THE TWO WORLDS
WWII
Boatswains Pipe ( Attention
)
(CLICK ON EITHER SHIP NUMBER FOR MORE)
December 1942 to December 1945
Pacific 
Atlantic
Japan
Germany
USS BLOCK ISLAND CVE
106
USS BLOCK ISLAND CVE 21
December 1944 - August 1957
December 1942 - May 29, 1944
Navy/Marine*
All Navy
*The Navy Air-group was replaced by a Marine Air-group in January 1945
Two Aircraft Carriers One crew
Pacific Atlantic
Then 
Like so many things that were different in these two worlds the circumstances of personal contact with the folks "back home" was very different. The vast open spaces of ocean that existed with CVE 21 in the Atlantic were very different than the many islands of the Pacific relating to the operations of CVE 106. Weeks and months could pass in the Atlantic for "mail delivery" where in the Pacific these islands provided more opportunity for mail service.
Unlike the modern day Navy there were no "ship to shore telephones", cell phones or computers and the crews had to wait many weeks, and sometimes months, to have any contact with the family and friends back home
Now
The well named "victory mail", as it was labeled in those days, was the only contact that was possible. The lack of contact not only was important to the crew members it was also a concern of the Navy due to the concern for morale. As such every effort was made to maintain this personal contact. As ships left port, and it was known that those ships would be going to an island port somewhere, along went the mail. Those ships may meet up with the fleet and the transfer of mail would take place or would be left off on some island. That mail would then be transferred to other ships or placed on aircraft that may be going closer to the fleet. The picture shown is a TBM bomber that was from another ship that landed aboard the Block Island with a bomb bay filled with mail for the crew or maybe the entire task force. This mail then would be transferred when the other ships came along side the carrier for refueling or replenishment of supplies and ammunitions.
On one such mail delivery by a land based pilot who was not use to seeing so many carriers in a Task Force. Delivery of the mail was a welcome experience and when the pilot was given his landing instructions his return answer was "rub a dub dub which one is my tub(?)" and some joyful radio operator came back with "hey diddle diddle it's us in the middle"! Pilots are a breed of their own and have the ability to make jokes even when they are in the "danger mode".
When the battle of Okinawa was at it's highest pitch the sad part of this mail transfer was that on the aircrafts return trip to a captured airstrip, the plane was shot down with the loss of the pilot and the crew. Mail delivery was always made on a volunteer delivery basis when being made by aircraft. The pilots were aware of this danger but also realized that this mail was as important to the morale because they also looked forward to their own mail. No metals, no awards and no pats on the back but the crewmembers will remember these mail deliveries as well as they do the circumstances of any battles.
The mail going home was as important to the "home front" morale as was the mail that was being received by the crews. The mail clerk on the ship was forever looking for any chance to get the out going mail on it's way by any method possible. The Command was always aware of this "mail" matter and sought out any chance to find the mail clerks the opportunity to "down load" the mail that had backed up in the post office.
Because of the times there were many of those dreaded letters!
Dear
John ! 
But life went on and they went home, got married and created what we now know as the "baby boomers" that have enjoyed the world that they made possible for them to grow up in and to prosper and enjoy.
When Japan struck Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1941 the United States lost (or sustained major damage) to all the
mighty battleships that made up the entire fleet of Navy ships. It was Gods will that
the fleet aircraft carriers were not at Pearl Harbor on the day that has gone
down in infamy.
What those carriers did the following years strengthened the belief of many Navy
Officials and Legislators who held that the aircraft carrier would be some day
the "strength of the fleets of the world".
While the United States was lax in making this decision, Japan was building up a
massive carrier fleet that tripled that of both the United States and
England's navies. While The United States, England and even Germany were
concentrating on building the large battle ships Japan was concentrating on it's
carrier fleet. Much of Japans shipbuilding had gone unnoticed by the rest of the
world. The attack on Pearl Harbor, and the later actions taken by the United
States carriers, gave these Navy Officials and Legislators the support that was
needed in their efforts to build more aircraft carriers.
The United States and England was faced with three major problems in their
recognition of building aircraft carriers. First there was the cost of
construction. Secondly there was the time element in the actual construction.
And finally neither England or the United States had concentrated on
aircraft that could operate from these carriers. That was very evident
when Great Britain's carrier aircraft tried to subdue the German Navy and their
submarines who were taking a great toll of the allied ship ping.
Great Britain's survival depended on the imports they were receiving from Canada
and the United States and this great loss of much needed imports changed the
entire consideration of aircraft carriers. Great Britain realized that even if
smaller aircraft carriers (capable of operating some 20 aircraft) could be
constructed that would provide enough aircraft support for the ship convoys. The
United States had been concentrating on building oil tankers on what was
designated as a C-3 hull.
Great Britain then obtained authority from the President of the
United States to not only purchase some of these hulls but also to have the
United States build these small carriers. While the President had his problems
with the isolationists in Congress in becoming involved in the war, the idea of
providing employment for many workers who had just gone through the "big
depression" found full support from Congress. Thus the "baby flat
top" was born.
Even though Great Britain's airplanes were far from meeting the match of
those of their enemies this was not the fault of the carriers. Because of
this proven fault both the United States and Great Britain then concentrated on
designing and building aircraft that were capable (or even superior) to
challenge those of the Axis Powers.
The United States still felt that the larger carriers were what was needed but
soon it was found that the "island hopping" process of the war in the
Pacific and the submarine menace of the Atlantic proved the need for the smaller
carriers. At the end of WWII the United States had more than 100 "jeep
carriers" and both England's and the United States history shows that their
contributions to the war effort was just more than incidental.
Billy Mitchell's Army Air Force bombers, flying off the deck of a Navy Aircraft
Carrier, was the first destructive measure taken against Japan and the
aircraft flying off the decks of the "jeep carriers" provided the air
cover for the fleet in the European invasion of France.
The two carrier task forces of today's Navy, shown herein, can move
from ocean to ocean, continent to continent, country to
country and from "sea to shinning seas" on less than a 7 day sailing
schedule.
History shows that those few who fought the long hard battle for aircraft
carriers, with the legislative process and the "old guard" military
powers of our Country, was not for naught. Like President Roosevelt
stated when the Pearl Harbor attack was over "THANK GOD FOR THE CARRIERS".