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A day before Christmas in 1943, the USS Wilkes-Barre was christened beginning her service in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
				Constructed in the yards of the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, N.J., the Cleveland class light cruiser took her place among the fighting forces of the United States Navy, the Times Leader reported of the event.
				&ldquo;The new cruiser, named after the Northeastern Pennsylvania city, the heart of the anthracite, was started seaward with the traditional smashing of a bottle of champagne on its bow by Mrs. Charles H. Miner (Grace Shoemaker Miner),&rdquo; reported the Times Leader on Dec. 24, 1943.
				With a single blow, Miner struck the bow of the ship with the bottle which smashed into hundreds of pieces and she remarked as she did so, &ldquo;I christen thee Wilkes-Barre.&rdquo;
				Miner was among several invited guests, including gold star mother Mrs. Stanley Snyder of Madison Street, Wilkes-Barre, to attend the christening of the USS Wilkes-Barre. Newspapers photographers were not permitted at the ship yard due to government restrictions. Official pictures of the christening published in the Times Leader were released by the U.S. Navy.
				&ldquo;The presence of Mrs. Snyder, Wilkes-Barre Gold Star Mother, at the launching, symbolized Wilkes-Barre&rsquo;s contribution to this country&rsquo;s role in the current war,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported.
				Snyder was the mother of five sons. At the time of the cruiser&rsquo;s launch, two sons who were sergeants in the U.S. Army were killed in action in the European Theater.
				After the USS Wilkes-Barre was launched, she crossed through the Panama Canal and underwent several weeks of exercises at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before taking her role in the fight against the Japanese.
				According to U.S. Navy and congressional records, the USS Wilkes-Barre&rsquo;s guns were fired at Iwo Jima prior to U.S. Marines invading the Pacific island, supported the landings at Okinawa and was one of several support ships to aid the stricken carrier USS Bunker Hill.
				A day after Japan surrendered on Sept. 3, 1945, the USS Wilkes-Barre anchored in Tokyo Bay.
				The USS Wilkes-Barre sailed home in early 1946, sailed to Europe in 1947, and was decommissioned in October 1947 in Philadelphia.
				When the U.S. Navy announced the USS Wilkes-Barre would be sunk off the Florida coast 13 miles from Key West in 1972, a committee was formed to plan a memorial for the ship outside the Luzerne County Courthouse.
				&ldquo;The outdoor memorial will incorporate the two large anchors from the light cruiser USS Wilkes-Barre as well as the ship&rsquo;s bell and an appropriate dedication plaque,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported Oct. 7, 1971.
				At the time of the memorial&rsquo;s construction, various smaller items taken from the ship, such as flags, compasses, rudder controls and telegraph machine, were planned to be displayed inside the courthouse.
				The two anchors and bell were transported from the Philadelphia ship yard by Kaminski Brothers Construction in Dupont where they remained until ready to be placed at the memorial.
				&ldquo;Under leaden skies and amid reminiscences of global conflict, the USS Wilkes-Barre Memorial was dedicated this morning on the south lawn of the Luzerne County Courthouse, preserving forever the memory of a &lsquo;lethal lady, a fighting ship,&rdquo; reported the Times Leader of the memorial&rsquo;s dedication on Nov. 19, 1971.
				Nearly 400 people gathered for the dedication, including Rear Admiral Robert L. Porter Jr., first commander of the USS Wilkes-Barre, and Richard F. Jordan, of Westminster, Md., a member of the cruiser&rsquo;s original crew in World War II.
				The memorial was created under the sponsorship of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council, Navy League of the United States, and financial support in excess of $10,000 by Wilkes-Barre businessman Oscar Weissman.
				The ship&rsquo;s 500-pound bell hung above the anchors until Oct. 15, 1983, when it fell 11 feet crushing a Hanover Township man&rsquo;s leg that was amputated. The man was part of a wedding party taking pictures at the memorial, the Times Leader reported Oct. 17, 1983.
				The bell was re-positioned at the base of the memorial.

Look Back: USS Wilkes-Barre launched in December 1943