding member of the Black Panther Party- Richard Aoki- was Japanese American. A military veteran who spent his early years in an internment camp, Aoki donated weapons to the Black Panthers and trained them in their use. Impact of Internment Like Aoki, a number of Asian American civil rights activists were Japanese American internees or the children of internees. The decision of President Franklin Roosevelt to force more than 110,000 Japanese Americans into concentration camps during World War II had a detrimental impact on the community. Forced into camps based on fears that they still maintained ties to the Japanese government, Japanese Americans strove to prove that they were authentically American by assimilating, yet  they continued to face discrimination. Speaking out about the racial bias they faced felt risky for some Japanese Americans, given their past treatment by the U.S. government. â€Å"Unlike other groups, Japanese Americans were expected to be quiet and behave and thus did not have sanctioned outlets to express the anger and indignation that accompanied their racially subordinated status,† writes Laura Pulido in Black, Brown, Yellow and Left: Radical Activism in Los Angeles. Goals of the Movement When not only blacks but also Latinos and Asian Americans from various ethnic groups began to share their experiences of oppression, indignation replaced fear about the ramifications of speaking out. Asian Americans on college campuses demanded a curriculum representative of their histories. Activists also sought to prevent gentrification from destroying Asian American neighborhoods. Explained activist Gordon Lee in a 2003  Hyphen  magazine piece called â€Å"The Forgotten Revolution,† â€Å"The more we examined our collective histories, the more we began to find a rich and complex past. And we became outraged at the depths of the economic, racial and gender exploitation that had forced our families into roles as subservient cooks, servants or coolies, garment workers and prostitutes, and which also improperly labeled us as the ‘model minority’ comprised of ‘successful’ businessmen, merchants or professionals.†Ã‚   Students' Efforts College campuses provided fertile ground for the movement. Asian Americans at the University of California, Los Angeles launched groups such as Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) and Orientals Concerned. A group of Japanese American UCLA students also formed the leftist publication Gidra in 1969. Meanwhile, on the East Coast, branches of AAPA formed at Yale and Columbia. In the Midwest, Asian student groups formed at the University of Illinois, Oberlin College, and the University of Michigan. â€Å"By 1970, there were more than 70 campus and†¦ community groups with ‘Asian American’ in their name, Lee recalled. â€Å"The term symbolized the new social and political attitudes that were sweeping through communities of color in the United States. It was also a clear break with the name ‘Oriental.’† Outside of college campuses, organizations such as I Wor Kuen and Asian Americans for Action formed on the East Coast. One of the movement’s greatest triumphs was when Asian American students and other students of color participated in strikes in 1968 and 69 at San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley for the development of ethnic studies programs. Students demanded to design the programs and select the faculty who would teach the courses. Today, San Francisco State offers more than 175 courses in its College of Ethnic Studies. At Berkeley, Professor Ronald Takaki helped develop the nation’s first Ph.D. program in comparative ethnic studies. Vietnam and Pan-Asian Identity A challenge of the Asian American civil rights movement from the outset was that Asian Americans identified by ethnic group rather than as a racial group. The Vietnam War changed that. During the war, Asian Americans- Vietnamese or otherwise- faced hostility. â€Å"The injustices and racism exposed by the Vietnam War also helped cement a bond between different Asian groups living in America,† Lee said. â€Å"In the eyes of the United States military, it didn’t matter if you were Vietnamese or Chinese, Cambodian or Laotian, you were a ‘gook,’ and therefore subhuman.† The Movement Ends After the Vietnam War, many radical Asian American groups dissolved. There was no unifying cause to rally around. For Japanese Americans, though, the experience of being interned had left festering wounds. Activists organized to have the federal government apologize for its actions during World War II. In 1976, President Gerald Ford signed Proclamation 4417, in which internment was declared a â€Å"national mistake.† A dozen years later, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which distributed $20,000 in reparations to surviving internees or their heirs and included an apology from the federal government.