USS Valley Forge CVS-45 Patch
Aviators and Sailors! Enjoy this beautifully embroidered patch of USS VALLEY FORGE CVS-45 Patch. You'll love displaying or wearing it on a flight suit or jacket!
3.7"W x 4.2"H patch
Embroidered
Sew On
US Naval Aviator Owned Business
Reproduction

USS Valley Forge (CV/CVA/CVS-45, LPH-8) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the first US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named after Valley Forge, the 1777-1778 winter encampment of General George Washington's Continental Army. Valley Forge was commissioned in November 1946, too late to serve in World War II, but saw extensive service in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was reclassified in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), then to an antisubmarine carrier (CVS), and finally to an amphibious assault ship (LPH), carrying helicopters and Marines. As a CVS she served in the Atlantic and Caribbean. She was the prime recovery vessel for an early unmanned Mercury space mission. After conversion to an LPH she served extensively in the Vietnam War. Valley Forge was awarded eight battle stars for Korean War service and nine for Vietnam War service, as well as three Navy Unit Commendations.
Although she was extensively modified internally as part of her conversion to an amphibious assault ship, external modifications were minor, so throughout her career Valley Forge retained the classic appearance of a World War II Essex-class ship. She was decommissioned in 1970, and sold for scrap in 1971.
Construction and Commissioning
The citizens of the Philadelphia Area in 1945 bought over $76,000,000 worth of E Bonds during the Seventh War Loan Drive to pay for Valley Forge—equal to $1,079 million today. School children of Philadelphia sold $7,769,351 of these bonds (equivalent to $110,336,273 in 2019).[1]
The ship was one of the