USS Houston ( CA - 30 ) USS " Houston " ( CA - 30 ) ( originally designated CL - 30 ) , nicknamed the " Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast " , was a " Northampton " - class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy . She was the second Navy ship to bear the name " Houston " . She was launched by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company , Newport News , Virginia on 7 September 1929 , sponsored by Elizabeth Holcombe ( daughter of Oscar Holcombe , then - mayor of Houston , Texas ) , and commissioned as CL - 30 on 17 June 1930 , Captain Jesse Bishop Gay commanding . Her designation was changed to CA - 30 on 1 July 1931 . Inter - war period . After conducting a shakedown cruise in the $ 3 , " Houston " returned to the United States in October 1930 . She then visited her namesake city , and joined the fleet at Hampton Roads . Steaming to New York , the cruiser departed on 10 January 1931 for the Pacific , and after stopping at the Panama Canal and the Hawaiian Islands arrived Manila on 22 February . " Houston " became flagship of the Asiatic Fleet upon arrival , and for the next year participated in training operations in the Far East . With the outbreak of war between China and Japan in 1931 , " Houston " got underway on 31 January for Shanghai to protect American interests . She landed Marine and Navy gun platoons to help stabilize the situation and remained in the area , with the exception of a good will cruise to the Philippines in March and one to Japan in May 1933 , until being relieved by on 17 November 1933 . The cruiser sailed to San Francisco to join the Scouting Force , and for the years preceding World War II participated in Fleet Problem s and maneuvers in the Pacific . During this period , " Houston " made several special cruises . President Franklin Roosevelt came aboard on 1 July 1934 at Annapolis , Maryland , for a cruise of almost through the Caribbean and to Portland , Oregon , by way of Hawaii . " Houston " also carried Assistant Secretary of the Navy Henry L . Roosevelt on a tour of the Hawaiian Islands , returning to San Diego on 15 May 1935 . After a short cruise in Alaskan waters , the cruiser returned to Seattle and embarked the President again on 3 October for a vacation cruise to the Cerros Islands , Magdalena Bay , Cocos Islands , and Charleston , South Carolina . " Houston " also celebrated the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco on 28 May 1937 , and carried President Roosevelt for a Fleet Review at the same city on 14 July 1938 . Roosevelt ' s 24 - day cruise aboard " Houston " concluded on 9 August 1938 at Pensacola , Florida . " Houston " became flagship of the U . S . Fleet on 19 September , when Rear Admiral Claude C . Bloch brought his flag aboard , and maintained that status until 28 December , when she returned to the Scouting Force . Continuing the routine of training exercises , she got underway for Fleet Problem XX , on 4 January 1939 from San Francisco , sailed to Norfolk and Key West , and there embarked the President and the Chief of Naval Operations , Admiral William D . Leahy , for the duration of the problem . She arrived in Houston on 7 April for a brief visit before returning to Seattle , where she arrived on 30 May . Assigned as flagship Hawaiian Detachment , the cruiser arrived Pearl Harbor after her post - overhaul shakedown on 7 December 1939 , and continued in that capacity until returning to Mare Island on 17 February 1940 . Sailing to Hawaii , she departed for the Philippine Islands on 3 November . Arriving Manila on 19 November , she became flagship of Admiral Thomas C . Hart , Commander Asiatic Fleet . Shortly before the war in the Pacific broke out , five quad mount 1 . 1 caliber antiaircraft cannons were shipped to Cavite Naval Yard in the Philippines of which the naval yard fitted four to the Houston for added air defense protection . World War II . As the war crisis deepened , Admiral Hart deposed his fleet in readiness . On the night of the Pearl Harbor attack , " Houston " got underway from Panay Island with fleet units bound for Darwin , Australia , where she arrived on 28 December 1941 by way of Balikpapan and Surabaya . After patrol duty , she joined the American - British - Dutch - Australian ( ABDA ) naval force at Surabaya . Battle of Makassar Strait . Air raids were frequent in the area , and " Houston " s gunners shot down four planes in the Battle of Bali Sea ( also known as the Battle of Makassar Strait ) on 4 February 1942 as Admiral Karel Doorman of the Royal Netherlands Navy took his force to engage a Japanese invasion convoy reported to be at Balikpapan . " Houston " took one hit , disabling her No . 3 turret . Doorman was forced to abandon his advance following the damage to " Houston " , as well as damage that forced the cruiser out of the battle area . Timor Convoy . " Houston " arrived at Tjilatjap 5 February and stayed until 10 February when she left for Darwin , Australia to escort a convoy carrying troops to reinforce forces already defending Timor . Escorting , , " Portmar " and the " Tulagi " , " Houston " with the destroyer and sloops and departed Darwin before two in the morning of 15 February for Koepang . By eleven in the morning the convoy was being shadowed by a Japanese flying boat that dropped some bombs without causing damage before departing . The next morning another shadowing aircraft had taken position and before noon the convoy was attacked by bombers and flying boats in two waves . During the first attack only " Mauna Loa " suffered slight damage and two casualties , one killed and " Houston ' s " fire showed no effects . During the second attack , " Houston " distinguished herself with a barrage which made her " like a sheet of flame " ( Gill quoting Morrison ' s " History of United States Naval Operations in World War II : The Rising Sun in the Pacific , 1931 - April 1942 " , p . 