USS Saint Paul ( CA - 73 ) USS " Saint Paul " ( CA - 73 ) , a " Baltimore " - class cruiser , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for St . Paul , Minnesota . Her keel was laid down as Rochester on 3 February 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Company in Quincy , Massachusetts . She was launched on 16 September 1944 sponsored by Mrs . John J . McDonough , and commissioned on 17 February 1945 , Captain Ernest H . von Heimburg in command . She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 July 1978 , and was sold for scrapping in January 1980 . Service history . World War II . After shakedown in the Caribbean Sea , " Saint Paul " departed Boston , Massachusetts , on 15 May 1945 and headed for the Pacific . From 8 – 30 June , she underwent training out of Pearl Harbor and sailed on 2 July to join Task Force 38 ( TF 38 ) . This fast carrier striking force completed replenishment at sea on 23 July and then proceeded to launching points for strikes against Honshū , Japan ' s largest island . From 24 July to 10 August , " Saint Paul " screened the carriers as they delivered heavy air strikes on Kure , Kobe , and the Tokyo area in southern Honshū , then at Maizuru and various airfields in northern Honshū . During this period , " Saint Paul " also bombarded industrial targets : first on textile mills at Hamamatsu during the night of 29 July , and then on 9 August at iron and steel works in Kamaishi , firing the war ' s last hostile salvo from a major ship . Typhoon warnings canceled air operations from 11 – 14 August . Then , those launched that morning were recalled , after peace negotiations gave promise of Japan ' s surrender . On 15 August , all offensive operations against Japan were stopped . " Saint Paul " , with other units of the Third Fleet , retired to the southeast to patrol the coast while awaiting orders . On 27 August , she steamed into Sagami Wan to support United States occupation forces . On 1 September , she entered Tokyo Bay and was there during the formal surrender ceremony the next day . Post - World War II . " Saint Paul " remained in Japanese waters for occupation duty until she was ordered to Shanghai on 5 November to become flagship of TF 73 . She navigated the Whangpoo River , anchored off the Shanghai Bund on 10 November ; she remained there until early in 1946 . On 21 December 1945 she was in collision with the Chinese ( ex - Japanese ) landing craft " LST144 " , which was driven against the bow of " Saint Paul " by the force of the current . The landing craft sustained severe damage , the cruiser slight damage to the bow area . On 7 January 1946 , " Saint Paul " departed Shanghai in company with and returned to the Naval Shipyard , Terminal Island , California , on 28 January 1946 for a brief refit to make good the collision damage . In May , the ship made a round trip to Pearl Harbor . Returning to Terminal Island on 1 August , she was overhauled to prepare for additional Far East duty . From 1 – 15 February 1947 , she conducted refresher training at San Diego , California . Following her return to Shanghai in March , " Saint Paul " resumed operations as flagship for TF 71 until returning to the United States in November . Next , came training operations along the West Coast , including cruises for Naval Reservists from April – May . From August – December , she deployed to the western Pacific , serving in Japanese and Chinese waters . Back in the United States , she was converted from catapult to helicopter configuration before serving again in the Far East from April through October 1949 . Korean War . When hostilities broke out in the Korean War in June 1950 , " Saint Paul " was conducting a midshipman training cruise from San Francisco , California , to Pearl Harbor . She disembarked the future naval officers and proceeded late in July to the western Pacific where she joined Task Group 77 . 3 ( TG 77 . 3 ) on patrol in the Formosa Strait . " Saint Paul " remained on patrol between Formosa and mainland China from 27 August to 1 November . She then moved north into the Sea of Japan to join TF 77 , and commenced combat operations off the northeast coast of Korea on 9 November . On 17 November , she provided gunfire support to the United Nations troops advancing on Chongjin . That day , shrapnel from a near miss by a shell from a Communist shore battery injured six men at gun mount stations . The cruiser destroyed the enemy emplacement with counter - battery fire and continued her support mission . As the Chinese Communists began massive attacks late in November , United Nations forces commenced a general withdrawal to consolidate and hold south of the 38th parallel . " Saint Paul " provided close support for the Republic of Korea I Corps on their east flank as they withdrew from Hapsu , and along the coast , as they retired from Chongjin . On 2 December , she moved north again , conducted night harassing missions above Chongjin , then moved south to support the withdrawal of the Republic of Korea Capital Division to Kyongsong Man . She entered the harbor at Wonsan on 3 December to provide a curtain of shellfire around that city as United Nations forces and equipment were moved to Hungnam ; then followed the forces there , and remained to cover the evacuation of that city and harbor between 10 December and 24 December . The restored SS Lane Victory was one of the ships protected by her cover fire . From 21 – 31 January 1951 , " Saint Paul " conducted shore bombardment missions north of Inchon where , on 26 January , she was again fired upon by shore batteries . On 7 April , in TF 74 , with , , and , " Saint Paul " helped to carry out raids on rail lines and tunnels utilizing 250 commandos of the 41st Independent Royal Marines . These highly successful destructive raids slowed down the enemy ' s resupply efforts , forcing the Communists to attempt to repair or rebuild the rail facilities by night while hiding the work crews and locomotives in tunnels by day . " Saint Paul " returned to the United States for yard work at San Francisco , California , from June to September , then conducted underway training before sailing on 5 November for Korea . She arrived off Wonsan on 27 November and commenced gun strike missions in support of the UN blockade . During the following weeks , she bombarded strategic points at Hungnam , Songjin , and Chongjin . In December , she served as an antiaircraft escort for TF 77 , and , following a holiday trip to Japan , returned to operations off the coast of North Korea . In April 1952 , " Saint Paul " participated in combined air - sea attacks against the ports of Wonsan and Chongjin . On 21 April , while the cruiser was engaged in gun fire support operations , a sudden