A newcomer to Salt Lake City wants to know about the USS SALT LAKE CITY--the heavy US NAVY cruiser that brought so much honor to our town during World War II.

"When I was a child," the newcomer writes, "I remember reading about the exploits of the USS Salt Lake City--and now that I'm living in Salt Lake City I'd like to know more about the ship. Is it still afloat?--- Was it at Pearl Harbor on that dreadful day?... How much Japanese shipping did she destroy?"

I was glad to get the letter....because it was fun to go back through the files and read again the story of the ship that made a city proud.

The USS SLC is no more. She was sunk in the spring of 1948, about 100 miles off the shores of Southern CA. It took a flock of torpedoes to sink her in 2,000 fathoms of water. It was an honorable death---she was sunk by the US NAVY ... she had outlived her time.

The SLC was launched in 1929, and joined the Atlantic Fleet in Guantanamo, Cuba. It marked time for history to catch up with her before the outbreak of World War II.

On Dec. 7th, 1941 she was 200 miles west of Pearl Harbor. The next day she came into the battered port.

Before the war was over, the valiant ship had seen hard, active, fiery duty at Tarawa, Saipan, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Wake Island, to mention just a few.

The SLC played a part in escorting Jimmy Doolittle's bombers that made the first bombing run over Japan proper. She supported the landings at Guadalcanal, and took part in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands in Dutch Harbor--one of the longest sea battles in modern history.

When the war ended, the SLC had quite a record. She had destroyed two Japanese heavy cruisers, one destroyer, 11 cargo ships and 12 enemy planes....not to mention partial damage to more than a score of other Jap naval ships.

Yes, the USS SALT LAKE CITY did the town quite proud.... she will always be a part of our history.