Chronology

  • January 1, 1927: First meeting of Original Cruiser Houston Committee, Houston, Texas.
  • September 1, 1927: Naming of the USS Houston by Secretary of the Navy, Curtis D. Wilbur.
  • May 1, 1928: Laying of keel of USS Houston, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia.
  • September 1, 1929: Launching of USS Houston (CA-30). Virginia Governor Harry F. Byrd serves as Master of Ceremonies. Elisabeth Holcombe, daughter of Houston's mayor, serves as sponsor, with Mary Ellen Bute, also of Houston, as maid of honor.
  • September 9, 1929: Selection of Silver Service.
  • June 17, 1930: USS Houston officially placed in commission.
  • October 25, 1930: USS Houston makes its first visit to the City of Houston.
  • February 15, 1932: USS Houston in midst of severe shelling of Shanghai, China.
  • July 1, 1934: President Franklin Roosevelt takes his first cruise on the USS Houston.
  • September 11, 1934: USS Houston makes its second visit to the City of Houston.
  • October 2, 1935: Second cruise by President Roosevelt aboard the USS Houston.
  • July 16, 1938: Third cruise by President Roosevelt aboard the USS Houston.
  • February 18, 1939: Fourth cruise by President Roosevelt aboard the USS Houston.
  • April 7, 1939: USS Houston makes its third and final visit to the City of Houston.
  • May 31, 1940: USS Houston is made flagship of the Asiatic Fleet.
  • December 8, 1941: Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, USS Houston is ordered to sail from the Philippine Islands and join American-British-Dutch-Australian Naval Forces (ABDA) to raid and destroy Japanese Naval units in the China Sea and Southwest Pacific area.
  • February 28-March 1, 1942: Sinking of the USS Houston at the Battle of Sunda Strait. Of the over 1,000 men on the ship, only 368 survive the battle and the sinking of the USS Houston. These men are placed in prisoner of war camps throughout Southeast Asia.
  • May 30, 1942: One thousand Houston volunteers are sworn into the Navy by Rear Admiral William Glassford, to replace the thousand men lost on the USS Houston.
  • December 21, 1942: The Harris County War Bond Drive raises over $85 million to replace the USS Houston as well as an aircraft carrier, the USS San Jacinto.
  • June 19, 1943: The USS Houston (CL-81) is launched at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia.
  • August 1945: Surviving crew members from the USS Houston (CA-30) are liberated from POW camps in Southeast Asia.

 

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