USS Columbia (CL-56)

USS Columbia (CL-56): Through Fire and Kamikaze

Commissioned on 29 July 1942, USS Columbia was a Cleveland-class light cruiser that earned ten battle stars across three years of Pacific combat, and earned them the hard way, surviving multiple combat damage incidents including one of the more damaging kamikaze attacks of the Philippine campaign. She was the kind of ship that the Pacific War ground down but couldn't stop.

Columbia entered the Pacific campaign in late 1942 and participated in the Solomon Islands campaign through 1943, supporting the systematic American reduction of Japanese positions in the upper Solomons and contributing to the naval operations that finally secured Guadalcanal and turned the strategic tide. She was part of the Empress Augusta Bay action in November 1943, a night surface engagement off Bougainville that demonstrated the growing American proficiency in night combat.

By 1944, Columbia was participating in the Central Pacific drive and then the pivotal Philippines campaign. At Lingayen Gulf in January 1945, the massive American landing on Luzon that would eventually lead to the liberation of Manila, Columbia was hit by a kamikaze dive that killed 24 men and wounded 97 more, causing serious topside damage. She remained in action, providing fire support for the landing forces even while damage control parties worked to bring her fires under control.

Columbia was also struck by a kamikaze at Mindoro in December 1944, and by shore battery fire in the Philippine operations. Each time, her crew controlled the damage and kept her fighting. This pattern of taking punishment and continuing the mission was the hallmark of Pacific War cruiser service.

Ten battle stars for a ship that absorbed kamikaze hits, shore battery fire, and the sustained operational tempo of the Pacific War and kept fighting. Columbia was decommissioned on 30 November 1946. Tactically Acquired's USS Columbia (CL-56) collection honors her crew's extraordinary resilience.