VARIAN DE 798
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Keel Laid August 27 1943 - Launched November 6 1943 |
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- Covers Page 1 (1946)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
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Postmark Type |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
|
Locy Type |
1946-01-12 |
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Note:
Other Information
VARIAN received two battle stars for her World War II service
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 2 stars - WWII Victory Medal
NAMESAKE - Bertram Stetson Varian USN (November 26 1920 - June 5 1942)
Varian enlisted in the Navy as a Seaman 2d class on December 3 1940 at Boise, Idaho, and received an appointment as Aviation Cadet on February 15 of the following year. Following flight training at Pensacola, Fla., he was designated a Naval Aviator on September 8 1941 and was commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserve on October 4. Varian received further instruction with the Advanced Carrier Training Group and reported to USS ENTERPRISE CV-6 on April 3 1942, joining Bombing Squadron VB-6. Flying from ENTERPRISE during the pivotal Battle of Midway on June 5 1942, he flew with the third division of "Bombing Six" in their attack against the Japanese carrier AKAGI. VB-6 pressed home their attack—often diving to very low altitudes to ensure their bomb's delivery—and severely crippled Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's flagship. The victory had not been attained without cost, however, as only a third of the 15 Douglas SBD Daunt-lesses launched earlier that day returned to their carrier. Among those lost were Ensign Varian and his gunner, ARM3c C. R. Young, who were forced to take to their rubber boat when their plane ditched 50 miles northeast of the Japanese task force. They were never seen again.
For his "extraordinary heroism" and "distinguished service" in pressing home his attack against heavy odds and knowing that very little fuel remained with which to return to friendly forces, Ensign Varian received a posthumous Navy Cross
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
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