USS Houston (CL-81)

USS Houston (CL-81): Carrying the Name Back to the Fight

Commissioned on 20 December 1943, USS Houston was a Cleveland-class light cruiser commissioned specifically to carry forward the name of USS Houston CA-30, the heavy cruiser that had been lost in the Java Sea in March 1942 with 693 men, fighting to the last against an overwhelming Japanese force. The people of Houston, Texas had adopted the crew of CA-30, and when she was sunk they honored her memory by funding her replacement. The second Houston carried Texas's name back into the Pacific War.

CL-81 was originally laid down as Vicksburg before being renamed Houston in recognition of the Texas city's contribution to the war effort and the heroic sacrifice of the first Houston's crew. She entered Pacific service in 1944 and participated in operations including carrier task force screening and the naval campaigns in the Philippines.

In October 1944, Houston was hit by two separate Japanese aerial torpedo strikes within two days during the Philippine Sea operations, surviving both and demonstrating the same toughness that had made her predecessor legendary. Damage was significant, requiring repairs, but she returned to service and continued the Pacific campaign.

She earned three battle stars for World War II service, representing the final year of Pacific combat operations that her predecessor had helped to initiate by fighting and dying in the Java Sea in 1942. The Houston name had earned its place twice: once in sacrifice in the Dutch East Indies, and again in the sustained operations of the Central Pacific offensive.

Houston CL-81 was decommissioned on 15 December 1947. Tactically Acquired's USS Houston (CL-81) collection honors both Houstons, the one that went down fighting in the Java Sea, and the one that carried her name to victory in the Pacific. Texas honors both.