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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive


Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Boxer (LPH-4)
ex
USS Boxer (CVS-21) (1955 - 1959)
USS Boxer (CVA-21) (1952 - 1955)
USS Boxer (CV-21) (1945 - 1952)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Xray - Oscar - Papa
NXOP
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons - CV-21, CVA-21, CVS-21, LPH-4






Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation (2)
Second Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Citation - Navy Battle Efficiency Ribbon - Navy Expeditionary Medal (Cuba)
Third Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Fourth Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2)
Fifth Row - Korean Service Medal (8) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Cuba, Dominican Republic) - Vietnam Service Medal (2)
Sixth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)


Essex Class Aircraft Carrier ("Long Hull" group, aka Ticonderoga Class) / Boxer Class Amphibious Assault Ship (Helicopter):
  • Laid down, 13 September 1943, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp, Newport News. VA.
  • Launched, 14 December 1944
  • Commissioned USS Boxer (CV-21), 15 April 1945, CAPT. D. F. Smith in command
  • Reclassified Attack Aircraft Carrier (CVA-21), 1 October 1952
  • Modified and Reclassified Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft Carrier (CVS-21), 15 November 1955
  • Modified and Reclassified Amphibious Assault Ship (Helicopter) (LPH-4), 30 January 1959
  • During the Vietnam War USS Boxer (LPH-4) participated in the following campaigns:

    Vietnam War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Vietnam Defense
    9 to 17 September 1965
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive
    20 to 23 May 1966
    10 to 12 June 1966

  • Decommissioned and Struck from the Naval Register, 1 December 1969
  • USS Boxer (LPH-4) earned two campaign stars for Vietnam War service and eight battle stars for Korean War service as CV-21
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 13 March 1971, by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) and subsequently scrapped at the (then closed) Brooklyn Navy Yard.
    LPH Specifications:
    Displacement 26,556 t.(lt) 36,457 t.(fl)
    Length 888'
    Beam 138'
    Draft 30' (max.)
    Speed 33 kts.
    Complement 1,200
    Troop Capacity 1,450
    Aircraft 30 Helicopters
    Armament
    four dual 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    Propulsion
    eight 565psi boilers
    four steam turbines
    four propellers, 75,000shp

    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed By
    /Source
    USS Enterprise vs 
HMS Boxer
    NS022160
    93k

    The name Boxer comes from His Majesty's Brig Boxer, Captain Samuel Blyth, encountered and captured by the US brig Enterprise, Lieutenant William Burrows, off Portland, Maine, on 5 September 1813.

    NS022160: Engagement between the "Enterprise" and "Boxer," from Twenty-Six Historic Ships, by Fredrick Hill (1903).

    Four previous US warships had borne the name:

    1. A brig.
    2. A schooner.
    3. A British sidewheel steamer named Tristram Shandy, captured on 15 May 1864 and renamed Boxer on 21 June 1865.
    4. A brigantine-rigged training ship.
    NavSource
    Boxer 89k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way with assault helicopters ranged on deck, apparently HUS Seahorses forward and HR2S Deuces aft, circa January-February 1959, probably off the coast of Cuba. Embarked units included 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines.
    Original Caption from AP Wire Service
    " WILL PUT IN AT GUANTANAMO, CUBA -- This is the USS Boxer which the U.S. Navy said today will put in at Guantanamo, Cuba, this weekend. About 1,500 Marines taking part in an amphibious group training in the Caribbean, will go ashore for rest and recreation. A spokesman said that the shore leave had been scheduled for several months. (U.S. Navy Photo via APWire photo."
    Robert Hurst
    Boxer 45k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.
    Robert Hurst
    Boxer 272k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.
     
