The USS Kwajalein, CVB-98, was a Casablanca-class escort carrier built by Kaiser Shipyards of Vancouver, Washington, and commissioned by Mrs. Rudolf L. Johnson. Kwajalein was named after the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, which American forces successfully captured from the Japanese on Jan. 31, 1944.
Kwajalein spent most of her commissioned time crossing the Pacific in non-combat operations. After a shakedown along the West Coast in early summer 1944, with Commander R.C. War-rack in command, Kwajalein set sail for Espiritu Santo Island to bring passengers, fuel, and planes to the far Pacific naval base. She arrived Aug. 3, 1944.
Kwajalein received two battle stars for her service in World War II. Major operations were as follows:
She went to Guam to pick up salvaged Japanese aircraft and transport it to the United States for intelligence purposes.
After repairs in San Diego, she set sail as a replenishment carrier. In this role, Kwajalein transported combat-ready aircraft from Manus to Eniwetok to replenish the carriers of Task Force 38; those aircraft would then take part in operations on Manila and the Visayas.
Kwajalein then began her most important tasks in World War II, furnishing carriers with planes needed to successfully oust Japan from the Philippines. Replacement aircraft took off from her decks to land on Task Force 38 carriers as part of strikes on enemy bases in Formosa and on the China coast.
After another brief return to San Diego, she made three trips between Pearl Harbor and the waters off the coast of Japan to support carrier-based air groups for raids on Japan.
Finally, she took part in Operation “Magic-Carpet,” returning American servicemen home after the war was over.
She was decommissioned in Tacoma Washington on Aug. 16, 1946. In 1948, Kwajalein participated in several dispositions of target vessels as part of Operation Crossroads and the nuclear tests at Bikini, scuttling off and sinking many destroyers and attack transport ships. She was struck from the Navy list on April 1, 1960, and sold for scrap.