USS Shangri La CV 38

Built and commissioned in 1944, the USS Shangri La CV 38 was an aircraft carrier that proudly served in WWII and the Vietnam War. Throughout her over 40 years of combat operations and training missions, the USS Shangri La also frequently underwent overhauls and necessary modernizations.

While her valiant performances in critical war efforts would ultimately earn her a total of five battle stars, the USS Shangri La is not without flaws in her legacy. In particular, the many lives lost through both combat and asbestos exposure is a dark blemish on the USS Shangri La's otherwise impeccable service record.

Although combat-related deaths aboard the USS Shangri La will never occur again, unfortunately, the deaths caused by asbestos exposure are likely to go on for years, as the latency of asbestos diseases will significantly delay prompt diagnoses. To protect their health, it's critical that those who worked on or aboard the USS Shangri La are fully aware of the methods and effects of asbestos exposure aboard aircraft carriers.

The USS Shangri La in WWII

In her first series of missions, the USS Shangri La jumped into the progressing combat efforts of WWII by:

• transporting planes to Hawaii and training pilots
• joining the "Fast Carrier Task Force" in Ulithi
• launching strikes against Okino Daito Jima
• supporting troops fighting in Okinawa.

Next, as flagship of the 2nd Carrier Task Force, the USS Shangri La:

• participated in air strikes against mainland Japan
• again supported attacks at Okinawa
• led air strikes on Tokyo.

With this final mission, the USS Shangri La played a crucial role in Japan's inevitable surrender. Upon the end of WWII, the USS Shangri La aided prisoners of war and then returned to the U.S.

The USS Shangri La after WWII

In the following years, the USS Shangri La trained pilots and, in 1946, took part in the nuclear bomb tests underway in the Bikini Islands. While she would subsequently be repaired and carry out tours to both Pearl Harbor and Australia, the USS Shangri La was decommissioned in 1947, at which time she joined California's "Reserve Fleet."

However, this time off-duty wouldn't last long, as the USS Shangri La was re-commissioned four years later in 1951. After a brief set of missions, a reclassification of CVA 38 and another decommission, the USS Shangri La was thoroughly modernized and commissioned in 1955 for a third and final time.

During this final stint of operations, which includes her combat in Vietnam, the USS Shangri La:

• participated in Far East missions (1956)
• operated throughout the Pacific (1960)
• operated throughout the Atlantic, which included Mediterranean tours (1963)
• was reclassified as a CVS 38 (1969)
• again operated throughout the Pacific (1970).

This would ultimately be her final mission, as the USS Shangri La was decommissioned for the last time in July 1971.

Although her years of service have ended, the USS Shangri La still threatens the lives of those work worked on her, as toxic asbestos exposure puts them at a dramatically high risk of developing mesothelioma, lung cancer and other possibly fatal diseases. Because early detection and immediate treatment are essential to surviving such asbestos diseases, those with a history of working on the USS Shangri La should contact us as soon as possible for asbestos-related information and resources.