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WWII USS KWAJALEIN Commissioning Box - Made of Agate, Gold , Silver


KASTAUFFER
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KASTAUFFER

This was a gift from the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company to the sponsor of the USS Kwajalein, an Escort Carrier.

 

The sponsor of a ship was traditionally the woman who commissioned IE , broke the champagne bottle against the ships hull when she was put into service.

 

This box is extremely well crafted. It is made of agate with Sterling fittings and solid gold stars set into the lid. It was made by a famous San Francisco jeweler , Shreve and Co, who also made military insignia.

 

 

USS Kwajalein (CVE-98), formerly Bucareli Bay, was a Casablanca class escort carrier of the United States Navy

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It was launched on 4 May 1944, by the Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Washington, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. Rudolf L. Johnson; acquired by the Navy on 7 June 1944, and commissioned the same day, Commander R. C. Warrack in command.

 

After shakedown along the West Coast, Kwajalein cleared San Pedro, California on 19 July 1944, bound for Espiritu Santo with passengers and a cargo of fuel and planes. Arriving on 3 August, she sailed 4 days later to transport aircraft to Guam and pick up salvaged Japanese equipment for intelligence studies in the United States.

 

Following repairs at San Diego, Kwajalein got underway on 7 October for operations as replenishment carrier. She loaded combat-ready aircraft at Manus Island and sailed for Eniwetok on 5 November to replenish the carriers of Task Force 38 (TF 38) as they prepared for raids on Manila and the Visayas. Continuing operations from Ulithi, Kwajalein furnished the big carriers with the planes needed to drive the Japanese out of the Philippines. In January 1945, replacement aircraft roared from her decks to TF 38 flat tops for strikes on enemy air bases on Formosa and the China coast. Kwajalein returned San Diego on 23 February for overhaul and additional aircraft before resuming operations on 9 March.

 

From March-August Kwajalein carried aircraft on three cruises from Pearl Harbor to the western Pacific keeping carrier-based air groups at full strength for the massive carrier raids on the Japanese home islands. With the cessation of hostilities on 14 August 1945, the carrier was assigned the task of returning Pacific veterans to the United States. She made four cruises to the Pacific Islands before arriving San Pedro on 2 February 1946, from her final "Magic-Carpet" mission. On 23 April, Kwajalein cleared San Pablo Bay for Mukilteo, Wash., arriving there 3 days later. She decommissioned at Tacoma, Washington on 16 August, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 April 1960, and she was scrapped in Japan the following year.

 

Kwajalein received two battle stars for her World War II service.

box1.jpg

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KASTAUFFER

The original letter announcing she would be the sponsor of the ship. The name of the ship was changed prior to launching.

 

 

box5.jpg

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Jack's Son

That is a beauty, Kurt. I've never seen one in person, but this is the only example I've seen made of stone. Thats got to be rare in it's self. The letter is great provenance as well. Together another fine piece for your collection!! :)

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That is spectacular! It doesn't look big enough to store the bottle though. Perhaps the pieces on one side and the mesh and ribbons on the other?

 

Or was it just a box for jewelry?

 

Nevertheless, it's GORGEOUS!

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KASTAUFFER

Thanks Robin and Dave!

 

I believe it's a jewelry box rather than a box for the ribbon or bottle. It's too small for that. It's very well made. I'm bummed it has a crack in the lid.

 

Kurt

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  • 3 years later...
threebrothers

I just came across your box. I have seen these before for other ships and several years ago passed one up because at the time it just seemed a little too expensive to me. I always remembered it and eventually got one of my own to start. I understood from that first seller that these boxes were made for many ships, including all of the Liberty ships that the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company constructed. At least that is what the seller, a knowledgable west coast antiques dealer told me. I should have asked more about it at the time, but was too bummed not to be able to afford it. I have not been able to find out much more information since, as these boxes seemed to have been personal items for which no records were kept that I know of. Maybe you can shed some more light on the boxes themselves. Either way, thanks for the detailed history on yours.

 

If you have any interest in parring down your personal collection and would consider selling this on to someone who has a very narrow interest in these boxes and would keep them well, please send me a note. Incidentally to everyone, I am new to this website and trust my questions/comments are appropriate to this section. My apologies if they are not and please tell me if I should be writing this in a different section for example.

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... I'm bummed it has a crack in the lid.

 

Kurt

Kurt,

 

That crack can be "repaired" to practically invisible, if one were to want that done.

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I do not own this box anymore. It is good to know about the options to fix it however in case something like this should turn up again,

 

Kurt

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It didn't dawn on me back in 2013, but I wonder, with the cedar lining, if this could have been a cigar/cigarette box?

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threebrothers

Kurt,

If you have the contact information of the person you sold your box to and don't mind passing it along, I would be much obliged.

And if someone comes across another one, please drop a note on this thread. Happy to provide a reward :)

Thanks!

Thomas

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I'm also curious what was traditionally placed in these boxes. Doesn't look like a bottle could fit in it. How did they choose the sponsors?

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I'm also curious what was traditionally placed in these boxes. Doesn't look like a bottle could fit in it. How did they choose the sponsors?

 

I have one in Sterling for a Liberty Ship built by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. in 1942.

 

It also has a wooden lining and contains broken shards of glass and the ribbon from the Christening bottle.

 

 

 

Wharf

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Kurt,

If you have the contact information of the person you sold your box to and don't mind passing it along, I would be much obliged.

And if someone comes across another one, please drop a note on this thread. Happy to provide a reward :)

Thanks!

Thomas

I don't anymore. I usually don't keep long term Ebay records on who buys stuff from me.

 

Kurt

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