315 ) shooting down 7 of the 44 planes of the second wave . The convoy continued toward Timor for a few hours with " Houston " launching a scout plane seeking the enemy position . ABDA suspected the presence of Japanese carriers , an imminent invasion of Timor and a support fleet lying in wait and thus ordered the convoy back to Darwin which it reached before noon on the 18th . " Houston " and " Peary " departed later that day to rejoin combat forces with " Peary " , after being engaged in an anti - submarine operation off Darwin , returning for fuel . " Houston " thus escaped the Japanese attack on Darwin on 19 February in which " Peary " , " Meigs " and " Mauna Loa " were among the ships sunk and " Portmar " was forced to beach . Battle of the Java Sea . Receiving word that the major Japanese invasion force was approaching Java protected by a formidable surface unit , Admiral Doorman decided to meet and seek to destroy the main convoy . Sailing on 26 February 1942 with the cruisers " Houston " , , , , HNLMS " Java " and 10 destroyer s , he met the Japanese support force under Admiral Takeo Takagi consisting of four cruisers and 13 destroyers . In the battle on 27 February 1942 , Doorman ' s forces met the Japanese fleet for the first time in the late afternoon . As Japanese destroyers laid smoke , the cruisers of both fleets opened fire . After one ineffective torpedo attack , the Japanese light cruisers and destroyers launched a second and sank the destroyer . HMS " Exeter " and the destroyer were hit by gunfire , " Electra " sinking shortly after . At 17 : 30 Admiral Doorman turned south toward the Java coast , not wishing to be diverted from his main purpose : the destruction of the convoy itself . The Allied fleet dodged another torpedo attack and followed the coastline , during which time the destroyer was sunk , either by mine or internal explosion . The destroyer was detached to pick up survivors from " Kortenaer " , and the American destroyers , their torpedoes expended , were ordered back to Surabaya . With no destroyer protection , Doorman ' s four remaining ships turned north again in a last attempt to stop the invasion of Java . At 23 : 00 the same night , the cruisers again encountered the Japanese surface group . On parallel courses the opposing units opened fire , and the Japanese launched a torpedo attack 30 minutes later . " De Ruyter " and " Java " , caught in a spread of 12 torpedoes , exploded and sank , carrying their captains and Admiral Doorman down with them . This battle on 27 February 1942 was the largest surface engagement since the Battle of Jutland in World War I . By the end of the day , two cruisers and 3 destroyers of the ABDA naval force had been sunk , the remaining destroyers had been ordered back to Surabaya , the cruiser " Exeter " had been damaged and , before his own ship was sunk , Doorman had ordered the cruisers " Perth " and " Houston " to retire . Battle of Sunda Strait . On 28 February 1942 , the day after the Battle of the Java Sea , the ABDA cruisers " Perth " and " Houston " steamed into Banten Bay . It is believed that they had no knowledge of the Japanese battle fleet , their last intelligence report having stated that the only Japanese warships in the area were away and headed away . It is however possible that they were hoping to damage the Japanese invasion forces there . The two ships were attacked as they approached the bay , but evaded the nine torpedoes launched by destroyer . According to ABDA post - battle reports , the cruisers then reportedly sank one transport and forced three others to beach . It is also possible and viewed in some quarters as more likely , however , that the transports were damaged by " friendly fire " in the form of some of the over 90 Long Lance torpedoes fired at the two ABDA cruisers by Japanese destroyers . A Japanese destroyer squadron blocked Sunda Strait , their means of retreat , and the Japanese heavy cruiser s and stood dangerously near . The " Houston " and " Perth " could not withdraw . " Perth " came under fire at 23 : 36 and in an hour had been sunk from gunfire and torpedo hits . On board the Houston , shells were in short supply in the forward turrets , so the crew manhandled shells from the disabled number three turret to the forward turrets . " Houston " then fought alone until soon after midnight , when she was struck by a torpedo and began to lose headway . " Houston " s gunners had scored hits on three different destroyers and sunk a minesweeper , but then suffered three more torpedo explosions in quick succession . Captain Albert Rooks was killed by a bursting shell at 00 : 30 and as the ship came to a stop Japanese destroyers moved in , machine gunning the decks . A few minutes later , " Houston " rolled over and sank , her ensign still flying . Of the original crew of 1 , 061 men , 368 survived , including 24 of the 74 - man USMC detachment , only to be captured by the Japanese and interned in prison camps . Aftermath . " Houston " s fate was not fully known by the world for almost nine months , and the full story of her last fight was not told until after the war was over and her survivors were liberated from the prison camps . Before then , on 30 May 1942 , 1 , 000 new recruits for the Navy , known as the Houston Volunteers , were sworn in at a dedication ceremony in downtown Houston , to replace those believed lost on USS Houston . On 12 October 1942 the light cruiser " Vicksburg " ( CL - 81 ) then under construction was renamed " Houston " in honor of the old ship , President Roosevelt declaring : Captain Rooks received posthumously the Medal of Honor for his actions . Chaplain George S . Rentz , who had surrendered his life jacket to a younger sailor after finding himself in the water , was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross . He was the only Navy Chaplain to be so honored during World War II . The crew of USS " Houston " is honored alongside that of HMAS " Perth " at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne , Australia . Movie . In the movie " The Bridge on the River Kwai " ( 1957 ) , CDR Shears ( William Holden ) explains first he was on the USS " Houston " when the ship was sunk .