and serious powder fire broke out in her forward turret . Thirty men died . The explosion occurred in the turret ' s left gun , which was loaded but had the breech open . The gun captain thought the weapon had fired and told the gun ' s rammerman to ram another projectile into the gun ' s breech . The gun blew up , setting off two other powder bags in the powder hoist . Before returning to Japan for repairs , however , " Saint Paul " carried out gunstrikes on railroad targets near Songjin , during which she captured nine North Koreans from a small boat . Following a brief stay in port and two weeks on the gun line , she headed home and reached Long Beach , California , on 24 June . On 28 February 1953 , " Saint Paul " departed the West Coast for her third Korean tour and was in action again by April . In mid - June , she assisted in the recapture of Anchor Hill . With , she provided close support to the Korean Army in a ground assault on this key position south of Kosong . The cruiser was fired upon many times by 75 mm and 105 mm guns , and observed numerous near misses , some only ten yards away . But on 11 July at Wonsan , she received her only direct hit from a shore battery . No one was wounded , and only her antiaircraft mount was damaged . On 27 July , at 2159 , she conducted her last gunstrike and had the distinction of firing the last round shot at sea in the war . The shell , autographed by Rear Admiral Harry Sanders , was fired at an enemy gun emplacement . The truce was effective at 2200 . " Saint Paul " then commenced patrol duties along the east coast of Korea . Post - Korea . " Saint Paul " returned to the western Pacific again in May 1954 ; and , later that year , she was on hand when the Chinese Communists were threatening the Nationalist Chinese islands of the Quemoy Islands group . From 19 November 1954 to 12 July 1955 , she operated with the 7th Fleet in Japanese and Chinese waters , particularly between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland , playing a major role in protecting United States interests in the Far East . She returned to Long Beach , California , for repairs and overhaul , but was back in the western Pacific from 15 August 1955 to 10 January 1956 serving as flagship for the 7th Fleet . " Saint Paul " returned to Long Beach , California , in February and subsequently moved to Bremerton , Washington , for upkeep and overhaul . This overhaul period included adding a large deck house between the funnels to accommodate enhanced flagship facilities . This work was completed by late summer , and in September , she became flagship for the 1st Fleet and entertained the Secretary of the Navy during a fleet review at Long Beach . She departed that port on 6 November ; and , after refresher training at San Diego , California , arrived at Yokosuka , Japan on 29 September to relieve as 7th Fleet flagship . She spent most of her time in Keelung or Kaohsiung , Taiwan , with periods of training in the Philippines and port calls at Buckner Bay , Hong Kong , Manila , and Sasebo . On 26 April 1957 , she headed home . " Saint Paul " arrived at Long Beach , California , on 21 May and subsequently cruised along the West Coast , as far north as Seattle , Washington , until she sailed once more on 3 February 1958 for the Far East . She made an extensive cruise beginning at Pearl Harbor . Thence she steamed to Wellington , New Zealand ; proceeded past Guadalcanal and north through the Solomon Islands to New Georgia ; visited the Caroline Islands ; and ended at Yokosuka on 9 March . She repeated her past WestPac deployments with duties as flagship , and exercises in the Philippines , before returning to Long Beach on 25 August . Sailing from Long Beach , California , on 4 May 1959 , " Saint Paul " became the first major United States Navy ship to be homeported in the Far East since before World War II . Based at Yokosuka , she did not return to Long Beach until 39 months later . Then , she assumed duties as 1st Fleet flagship and did not return to WestPac until 1966 . From that year , she made five successful deployments with the 7th Fleet in operations off North and South Vietnam , providing gunfire support to allied troops . Reminiscent of her Korean operations , " Saint Paul " was hit on 2 September by a shell which struck her starboard bow , near the water line . None of her crew was injured ; and her engineers repaired the slight damage , enabling her to continue her mission . For her splendid record of service in helping to combat Communist aggression in South Vietnam , " Saint Paul " earned the Navy Unit Commendation and two Meritorious Unit Commendation s . In 1964 , as the only World War II cruiser still in commission and still in her wartime all - gun configuration ( several others were in commission , but had been extensively modernized into guided missile cruisers ) , " Saint Paul " was extensively used in the filming of the motion picture " In Harm ' s Way " , starring John Wayne . In the movie , it is apparent that the ship has been slightly modified according to the standard of the Baltimore class - the front 5 - inch cannon turret has been removed , leading to the larger gap between the bridge and second 8 - inch turret , so in the movie the cruiser no longer has 12 5 - inch guns , but only 10 5 - inch guns . The ship was never mentioned by her actual name ( her large hull number on the bow was painted over ) , but was simply referred to as " Old Swayback " and was supposedly commanded by Wayne ' s character as a captain , served as his flagship as a rear admiral , and was later sunk during a crucial battle with the Japanese . At San Diego , California on 7 December 1970 , " Saint Paul " began inactivation procedures . She sailed to Bremerton , Washington on 1 February 1971 , where she was decommissioned on 30 April after 26 years of active service to her country , and was placed in reserve with the Puget Sound Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet . " Saint Paul " was the last all - gun " Baltimore " - class cruiser in US Navy service ( and soldiered on into the eighties as " Albany " - class guided missile cruiser s ) . Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 July 1978 , " Saint Paul " was sold for scrapping in January 1980 . The cruiser " Saint Paul " ship ' s bell is now displayed in the St . Paul , Minnesota City Hall on the 3rd floor between the council and mayoral offices , in an area also containing a listing of the Naval Reservists from Saint Paul who served aboard the when she fired the first American shots of World War II . Awards . " Saint Paul " earned one battle star for World War II service , eight battle stars for Korean service , and nine battle stars for Vietnam service .