 New Jersey 's final contribution to the conquest of the Marianas was in strikes on Guam and the Palaus from which she sailed for Pearl Harbor , arriving 9 August . Here she broke the flag of Admiral William F. Halsey , Jr . , 24 August , becoming flagship of the United States Third Fleet . On 30 August New Jersey set sail from Pearl Harbor , and for the next eight months was based at Ulithi to lend support to Allied forces operating in the Philippines . In this span of the Pacific War , fast carrier task forces ranged the waters off the Philippines , Okinawa , and Formosa , making repeated strikes at airfields , shipping , shore bases , and invasion beaches . 
