USS Shangri-La (CVA-38)

USS **Shangri-La (CV-38/CVA-38)** was an Essex-class aircraft carrier commissioned by the United States Navy in September 1944. She participated in the final stages of World War II, launching air strikes against the Japanese home islands and supporting operations such as the Okinawa campaign. After the war, Shangri-La was decommissioned but later modernized and recommissioned in 1951, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets during the Cold War. The carrier was finally decommissioned in 1971, having earned two battle stars for her World War II service.