USS Lunga Point ( CVE - 94 ) USS " Lunga Point " ( CVE - 94 ) , originally " Alazon Bay " , was a " Casablanca " class escort carrier . It was named for Lunga Point on the northern coast of Guadalcanal , the site of a naval battle during World War II . It was laid down by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co . , Vancouver , Washington on 19 January 1944 ; launched on 11 April 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Mary Elizabeth McKay ; and commissioned on 14 May 1944 , Captain G . A . T . Washburn in command . Service history . World War II . Following a period of brief training during the early summer of 1944 , " Lunga Point " sailed for the Pacific to deliver Army bombers to New Guinea and bring war - worn P - 47 Thunderbolt s back home . Upon return , she became a unit of Carrier Division 29 ( CarDiv 29 ) and departed San Diego on 16 October to participate in the Leyte Gulf operations , touching Pearl Harbor , Eniwetok , and Kossol Roads en route . From 13 – 22 November , she provided air cover for transports and surface units engaged in the campaign . Relieved on the 23rd , she sailed to Manus Island , Admiralty Islands , to prepare for the Luzon campaign . The escort carrier sailed on 27 December from Manus to supply air support for 6th Army landing operations at Lingayen Gulf . On 4 January 1945 , she splashed one enemy aircraft and witnessed the sinking of which had been hit by Japanese planes . Fighting her way through 14 enemy attacks , she arrived off Lingayen Gulf on 6 January , and commenced 11 days of intensive air support during which time her aircraft flew an average of 41 sorties a day . On 17 January , the support carriers were withdrawn and returned to Ulithi . From 23 January - 10 February , " Lunga Point " prepared for the invasion of Iwo Jima , and stood off the beaches with the advanced amphibious forces 16 February . Enemy airstrikes developed in strength by 21 February , when some 16 planes attacked carriers in the vicinity . was damaged and was sunk , but " Lunga Point " splashed three Nakajima B6N " Jills " while suffering only minor damage . By 8 March , land - based planes were present in sufficient strength to allow the ship to return to Ulithi to get ready for the Okinawa campaign . The ship reprovisioned , and on 21 March sortied from Ulithi with other advanced form of Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague ’ s Task Unit . From 24 March - 27 June , " Lunga Point " remained in support of the operation providing air cover , pounding enemy ground targets in the Ryukyu Islands and fighting off constant " kamikaze " attacks . She completed this duty without mishap , and returned to Leyte 27 June . This was followed by a minesweeping operation west of Okinawa in early July , and an anti - shipping sweep along the China coast from Shanghai northward in August . This duty terminated the 7th , and she sailed to Buckner Bay , Okinawa , where she received news of the Japanese peace offerings . In late August the ship , attached to the 5th Fleet , aided in evacuating Allied prisoners of war from the ports of Wakayama and Nagasaki , on 19 September she transported 760 men of various nationalities to Okinawa . She was ordered to Tokyo Bay in early October , and en route took part in the unsuccessful search for Rear Admiral W . D . Sample missing in a PBM Mariner on a patrol flight . " Lunga Point " stood out of Tokyo Bay 28 October , and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 7 November . She sailed to San Diego , California arriving on 15 November , and made voyages to the Pacific before returning to the west coast early in 1946 . Post - War . On 24 October 1946 , the ship was decommissioned and became part of the Tacoma Group , Pacific Reserve Fleet . She was reclassified CVU - 94 on 12 June 1955 and AKV - 32 on 7 May 1959 . She was struck from the Navy list on 1 April 1960 , and sold at San Diego to Hyman Michaels Co . on 3 August 1960 . Awards . " Lunga Point " received five battle star s and a Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service .