USS Bon Homme Richard ( CV - 31 ) USS " Bon Homme Richard " ( CV / CVA - 31 ) was one of 24 s completed during or shortly after World War II for the United States Navy . She was the second US Navy ship to bear the name , being named for John Paul Jones ' s famous Revolutionary War frigate by the same name . Jones had named that ship , usually rendered in more correct French as Bonhomme Richard , to honor Benjamin Franklin , the American Commissioner at Paris , whose Poor Richard ' s Almanac had been published in France under the title " Les Maximes du Bonhomme Richard " . " Bon Homme Richard " was commissioned in November 1944 , and served in the final campaigns of the Pacific Theater of Operations , earning one battle star . Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war , she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier ( CVA ) . In her second career she operated exclusively in the Pacific , playing a prominent role in the Korean War , for which she earned five battle stars , and the Vietnam War . She was decommissioned in 1971 , and scrapped in 1992 . Construction and Commissioning . " Bon Homme Richard " ( CV - 31 ) was laid down on 1 February 1943 at the New York Navy Yard , being the first Essex - class carrier to be built at the New York Navy Yard . She was launched 29 April 1944 by Mrs . John S . McCain , wife of Vice Admiral John S . McCain , Sr . . The ship was commissioned 26 November 1944 , with Captain A . O . Rule , Jr . as her first commander . Service history . " Bon Homme Richard " went to the Pacific in March 1945 , and in June joined the fast carriers in the combat zone and took part in the final raids on Japan . With the end of hostilities in mid - August , " Bon Homme Richard " continued operations off Japan until September , when she returned to the United States . Operation Magic Carpet personnel transportation service occupied her into 1946 . She was thereafter generally inactive until decommissioning at Seattle , Washington on 9 January 1947 . The outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950 called " Bon Homme Richard " back to active duty . She recommissioned on 15 January 1951 and deployed to the Western Pacific that May , launching her planes against enemy targets in Korea until the deployment ended late in the year . A second combat tour followed in May – December 1952 , highlighted by large - scale joint service air attacks on the Sui - ho Dam and Pyongyang , during which she was redesignated CVA - 31 . The carrier decommissioned on 15 May 1953 to undergo a major conversion to equip her to operate high - performance jet aircraft . " Bon Homme Richard " emerged from the shipyard with an angled and strengthened flight deck , enclosed " hurricane " bow , steam catapults , a new island , wider beam and many other improvements . Recommissioned on 6 September 1955 , she began the first of a long series of 7th Fleet deployments . Additional Western Pacific cruises followed in 1957 , 1958 – 1959 , 1959 – 1960 , 1961 , 1962 – 1963 , and 1964 , with the last including a voyage into the Indian Ocean . The " Bon Homme Richard " also had been in the Indian Ocean for a goodwill trip to Bombay , India at the direction of President Eisenhower during the 1959 - 1960 Pacific cruise . Admiral George Stephen Morrison , father of The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison , flew his flag in " Bon Homme Richard " during the Tonkin Gulf Incident . The Vietnam War escalation in early 1965 brought " Bon Homme Richard " into a third armed conflict , and she deployed on five Southeast Asia combat tours over the next six years . Her aircraft battled North Vietnam ese MiGs on many occasions , downing several , as well as striking transportation and infrastructure targets . Occasional excursions to other Asian areas provided some variety to her operations . In 1970 at the request of the South Vietnamese government , the " Bon Homme Richard " docked at Da Nang harbor to show the alleged pacification of the region . This was the first US capital ship to do so . " Bon Homme Richard " was ordered inactivated at the end of her 1970 deployment . She was decommissioned on 2 July 1971 , becoming part of the Reserve Fleet at Bremerton , Washington . Following 20 years in mothballs , she was sold for scrap in March 1992 . She was scrapped at Southwest Marine ' s yard in San Pedro , California . Awards . " Bon Homme Richard " received one battle star for her World War II service , and five for the Korean War .