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Holy Smokes, 60Gunner...that is great work. You can barely see that stripe, and it looks like it is there on one plane but not the other, so perhaps it is right around 1947 when it changed, and not all the planes had been repainted yet.

I looked and found this:

The first major change came in the Star-in-Circle insigne in 25 years. To reduce possible confusion with the Japanese Hinomaru (”Meatball”) insigne, on May 28, 1942 the red center was ordered removed from the star. A unique non-standard variation of the insigne, possibly resulting from a misinterpretation of existing insignia specifications. A yellow border surrounding the national insigne was used breifly begining in late 1942 on some USAAF aircraft based in England and North Africa.

One non-standard variation of the early WWII insigne is a gray rather than white star. A black bordered national insigne was probably the result of a local attempt to paint out the short lived yellow border. The use of the RAF-type red, white, and blue fin flash on the tail was another recognition marking.

Aircraft were used in an in-flight test at Eglin Field, Florida on June 18, 1943 to verify the increased visibility of the proposed design. On June 29, 1943, the second major WWII design change was adopted. A white rectangle or bar was added on each side of the blue circle and a red border surrounding the entire insigne. While the new design was estimated to be 60 percent more recognizable, the use of the red border was short lived. The final WWII national insigne was adopted on August 14, 1943, this change eliminated red from the national insigne until after WWII. The red border was replaced with one of blue.

With horizontal red bars added to the white blocks on either side of the circle the design was adopted on Jan 14, 1947. This basic design remains in use today on most USAF aircraft. To reduce the infrared image and reduce the vulnerability to infrared guided missiles, markings such as a single color national insigne were stenciled on the aircraft using low gloss black paint.

Very interesting stuff!

Interesting...here is a clip of her history. It looks like the last time she had planes on her was September 24 1945 when she arrived in Pearl Harbor and offloaded her squadrons. So it is a bit of a puzzle...the person might have had duty on another ship after leaving the USS Nehanta Bay...

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USS NEHENTA BAY

(CVE–74: dp. 7,800; l. 512’3”: b. 65’: ew. 108’1”; dr. 22’6”; s. 19 k.; cpl. 860; a. 1 5”, 16 40mm., 28 a c.; cl. asablanca; T. S4–S2–BB3)

Nehenta Bay (CVE–74) was launched by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, Wash., 28 November 1943, under Maritime Commission contract: sponsored by Mrs. Robert H. Smith; acquired 3 January 1944: and commissioned at Astoria, Oreg., the same day, Captain Horace A. Butterfield in command.

Nehenta Bay made her shakedown cruise from San Francisco Bay to Pearl Harbor 6 to 12 February 1944, carrying replacement aircrews and planes. She put into San Diego 21 February with damaged planes returned from combat zones for repair. After further West Coast training, she sailed for Pearl Harbor 18 March, again with replacement aircraft and aviation materiel, added to her lading in Hawaii, and reached Majuro 7 April to deliver mail, men, and aircraft to fast carriers moored there. She returned to San Diego from Majuro and Pearl Harbor 27 April, bringing home wounded and other passengers, along with damaged aircraft.

After combat readiness training off California and in Hawaii, Nehenta Bay left Pearl Harbor 18 June for the Marianas assault, staging at Eniwetok late in the month. With TF 51, her planes flew antisubmarine and combat air patrols during operations against Tinian, which they strafed 5 and 7 July, blasting gun emplacements and a sugar refinery. Returning to Eniwetok 16 July to refuel and replenish, Nehenta Bay next sailed, with Midway and 12 destroyers, for antisubmarine and combat air patrols off Guam and Saipan, striking targets on the latter.

Next assigned to escort fleet oilers during at-sea replenishment operations, Nehenta Bay played an essential part in the 3d Fleet’s victory-winning operations from August 1944 through January 1945. The ships she guarded made it possible for the fast carriers to remain at sea for extended periods, smashing at targets in the Carolines and Philippines, on Formosa, and on the Chinese coast. Such attacks in turn made possible the capture of the Palaus, and the return to the Philippines.

With Manus and Ulithi as her bases, Nehenta Bay faithfully and tirelessly protected her vulnerable charges, fighting through the December typhoon despite heavy damage and shooting down a Japanese attacker 12 January 1945. She returned to San Diego 19 February for overhaul, refreshed her training in Hawaiian waters, then qualified new aviators off Guam before arriving at Ulithi 9 May to prepare for strikes on Okinawa. Her planes flew patrols and made direct strikes on enemy positions to aid fighting men ashore, blasting the Japanese from eaves and ridges. Her formation came under kamikaze attack 7 June, when two of her sisters were crashed.

From the end of June through early August, Nehenta Bay again guarded oilers as they served the 3d Fleet in its climactic raids against Japan itself. She was en route to operations in the Aleutians when hostilities ended, and her task force sailed 31 August for occupation duties around Japan, patrolling and dropping supplies to prisoners of war. She returned to Pearl Harbor 24 September to disembark her air squadron and all aviation equipment and gasoline, thus making room for passengers. She sailed 30 September to embark homewardbound troops in the Marshalls, and with them reached San Francisco in mid-October. In November she sailed to the Philippines on similar duty, returning to the West Coast 27 November. Sailing via the Panama Canal, Nehenta Bay arrived Boston 31 January 1946 for inactivation. She decommissioned and entered reserve at Boston 15 May 1946. Reclassified CVU–74 on 12 June 1955 and AKV–24 on 7 May 1959, Nehenta Bay was sold to Coalmarket, Inc., 29 June 1960 and scrapped.

Nehenta Bay received 7 battle stars for World War II service.