    Boxer 48k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.
    Joe Fyke
    Boxer 108k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.
    Robert P. Sessums.
    Boxer 77k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way during operations off Vieques Island with the Tenth Provisional Marine Brigade, 8 March 1959.
    US Navy photo
    Robert M. Cieri
    Boxer 124k U.S. Marine Corps HUS-1 helicopters lift off from USS Boxer (LPH-4)'s flight deck, during operations off Vieques Island with the Tenth Provisional Marine Brigade, 8 March 1959.
    Photograph by Grantham. US Navy photo # NH 97288
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Boxer
    10110477
    115k U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky HR2S-1 lifts off from the USS Boxer (LPH-4)'s' flight deck in 1959. location unknown.
    U.S. Navy photo from the USS Boxer (LPH-4) 1959 cruise book.
    Robert Hurst
    Boxer
    10110480
    609k Aerial view of USS Boxer (LPH-4) underway in 1959, location unknown.
    U.S. Navy photo from USS Boxer (LPH-4) 1959 cruise book
    Robert Hurst
    Boxer 185k USS Boxer (LPH-4) slowly under way in September 1960, on maneuvers, at an unknown location.
    Life Magazine Archives, Ralph Morse photographer, shared by Peter DeForest.
    Mike Green
    Mosopelea 270k USS Boxer (LPH-4) and USS Intrepid (CVA-11) are in the background of this photo of USS Mosopelea (ATF-158) under way at NOB Norfolk, with the SERVLANT Salvage Barge in tow, circa 1961. Image courtesy of
    Larry Blumenthal, PH3, 1957-61.
    "US Navy Photos"
    Boxer 152k Stern view of USS Boxer (LPH-4) at anchor at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, early 1962. Bill Hart
    Boxer 148k USS Boxer (LPH-4) offshore, circa the mid-1960s, with six UH-34 Sea Horse helicopters flying in formation in the foreground, circa 1965. Note the Forrest Sherman class destroyer in the background.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo# NH 107671
    Mike Green
    Boxer 87k Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, board helicopters on the flight deck of USS Boxer (LPH-4) on a practice assault off the coast of Haiti. Boxer is the lead ship of a US Navy task force standing by to help with the evacuation of Americans should violence erupt on the island.
    UPI Telephoto.
    Tommy Trampp
    Boxer 49k Stern view of USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way, date and location unknown. Note UH-34 Seahorse helicopters positioned fore and aft on her flight deck.
    US Navy photo.
    Robert Hurst
    Boxer
    10110478
    62k USS Boxer (LPH-4) underway and the high speed transport USS Liddle (APD-60) in transit to Spain, during Operation "Steelpike 1", October 1964.
    From the William C. Reed Collection (COLL/5634) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division official USMC protograph (FLICKR)
    Robert Hurst
    Boxer 271k October 1964, Steelpike I, USS Boxer (LPH-4) coming alongside the port side of USS Rigel (AF-58) Jim McCoy
    Boxer 257k October 1964, Steelpike I, USS Boxer (LPH-4) taking station along port side of USS Rigel (AF-58) Jim McCoy
    Boxer 202k October 1964, Steelpike I, unrep under way USS Boxer (LPH-4) taking on supplies for USS Rigel (AF-58) Jim McCoy
    Boxer 272k October 1964, Steelpike I, starboard bow of USS Boxer (LPH-4), unrep completed Boxer beginning to pull away from USS Rigel (AF-58) Jim McCoy
    Boxer 249k October 1964, Steelpike I, unrep completed and USS Boxer (LPH-4) pulls away from USS Rigel (AF-58) Jim McCoy
    Boxer 380k October 1964, Steelpike I, USS Boxer (LPH-4) approx. 1500 yards off USS Rigel (AF-58)'s port side Jim McCoy
    Boxer 149k August 1965, Mayport, Florida, USS Boxer (LPH-4) seen here just prior to departing for Vietnam with elements of the Army's First Cavalry Division on board. She carried 1200 personnel, 205 helicopters and 6 OV-1 airplanes to the combat zone. Aircraft on her flight deck include 6 OV-1 (dark colored-forward); 4 CH-54 (white-just forward of island); 56 CH-47 (dark colored-amidships and aft) and 36 UH-1 (white-amidships and forward). The remaining 109 helicopters are presumably stowed on Boxer's hangar deck.
    Official U.S. Army Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. US Navy photo # NH 97285
    US Naval Historical Center
    Boxer 90k USS Boxer (LPH-4) with US Army's First Cavalry Division on board. She carried 1200 personnel, 205 helicopters and 6 OV-1 airplanes to the combat zone. Aircraft on her flight deck include CH-54, CH-47 and UH-1 helicopters, circa late 1965. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 43k USS Boxer (LPH-4) outbound to sea from Naval Station Mayport, FL. in August 1965 with the US Army First Cavalry Division (Air Mobile) aboard. Boxer transported 1,200 Army personnel from Mayport to South Vietnam including 205 Helicopters and 6 OV-1 Mohawk fixed wing aircraft, arriving in early September 1965.
    US Navy photos
    Robert P. Sessums whose father CPL. W.M. Sessums was aboard during the voyage.
    Boxer 78k
    Boxer
    101104120
    71k Troops of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) disembark from USS Boxer (LPH-4) at Qui Nhon, 10 September 1965.
    Photos courtesy Ed Lemp, museum.vhpa.org
    Robert Hurst
    Boxer
    101104119
    94k
    Boxer
    10110479
    167k Troops of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) head for Blue Beach at Qui Nhon in an LCU after offloading from USS Boxer (LPH-4), 14 September 1965.
    US National Archives photo # 111-CCV-554-CC32083, a US Navy photo by SFC James K.F. Dung.
    Robert Hurst
    Boxer 80k USS Boxer (LPH-4) offloading US Army First Cavalry Division helicopters and personnel in South Vietnam, circa late 1965. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 114k
    Boxer
    10110476
    69k Two CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters flying towards USS Boxer (LPH-4) while at anchor off Danang, South Vietnam, 1965
    Photo courtesy Betty Wood, pinterest.com
    Chi Yu Chu
    Boxer 136k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way in the Caribbean Sea, circa 1965, possibly during the Dominican Republic Intervention. The airborne UH-34 Seahorse Helicopter and those on Boxer's deck belong to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 264.
    US Navy photo.
    Juan M. Felix
