1944: The men, still sore from their Crossing the Line hazing, pull into anchorage at Espiritu Santo (in the New Hebrides) on March 10 and remain at anchor with liberty ashore until March 24. On the 25th through the 31st, CA-69 participates in the Task Force raid on the Japanese stronghold of PALAU in the Caroline Islands (Operation Desecrate).
1945: While the rest of the Task Force is engulfed in the action at Okinawa, The Boston steams home to San Pedro CA (Long Beach / Los Angeles) for major overhauls in preparation for the planned final push — the massive invasion of the Home Islands of Japan. (Japan surrendered before those operations were launched.) The ship arrives on March 25, 1945. The men were split into two groups — each had three weeks leave. The first group left that afternoon. THE MEN WENT HOME — only to return aboard the ship and face the grim task of grinding the enemy into eventual surrender.