USS Pasadena (CL-65)

History: USS Pasadena (CL–65), a Cleveland-class light cruiser of the United States Navy, the second vessel to carry the name. Pasadena was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass. on 6 February 1943 and launched on 28 December 1943. She was sponsored by Mrs. C.G. Wopschall, and commissioned on 8 June 1944, Captain Richard B. Tuggle in command.

Following the cessation of Pacific hostilities, Pasadena commenced occupation duties. On 23 August she became flagship of TG 35.1, on the 27th she anchored in Sagami Wan, and on 1 September shifted to Tokyo Bay where she witnessed the official surrender ceremony the next day. From then until mid-January 1946, she remained in the Tokyo Bay area supporting the occupation forces. On 19 January she got underway for San Pedro, California and an overdue overhaul. Training and local operations followed and in September she headed west again. From November to February, 1947, she participated in division exercises in Micronesia, then, after fleet maneuvers in Hawaiian waters, returned to California. For the next year she conducted local operations, including a trip up the Columbia River to Portland, OR for Navy Day 1947 then several months in dry dock at Bremerton, WA. Then, during the summer of 1948, she conducted an NROTC training cruise. On 1 October she got underway again for the Far East. At the end of the month, she arrived at Tsingtao, and until May 1949 operated off the China coast. On 1 June, she returned to California. During the summer, she conducted local exercises, and on 12 September departed Long Beach, California for Bremerton and inactivation. She decommissioned on 12 January 1950. USS Pasadena returned to Portland, Oregon, for dismantling on the Willamette river after being sold for scrap on 5 July 1972 to Zidell Explorations of Portland.

Class: The Cleveland class was a group of light cruisers built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. The ships were designed with the goal of increased cruising range, anti-aircraft armament, torpedo protection, etc., compared with earlier U.S. cruisers. Fifty-two ships of this class were originally planned, but nine of them were completed as the light aircraft carriers of the Independence class, and two of them were completed to a somewhat different design, with more compact superstructures and just a single stack. These two were called the Fargo class. Of the 27 Cleveland-class cruisers that were commissioned, one (Galveston) was completed as a guided missile cruiser and five were later modified as Galveston and Providence-class guided missile cruisers. Following the naming convention at the time, all the ships completed as cruisers were named for US cities and towns.

Nationality: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.