    Boxer 128k USS Boxer (LPH-4) stands in readiness, 30 April 1965, off the southern coast of the Dominican Republic to evacuate American citizens and other nationals and land Marines.
    AP Wirephoto,
    Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Boxer
    10110475
    65k The Gemini 8 empty capsule being hoisted onto the elevator of USS Boxer (LPH-4), 16 March 1966. The destroyer USS Leonard F. Mason (DD-852) is in the background having completed the pick up of the capsule with the astronauts aboard. Mason returned the capsule to the sea so that Boxer could recover it.
    NASA Photo ID S66-34101
    Chin Yu Chu
    Boxer 99k USS Boxer (LPH-4) at anchor off Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, 5 December 1966. H-34 Seahorse Helicopters of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365 line her flight deck.
    US Navy photo # USN-1125049 from the US Naval Photographic Center, Naval Station, Washington, DC.
    Robert M. Cieri
    Boxer
    10110441
    173k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way, date and location unknown. Boxer parades her Marines, their light vehicles (near island), and helicopters.
    US Navy photo.
    Nicholas Tiberio
    Boxer 606k Sikorsky HUS (H-34) and HR2S (H-37) helicopters on the flight deck of USS Boxer (LPH-4).
    US Navy photo from "Aircraft Carriers" by Norman Polmar.
    Robert Hurst
    Graham County
    1016117615
    420k Carib 1-68 Patrol Caribbean Ready Group steams in formation as it patrols the Caribbean Sea. Commanded by Capt. J. B. Drachnik, USN, Commander Amphibious Squadron Four, its mission is the promotion of peace and goodwill and the protection of U.S. citizens and property ashore in time of crisis. Homeported in Norfolk, VA., the Group has been deployed since March. Ships of the Ready Group are: (l-r)
    Attack Cargo Ship USS Rankin (AKA-103);
    Dock Landing Ship, USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30);
    Amphibious Assault Ship, USS Boxer (LPH-4);
    Tank Landing Ship, USS Graham County (LST-1176); and
    High Speed Transport, USS Kirwin (APD-90).
    The original photograph and caption was released by USS Boxer in 1968. .
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 97284 by PH2 A. P. Gonthier, Jr..
    Mike Smolinski
    Boxer
    10110470
    332k Aerial view of USS Boxer (LPH-4) underway in the Caribbean Sea. This photo was probably taken while the ship was homeward bound after completing a deployment as part of the Carib 1-68 Patrol Caribbean Ready Group
    US Navy photo
    Kirk Schermerhorn foe his father W. Gary Woodham USS Boxer mid-1960s
    Boxer
    10110471
    360k Starboard side aerial view of USS Boxer (LPH-4) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo
    Kirk Schermerhorn foe his father W. Gary Woodham USS Boxer mid-1960s
    Boxer 287k USS Boxer (LPH-4) empty flight deck, circa 1968. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 68k
    Boxer 355k USS Boxer (LPH-4) conducting a firing exercise for her twin 5"/38 gun mounts in March 1968. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 236k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way in March 1968, view from one of her sponsons. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 326k A Boeing Vertol CH-46 on the flight deck of USS Boxer (LPH-4) with flight deck crew members, March 1968. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer
    10110472
    281k USS Boxer (LPH-4) flight deck crew hook up tow bar to a Boeing Vertol CH-46D Sea Knight helicopter belonging to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM-162) on the flight deck in March 1968. Michael A. Jacobs USS Boxer 1967-68
    Boxer
    10110473
    341k Crowded flight deck of USS Boxer (LPH-4) loaded with Jeeps, ammunition, fuels, and tugs in March 1968. March 1968. Michael A. Jacobs USS Boxer 1967-68
    Boxer
    10110474
    37k Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaws lifting off from USS Boxer (LPH-4), circa 1968-1969.
    Photo by R. Stewart
    Yu Chu
    Boxer 68k USS Boxer (LPH-4) crew members observing shark fishing from the fantail, circa March 1968. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 43k A Sikorsky UH-37 Mojave on the flight deck of USS Boxer (LPH-4) circa March 1968. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 81k USS Boxer (LPH-4) flight deck with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron HMM-264 Sikorsky UH-34 helicopters off the east coast of the United States, date unknown. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 69k USS Boxer (LPH-4) flight deck with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron HMM-264 Sikorsky UH-34 helicopters off the east coast of the United States, date unknown. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 60k
    Boxer 61k USS Boxer (LPH-4) at anchor date and location unknown. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 66k USS Boxer (LPH-4) moored pierside Naval Station Norfolk, VA., circa March 1968. Michael A. Jacobs
    Boxer 125k "Carib 1-68 Patrol" Caribbean Ready Group steams in formation as it patrols the Caribbean Sea. Commanded by Capt. J.B. Drachnik, USN, Commander Amphibious Squadron Four. Homeported in Norfolk, Va., are: (l-r) Attack Cargo Ship, USS Rankin (AKA-103); Dock Landing Ship, USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30); Amphibious Assault Ship, USS Boxer (LPH-4); Tank Landing Ship, USS Graham County (LST-1176); and High Speed Transport, USS Kirwin (APD-90). Photographed by PH2 A.P. Gonthier, Jr. US Navy photo # NH 97284. US Naval History and Heritage Command
    CVA-66 America 168k USS Boxer (LPH-4) right, moored across from the aircraft carrier USS America (CVA-66) at Pier No. 11, Naval Operating Base Norfolk, 1 October 1969. America had just completed a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (since 24 January 1969). Boxer was decommissioned two months later, on 1 December 1969.
    Official U.S. Navy photograph, available from DefenseImagery.mil (id. DN-ST-88-04340).
    Robert M. Cieri
    Boxer 123k USS Boxer (LPH-4) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.
    Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Boxer 75k Closed Brooklyn Navy Yard Pier J., August 1970. The three decommissioned Essex Class aircraft carriers Ex-USS Boxer (LPH-4) (being prepared to be sold for scrap in 1971), Ex-USS Essex (CVS-9) and Ex-USS Randolph (CVS-15)  

