Thanks. Great story!
“Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable”
My late father was on CVE-27 at Leyte Gulf.
My late uncle served on CVE 21/CVE-106 USS Block Island.
The original CVE-21 was sunk in the Atlantic in 1944. The crew was almost all saved, and for the first time in Navy history, was sent almost intact to man a second ship of the same name, CVE-106 , and served in the Pccific until the end of the war.
Thus, this crew, served on two ships in both theaters of the war.
When sunk, six crew on the Block Island were lost. More poignantly, four Wildcat pilots were aloft at the time, and sent to the Canary Islands to land. They knew they didn’t have the fuel. They were never heard from again.
Here’s a link : www.ussblockisland.org
A great look at the “jeep carrier” and its important role in WW2.