USS Oriskany CV-34 Patch - Task Force 77

She was known as “The Mighty O”—a ship forged in the final days of World War II and reborn in the jet age, destined to fight some of the most intense carrier operations of the twentieth century. The USS Oriskany (CV-34) sailed at the heart of Task Force 77, the Navy’s legendary fast-carrier striking arm in the Western Pacific. Together, they became symbols of American power, endurance, and sacrifice during the long, grinding air war over Korea and Vietnam.

Commissioned too late for World War II, Oriskany entered service just as the world shifted into the Cold War. When war erupted in Korea, Task Force 77 carriers took up the burden of round-the-clock air strikes, close air support, interdiction, and reconnaissance. Oriskany joined these operations in later deployments, her decks launching aircraft into bitter skies over the peninsula. These missions demanded precision at every turn—landing jets on a pitching deck in freezing seas, flying through mountains shrouded in cloud, and fighting against heavy anti-aircraft fire that filled the valleys and ridges below.

The ship’s defining legacy, however, would come in Vietnam. As part of Task Force 77’s rotating carrier groups in the Gulf of Tonkin, Oriskany launched thousands of sorties during some of the war’s most dangerous air campaigns. Her aviators flew into North Vietnam’s tightening web of SAM sites, radar-guided guns, and MiG-21 interceptors. They struck bridges, supply lines, railheads, fuel depots, and defended troops engaged on the ground. Names like Commander James Stockdale, Lt. Cdr. John McCain, and countless pilots and crew became part of Oriskany’s story—some returning from missions, others becoming prisoners of war, and too many never coming home.

Life aboard Oriskany during these deployments was relentless. Flight ops stretched into the early hours as ordnance crews rearmed aircraft by floodlight. Catapult steam drifted through the night air. The constant echo of metal, engines, and orders formed a rhythm that only carrier sailors understand. Deck crews fought exhaustion as they braved jet blasts, spinning props, and blazing heat to keep the tempo unbroken. Below deck, maintainers worked through every hour of the day to keep aircraft flying. And through it all, the ship pressed forward, day after day, deployment after deployment.

Tragedy also marked the Mighty O’s history. In 1966, a devastating fire tore through the forward compartments, claiming the lives of 44 sailors. Yet even in the face of immense loss, the crew fought back flames, saved their ship, and returned her to the fight. Their bravery and resilience became one of the most honored chapters in her storied service.

When USS Oriskany finally retired in 1976, she left behind a legacy etched into the history of naval aviation. Today she rests as an artificial reef off the coast of Florida—but the memory of her courage sails on in every pilot she launched, every mission she carried, and every sailor who served aboard her.

The USS Oriskany CV-34 Task Force 77 patch honors this extraordinary carrier and the men who sailed and flew from her deck. To wear it is to remember a ship that embodied grit, sacrifice, and the fierce heart of American naval power in the Pacific.