..Earl boarded the Shangri La shortly before commissioning, which was ..on Sept 15, 1944.  She sailed through the Panama Canal on Christmas ..Eve, Dec. 24, 1944 and arrived in San Diago Feb. 5, 1945. After loading ..more planes she left for Hawaii where pilots trained until April 10.

..Pat served at the base in Hawaii where he was able to visit with his dad ..Earl and also his Uncle, Merril Sheckler who was in the Army and ..stationed there also. Pat's Uncle Linn Sheckler Jr. served as a ..Radioman aboard the Adair-APA91 where all four of these family son's ..passed throught Hawaii during these same months.

..The Shangri La's WW II battles were fought from June 2 thru the ..morning of  August 15, 1945 against the Japanese on their home land ..islands until they surrendered.  She sailed into Tokyo on Sept. 16 and ..remained their until Oct 1 and departed Japan to return to the U.S.. 

..	....CV-38   -  Class:  Essex ....Specifications: ....Length:  888'0"     Draft:  28'7" ....Beam:  93'0"        Extreme Width:  147'6" ....Speed:  32.7 k.    Complement:  3,448 ....Armament:  12 - 5"; 44 - 40mm; 60 - 20mm ....Aircraft:  80+ Additional information