USS Savo Island ( CVE - 78 ) USS " Savo Island " ( CVE - 78 ) , was a built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named in memory of a naval battle fought off Savo Island in the Solomons on 9 August 1942 , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Originally designated Kaita Bay " ( AVG - 78 ) , she was reclassified ACV - 78 on 20 August 1942 and CVE - 78 on 15 July 1943 ; laid down under Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 1115 ) on 27 September 1943 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co . , Vancouver , Washington ; renamed Savo Island " on 6 November 1943 ; launched on 22 December 1943 ; sponsored by Miss Margaret Taffinder ; and commissioned on 3 February 1944 , Captain C . E . Eckstrom in command . Service history . After shakedown at San Diego , " Savo Island " made two voyages to the Southwest Pacific carrying replacement aircraft from 15 March - 2 July 1944 . On 6 July , her air squadron reported on board ; and , after training at San Diego and Pearl Harbor , she reported to the 3rd Fleet at Pearl Harbor on 4 August . " Savo Island " s first combat assignment was to provide air support for the landings on Peleliu Island in the Palaus . Between 11 September and 30 September , she operated with a group of escort carriers near the island , while her planes conducted pre - invasion strafing , direct support of ground forces and patrol missions . On 3 October , she reported to the 7th Fleet at Manus Island , and sailed on the 12th in the screen of the bombardment and support group of battleships and cruisers of the Leyte invasion task force . Upon arriving on the 18th , her aircraft carried out patrols and strikes against predesignated targets , and shifted to ground support missions as the troops went ashore on the 20th . Her planes remained at the task for the next few days . On the morning of the 25th , an escort carrier force off Samar , " Taffy 3 " , some 20 miles to the north , reported a large enemy surface force . This turned out to be the central force in a three - pronged , Japanese naval assault on Allied forces at Leyte , consisting of four battleships , six cruisers , and many destroyers . The escorts of " Savo Island " s group also came under fire for about 30 minutes , as the carrier launched a total of six strikes in a desperate and successful effort to protect herself and the other carriers from annihilation . The Japanese retired in the face of the intense air opposition , losing three cruisers in the engagement . During the afternoon , the American forces again came under fierce air attack , experiencing the first suicide attacks of the war . " Savo Island " remained off Leyte until 30 October , when she sailed for the Admiralties . " Savo Island " departed Manus on 19 November , and from 22 – 27 November , served with two other escort carriers as a patrol and escort force in the convoy lanes leading to Leyte Gulf . After replenishing in Kossol Passage in the Palaus , she got underway on 10 December for her third amphibious operation , the landings on Mindanao . Once again , she covered the bombardment group during the approach and then provided direct support over the beaches until relieved by Army aircraft on 15 December . Threat of a Japanese surface raid delayed her departure until 17 December , when she sailed for Manus . " Savo Island " performed similar duties during the Lingayen Gulf operation commencing on 1 January 1945 . During the approach , , was sunk by a kamikaze on the 4th and another grazed " Savo Island " the next day . After the Lingayen landings , " Savo Island ' s " group steamed to the westward of Mindanao from 17 – 29 January , as a defense against enemy surface attack . After supporting landings near Subic Bay on the 29th - 30th , she retired to Ulithi for repairs and replacement of her air group . After repairs and training exercises for her new pilots , " Savo Island " departed Leyte with the invasion force for Okinawa , providing air cover en route . On 26 March , with two other escort carriers , she supported the occupation of Kerama Retto , which was to become the main replenishment base for the naval forces off Okinawa . The following day , her planes joined the assault on Okinawa , and flew antiaircraft and antisubmarine patrols as well . From 7 – 16 April , she provided air cover for the replenishment group steaming to the east of Okinawa . She then resumed her support mission off Okinawa , and on 27 April carried out neutralizing strikes against Sakishima Gunto , halfway between Okinawa and Formosa . On 29 April , the carrier completed her mission and sailed for overhaul in San Diego . On 11 July , " Savo Island " began a ferry voyage from San Diego to Pearl Harbor and back to Alameda , California On 6 August , she sailed for the Aleutians and arrived on the day of the Japanese surrender . She departed on 31 August with a force of six escort carriers to support the occupation of northern Honshū and Hokkaidō . The ship returned to Pearl Harbor on 25 September 1945 , and was assigned to " Magic Carpet " duty . After picking up occupation troops at San Francisco , she made three voyages carrying troops home , one each from Guam , Pearl Harbor , and Okinawa . Released from " Magic Carpet " duty upon arrival at Seattle on 14 January 1946 , she arrived at Boston , Massachusetts on 16 March for inactivation . The carrier was decommissioned on 12 December 1946 and assigned to the Boston group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . " Savo Island " was reclassified CVHE - 78 on 12 June 1955 and AKV - 28 on 7 May 1959 . She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 September 1959 ; sold on 29 February 1960 to Comarket , Inc . ; and broken up for scrap in Hong Kong in June , 1960 . Awards . " Savo Island " received 4 battle star s for her World War II service . In addition , she received a Presidential Unit Citation for her service in the Western Carolines , the Philippines , and Okinawa from 6 September 1944 – 29 April 1945 . In Popular Culture . While the " Savo Island " spent the Korean War in mothballs as part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet , author James Michener fictionally had it in commission and participating in that war as the primary setting for his novella " The Bridges at Toko - Ri " . The 1954 movie version was filmed aboard the with its original CV - 34 markings , but the ship was still referred to as the " Savo Island " .