After brief repairs at Tongatabu, Portland  took on a new commander, Captain Laurance T. DuBose.
She then steamed for Pearl Harbor escorting Yorktown, before heading to Midway Atoll to set a trap for Japanese forces attacking there.
On 4 June, after Dive-Bombers from carriers Yorktown and Enterprise had sunk three Japanese carriers, aircraft from Japanese carrier Hiryū responded with an attack on Yorktown that afternoon.
Portland was to her port, providing anti-aircraft defense along with cruisers Pensacola and Vincennes.
A Japanese air attack came at 14:00 and another after 16:30, and Yorktown was struck several times with torpedoes.
With increasing damage, the carrier was abandoned and its survivors picked up by five destroyers and then transferred to Portland.
In all, 2,046 of Yorktown's crew transferred to the cruiser.
She then steamed toward Pearl Harbor and met the submarine tender Fulton and transferred the Yorktown survivors aboard her on 6 June.
During 7 June she searched for downed naval aviators and the next day joined the group of carrier Saratoga.
They steamed for the Aleutian Islands to counter a Japanese force there but were recalled to Pearl Harbor two days later.
After brief repairs at Tongatabu, Portland  took on a new commander, Captain Laurance T. DuBose. She then steamed for Pearl Harbor escorting Yorktown, before heading to Midway Atoll to set a trap for Japanese forces attacking there. On 4 June, after Dive-Bombers from carriers Yorktown and Enterprise had sunk three Japanese carriers, aircraft from Japanese carrier Hiryū responded with an attack on Yorktown that afternoon. Portland was to her port, providing anti-aircraft defense along with cruisers Pensacola and Vincennes. A Japanese air attack came at 14:00 and another after 16:30, and Yorktown was struck several times with torpedoes. With increasing damage, the carrier was abandoned and its survivors picked up by five destroyers and then transferred to Portland. In all, 2,046 of Yorktown's crew transferred to the cruiser. She then steamed toward Pearl Harbor and met the submarine tender Fulton and transferred the Yorktown survivors aboard her on 6 June. During 7 June she searched for downed naval aviators and the next day joined the group of carrier Saratoga. They steamed for the Aleutian Islands to counter a Japanese force there but were recalled to Pearl Harbor two days later.
USS Portland (CA-33)