USS Marcus Island (CVE-77) was the twenty-third of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built for the United States Navy during World War II.

She spent the majority of her World War II as a flagship for various escort carrier formations, serving as the headquarters for Rear Admiral William D. Sample and Felix Stump.

She was powered with two Skinner Unaflow reciprocating steam engines, which drove two shafts, providing 9,000 horsepower (6,700 kW), thus enabling her to make 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).

Upon its completion, she began transporting aircraft from the West Coast to bases in the South Pacific, with her first ferry mission starting on 19 May.

On the first day of the landings, her aircraft contingent lost an Avenger along with its pilot in combat, although losses were generally light for the rest of the battle.

On that day, Rear Admiral Sample insisted on accompanying one of Marcus Island's Avengers as it conducted a close air support mission, and was wounded by shrapnel when the aircraft had a shell penetrate and explode within its fuselage.

The majority of the Japanese naval fleet had been concentrated in an attempt to repel the Americans from the Philippines, the seizure of which would have cut the vital oil supply lines from Southeast Asia.

Vice Admiral William Halsey Jr., commander of the Third Fleet, detached his surface ships to engage the diversionary Northern Force.

Therefore, on the early morning of 25 October, Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force emerged into the waters of Leyte Gulf, catching Taffy 3, some 20 mi (32 km) north of Marcus Island, by surprise.

[14] Nonetheless, Marcus Island dispatched all her available aircraft, and her sole Avenger recorded a torpedo hit on the portside aft of what was probably the Tone-class cruiser Chikuma.

[10][15] While the American forces had been distracted with the Battle off Samar and its immediate aftermath, Vice Admiral Naomasa Sakonju's six ship transport unit was in the process of unloading 2,000 troops onto Ormoc Bay, on the Western coast of Leyte.

[10][16] On the morning of 30 October, Marcus Island and three of her sister ships withdrew from Leyte towards Manus, having been reorganized into Task Unit 77.4.4,[17] still maintaining her status as flagship.

[6] Throughout the month of November, she provided air cover for convoys traveling near the eastern Philippines, which had been harassed by Japanese planes based on Mindanao.

At around 4:30, about 40 Japanese aircraft, divided approximately in half between kamikazes and escorts, began taking off from Clark Field and Davao to engage Task Group 77.12.

The first kamikaze skimmed over her flight deck, making impact with the water just 20 ft (6.1 m) off her starboard bow, glancing a lookout platform and killing one.

[10][19] A few minutes later, a Yokosuka D4Y dive bomber attempted to make a run against Marcus Island, but it missed with its bomb and was shot down.

There, she joined Task Unit 77.4.4, the San Fabian Protective Group as its flagship, which was assigned to participate in the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, assisting the Sixth Army as it landed on Luzon.

As one of the midget submarines raised its periscope to look around, a plane from Marcus Island dropped a depth charge onto it, leaving it dead in the water and with a severe list.

[24] During time period, Marcus Island averaged to a launching or landing every 3.8 minutes of operations, setting a record for an escort carrier in combat.

[25] On 9 January, as the landings proceeded, Marcus Island assisted in providing close air support, sinking two small Japanese coastal on the north shore of Luzon.

Her first Magic Carpet trip went to Okinawa, making stops at Pearl Harbor and Guam, arriving in San Francisco on 24 October.

[10] Marcus Island left San Diego on 12 January 1946, transiting the Panama Canal and stopping at Norfolk, before arriving in Boston Harbor on 2 February.

She was struck from the Navy list on 1 September 1959, and she was sold for scrapping on 29 February 1960 to Comarket Inc. She was ultimately broken up in Japan during June 1960.