USS Montpelier ( CL - 57 ) USS " Montpelier " ( CL - 57 ) was one of 26 United States Navy light cruiser s completed during or shortly after World War II . She was the second US Navy ship to be named for the city of Montpelier , Vermont . " Montpelier " was commissioned in September 1942 and saw service in several campaigns in the Pacific . Like almost all her sister ships , she was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war , and never saw active service again . " Montpelier " was scrapped in the early 1960s . Construction . " Montpelier " was laid down on 2 December 1940 by New York Shipbuilding Corp . , Camden , N . J . ; launched on 12 February 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . Lesley Sayer Corry , wife of William F . Corry , mayor of Montpelier , VT ; and commissioned on 9 September 1942 , Captain Leighton Wood in command . Service history . World War II . " Montpelier " arrived Nouméa , New Caledonia on 18 January 1943 from Norfolk , Va . Rear Admiral A . S . Merrill chose her for the flagship of Cruiser Division 12 ( CruDiv 12 ) . On 25 January , she reached Efate , New Hebrides , her home base for the next few months . While making a sweep around beleaguered Guadalcanal , she participated in the Battle of Rennell Island on 29 January , the last naval engagement of the Guadalcanal Campaign . " Montpelier " covered the landings on the Russell Islands on 21 February . On the night of 5 – 6 March , she heavily bombarded the Vila ‑ Stanmore airfield on Kolombangara in the Solomons , and helped sink an enemy destroyer in the battle of Blackett Strait . She and three other cruisers bombarded Poporang Island on the night of 29 – 30 June , in preparation for the invasion of New Georgia . On the night of 11 – 12 July , she bombarded Munda , enabling troops to continue their conquest of New Georgia . She patrolled the New Georgia area for the next four months to prevent Japanese troop withdrawals . After a run to Sydney , Australia , she joined Task Force 39 ( TF 39 ) as its flagship for the invasion of the Treasury and Bougainville Islands . On 1 November , " Montpelier " shelled the Buka ‑ Bonis airfields on the northern tip of Bougainville , and hit the Japanese defenses on Poporang and Ballale Islands . TF 39 , consisting of cruisers and destroyers , engaged a superior Japanese force in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay while guarding transports on the night of 2 November . The result was a clear cut victory for the U . S . ships commanded by Admiral Merrill . The victory turned back the Japanese from what would have been a disastrous assault on the Bougainville landing forces . Besides assisting in the destruction of one ship , " Montpelier " s gunners shot down five enemy planes . From 15 – 19 February 1944 , " Montpelier " covered the amphibious landing on the Green Islands in the Bismarck Archipelago . In March , she hunted shipping south of Truk and participated in the invasion of the Emirau s , and began shelling Saipan on 14 June to support the Mariana Islands invasion . She joined TF 58 and participated in the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea from 19 – 21 June . During the engagement , Japanese carrier air groups were virtually annihilated . " Montpelier " returned to the Marianas , and continued her shelling of Saipan , Tinian , and Guam . She left the Marianas on 2 August for overhauling in the United States . Returning on 25 November , she joined a task group off Leyte Gulf . While steaming on defensive patrol off the Gulf , " Montpelier " was slightly damaged by a " kamikaze " attack on 27 November . She fought off numerous other kamikaze attacks , shooting down four planes . Beginning on 12 December , " Montpelier " provided beach cover for the invasion of Mindoro . Fighting " kamikazes " , she protected troops at the Lingayen Gulf landing in January 1945 . In February , she supported operations off Mariveles Harbor , Corregidor , and Palawan , and from 14 – 23 April , she covered the landings on Mindanao . From her base at Subic Bay , she steamed to Brunei Bay , Borneo , arriving on 9 June . From 17 June to 2 July , she sailed off the oil center at Balikpapan , providing support for minesweepers , underwater demolition teams , and amphibious forces . Australian troops were extremely grateful for the devastating shelling of enemy positions , which saved many Allied lives . During the latter part of July and early August , Montpelier made three anti - shipping sweeps in the East China Sea . Post - War . When hostilities ended , she anchored off Wakayama , Japan , and helped speed up the evacuation of Allied prisoners . After an inspection of Japanese ships , part of her crew went ashore to view the ruins of Hiroshima . On 18 October she covered the landing of occupation forces at Matsuyama . " Montpelier " departed from Hiro Wan and Japanese waters on 15 November for the East Coast , having fought the enemy from their deepest point of advance to their very homeland . From the Pacific , " Montpelier " sailed first for Hawaii , then to San Diego , California , before heading south to pass through the Panama Canal , with her final destination being New York City . She reported for duty with the Atlantic Fleet on 11 December , and on 1 July 1946 reported for duty with the 16th Fleet . " Montpelier " decommissioned and berthed in reserve at Philadelphia on 24 January 1947 . She was struck from the Naval Register on 1 March 1959 , and was sold for scrap to Bethlehem Steel Co . 22 January 1960 . Awards . " Montpelier " received 13 battle star s for World War II service . Coat of arms . Depicted : Life on " Montpelier " . Decades after the war , James J . Fahey ( 1918 – 1991 ) , Seaman First Class , published " Pacific War Diary : 1942 - 1945 , The Secret Diary of an American Sailor " . The diary provides a first person account of the experience of a sailor on " Montpelier " throughout the war , from its first cruise from port to its final journey home . In general , keeping a diary was against Navy regulations . Thus , Fahey offered a rare view of life on " Montpelier " and on wartime naval life as well .