b'U . S .M i l i t a r yAfter raiding enemy forces at Saipan on June 11, 1944, the Lex successfully fought off a fierce attack by Japanese torpedo bombers launched from Guam on June 16. Nonetheless, in a vain effort to boost moral by giving hope to the homeland, Tokyo Rose again reported the Lex sunk, for the third time. Know-ing that their masterpiece of naval warfare would once again reemerge after being claimed sunk by the enemy, the ships new nickname started to perme-ate throughout its heroic crewthe Blue Ghost.The Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19-20, 1944, represented the Japanese Navys last major effort at stopping the Americans progress in the Pacific and was launched in response to the amphibious assault on the Mariana Islands by the U.S. Marines. In what would be the biggest carrier-versus-carrier battle in the history of warfarelater known as the Great Marianas Turkey Shootover 300 enemy planes were shot down, including six on a single mission by Navy flying ace, Alexander Vraciu, from the deck of the USS Lexington. The fighting capacity of Japanese naval aviation was all but knocked out, and the War in the Pacific took an irreversible turn. Just as satisfying was avenging the attack on Pearl Harbor by enemy pilots, less than three years earlier.Winning the War in the PacificIn September and October 1944, the USS Lexington conducted raids on Guam and in the Philippines, and led attacks on Okinawa Island, Japan, and on For-mosa (now Taiwan). The Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippines, was the biggest naval battle in world history, and finalized the decisive Allied victory in the Pacific. Over the last week of October and the first 12 days of November, Lex-ington pilots sank or assisted in the sinking of Japans heaviest battleship and cruiser, along with three aircraft carriers, and delivered torpedo strikes on three more cruisers.After destroying the fleeing Japanese heavy cruiser, Nachi, on November 5, the Lex was struck by a flaming Japanese Zero in a Kamikaze attack near the ships island command structure. A fire ensued, 49 crew members were killed, and the island sustained moderate damage, but flight operations soon resumed. After the ship returned to base for repairs, the crew learned that good ole Tokyo Rose once again reported the Blue Ghost sunk.Over the winter of 1944-45, the Lexington battle group inched closer to the Japanese main islands, conducting multiple raids on targets on Okinawa, For-above :Flight operations in the War in the Pacific aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16).mosa, and Hong Kong. By February, pilots launched from the Lex were knock-below :Flight training at NAS Corpus Christi at the height of World War II. ing out airfields and industrial plants near Tokyo itself, were flying in support of the invasion of Iwo Jima, and the crew was preparing to support an all-out land invasion of mainland Japan.After a two-month overhaul at Puget Sound, Washington, the Lex returned to battle in late May 1945 and participated in raids on Japans main islands that destroyed what was left of the Imperial fleet. The war finally ended in August 1945, following nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The USS Lexingtons final mission of World War II was its role in Operation Magic Carpet in December 1945, ferrying thousands of American servicemen home for good. In the end, the Blue Ghost was one of the most decorated aircraft carriers in the history of the United States Navy.Post-War MissionOf the 24 Essex-class carriers that were built, none were sunk, and two that were damaged badly enough to leave the battle made it to port under their own power. These mighty warships were expected to last only up to ten years, even after the warin 2023, the 80th anniversary of the commissioning of the USS Lexington (CV-16) will be celebrated, making it the oldest surviving aircraft carrier in the world.The Lex was first decommissioned in 1947 and was entered into the reserve fleet. For two years, from September 1953 to August 1955, the ship underwent an Essex-class conversion that allowed it to operate with jet aircraft, and was 100THE COASTAL BEND GUIDE TheCoastalBend.com'