    There is no history record for USS Boxer (LPH-4) available at NavSource
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Parker Jr., Edwin Byron, USN 11 August 1959 - 19 September 1960
    02CAPT. Stebbins, Edgar Erwin, USN 19 September 1960 - 3 February 1961
    03CAPT. Wallace, James Bruce, USN (USNA 1939) 3 February 1961 - 9 January 1963
    04CAPT. Deacon, Edward Thorp, USN 9 January 1963 - January 1964
    05CAPT. Walline, Charles Sayer, USN January 1964 - 8 January 1965
    06CAPT. Sessums, Walter Maurice, USN 8 January 1965 - 30 December 1965
    07CAPT. Morton, Albert Oakes, USN 30 December 1965 - 31 January 1967
    08CAPT. Cooke, Henry Jonathan Hosmer, USN (USNA 1943) 31 January 1967 - 31 January 1968
    09CAPT. Hunt, Robert Foster, USN 31 January 1968 - 11 March 1969
    10CAPT. Lampman, Lester Boggess, USN 11 March 1969 - 30 October 1969
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves


    For more photos and information about USS Boxer, see;
  • USS Boxer (LPH-4) Miscellaneous Memorabilia
  • Apollo Recovery and Shellback Ceremony, February 1966
  • USS Boxer Veterans Association
  • USS Boxer (LPH-4) HULLNUMBER.COM

  • Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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    Last Updated 14 April 2023