USS Palau (CVE–122) was a Commencement Bay class

Commencement Bay class escort carrier

The Commencement Bay-class escort aircraft carriers were based on the Maritime Commission T3 type tanker hull, which gave them a displacement of approximately 23,000 tons and a length of 557 feet...

 escort carrier of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

.

She was laid down by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards Inc., Tacoma

Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...

, Washington, 19 February 1945; launched 6 August 1945; sponsored by Mrs. J. P. Whitney; and commissioned 15 January 1946, Capt. W. E. Cleaves in command.

Commissioned as the Navy began its post-war demobilization, Palau completed shakedown off California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, transited the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

, underwent post shakedown availability at Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, and on 11 May moved down the coast to Norfolk where she was immobilized until May 1947. On 22 May she steamed south to Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 for refresher training, after which she headed north to Norfolk and New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, whence she steamed to Recife

Recife

Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

, thence to West Africa. She returned to the east coast 16 August and after another availability at Boston was again immobilized at Norfolk, December 1947–March 1948. During the spring of 1948 she conducted operations off the east coast and on 3 June departed for the Mediterranean to deliver planes, under the Turkish Aid Program, to representatives of that country at Yesilkoy

Yesilköy

Yeşilköy is a neighborhood of the Bakırköy municipality of Istanbul, Turkey.It is located along the Marmara Sea about 11 kilometers west of Istanbul's historic city center...

. During this mission the ship and crew helped in the evacuation of U.N. delegation and officials from Haifa on July 8th during the second phase of the Arab–Israeli War. Transiting to Isle of Rhodes and staying there until July 24th with their return to Haifa after a truce was negotiated in the war.Returning to Norfolk 7 August, she remained in the western Atlantic, ranging from the Maritime Provinces to the West Indies, until April 1952. Then departing Norfolk she returned to the Mediterranean to operate with the 6th Fleet until late June, when she resumed duties with the 2nd Fleet on the east coast.

Palau, designated for inactivation in early 1953, was retained in commission to perform one final ferry assignment, planes to Yokosuka (8 August–22 October). On her return she entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...

, decommissioning 15 June 1954. Berthed with the Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Palau remained a unit of that fleet until struck from the Navy List 1 April 1960 and sold, 13 July 1960, to Jacques Pierot, Jr. and Sons, New York.