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USS Alvin C. Cockrell (DE-366)
Encyclopedia
USS Alvin C. Cockrell (DE-366) was a acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II
. Decommissioned several times, in addition to serving in the World War, she also served during the Berlin Crisis of 1961
.
She was laid down on 1 May 1944 at Orange, Texas
, by the Consolidated Steel Corp.; launched on 27 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. James A. Perkins, the sister of the late 1st Lt. Cockrell; and commissioned on 7 August 1944 at her builder's yard, Lt. Comdr. Merrill M. Sanford, USNR, in command.
, arriving on 14 October, and continued fitting out at the Todd-Galveston Shipbuilding, Inc., yard. Completing these preparations for service on 25 October, she sailed for Bermuda
that afternoon in company with her sister ship , for shakedown
training. Arriving at noon on the last day of October, the new destroyer escort carried out her shakedown training out of Bermuda until 29 November, after which time she sailed for Boston Navy Yard
and post-shakedown availability. Underway from Boston, Massachusetts, on 10 December, Alvin C. Cockrell arrived at Norfolk, Virginia
, the following day.
On 15 December, Alvin C. Cockrell sailed from Norfolk, and escorted the attack transport to the Panama Canal Zone
, arriving there on the 20th. Transiting the canal the same day, the destroyer escort then proceeded independently to San Diego, California
, arriving there three days after Christmas
of 1944. She sailed thence for the Hawaiian Islands
, reaching Pearl Harbor
on the afternoon of 7 January 1945.
Alvin C. Cockrell then spent the next several days operating locally out of Pearl Harbor, conducting target practice, serving as a target for a division of motor torpedo boats, undergoing an availability alongside the destroyer tender , and carrying out gunnery exercises with student officers from the Destroyers, Pacific, gunnery school manning gun control stations. On 17 January, the destroyer escort, accompanied by French, sailed from Hawaiian waters for the Marshalls
as escort for convoy PD-256-T—one transport and five attack transports. Reaching Eniwetok on 25 January, the destroyer escort remained there only briefly, getting underway for the Palau
s the following day and convoying the same half-dozen ships she had shepherded from Hawaii. Detaching the transport to proceed independently to Ulithi
Atoll
, the convoy proceeded on, reaching its destination, Kossol Roads
, on the last day of January.
Over the next several weeks, Alvin C. Cockrell escorted convoys between Eniwetok, Guam
, Saipan
, Ulithi, and Kossel Roads, and, when required, served as harbor patrol and air-sea rescue vessel. She carried out her first air-sea rescue mission on 23 February 1945, when she sailed from Ulithi to go to the assistance of a Martin PBM-3D "Mariner" flying boat
from Patrol Bombing Squadron 22 that had been forced down by engine trouble. Underway at 1008, Alvin C. Cockrell proceeded at flank speed, guided to the scene by a "Dumbo"
plane overhead.
She put her whaleboat
over the side as she neared the "Mariner", to take off the crew and attempt to take the aircraft in tow, and soon had seven of the nine enlisted men (two had remained on board to handle towlines), and the three officers from the crew on board. While the destroyer escort screened the operation, Alvin C. Cockrell managed to get the plane under tow by 0910 the following day, after which time the destroyer escort set out for Ulithi. Unfortunately, soon after the remaining crewmen from the plane were taken on board, the towline parted. Further attempts at salvage by Manlove proved fruitless and, ultimately, the "Mariner" (one wing of which had been damaged in the initial attempt to get a line to it) had to be sunk by gunfire.
The next instance of rescue occurred on 22 March 1945, while the ship was stationed on harbor entrance patrol at Apra Harbor
, Guam. At 1540 on that day, Alvin C. Cockrell received orders to depart from her patrol station for an air-sea rescue mission 12 miles from Orote Point. Once again guided by aircraft overhead, the destroyer escort spotted a life raft and its two occupants shortly before 1800, and by 1804 the ship had brought on board Lt.(jg.) Kenneth B. Coleman, USNR, and Aviation Radioman
3d Class H. Moorhead. Transferring them to a picket boat sent out for that purpose, Alvin C. Cockrell then resumed patrolling her station.
In June, while at Kossol Passage, in the Palaus, she was directed to put to sea to search for reported airplane wreckage. In company with the destroyer escort , she searched the assigned area on 14 June and the days following, but found nothing. A similar search conducted off Peleliu
during the waning days of July 1945 also yielded no trace of downed planes or pilots reported in her vicinity.
The final month of the war, August 1945, began with Alvin C. Cockrell operating with the Palau Island Patrol and Escort Unit, keeping watch on the by-passed Palaus and the Japanese garrisons there. On 2 August, the ship departed her patrol station on orders to pick up two men from a raft reported by a patrol plane. The two turned out to be Japanese soldiers or laborers attempting to escape from Babelthuap and hoping for an American ship to pick them up. Alvin C. Cockrell turned them over to a small boat for transfer ashore, and resumed her patrol.
On 5 August, however, while operating in the Peleliu-Angaur
antisubmarine screen, Alvin C. Cockrell received orders to proceed at full speed to the scene of the sinking of the heavy cruiser . She arrived in the area at 0600, and commenced a search in company with the destroyers , , and and the destroyer escort . One flying boat orbited overhead.
With each ship proceeding to cover an assigned sector, Alvin C. Cockrell began finding grim evidence of the tragedy that had befallen the cruiser
. She sighted two empty rubber rafts at 1007, and recovered an unidentified body at 1115, quickly burying it at sea. A half-hour later, at 1145, the ship spotted several other corpses—six of which were given a burial soon thereafter. Only one of the six was identifiable, and the advanced state of decomposition in all indicated that they had been dead for several days.
Many had life jackets, and a few had clothing. The destroyer escort sighted very little debris or wreckage by that point, and "no signs of any live survivors." Eventually ordered to break off the search and return to her regular operating base, Alvin C. Cockrell departed the area at 0622 on 6 August to return to Peleliu.
Alvin C. Cockrell departed Buckner Bay on 9 September 1945, bound for Japan
with Task Unit (TU) 56.5.2—one light cruiser, an escort carrier, a dock landing ship, two hospital ships, a seaplane tender
and a Coast Guard cutter; three destroyer escorts (including Alvin C. Cockrell) and three fast transports (converted from destroyer escorts) rounded out the screen. Steaming for Wakanoura Wan to evacuate Allied prisoners of war (POWs), the task unit reached Kii Suido and entered Wakanoura Wan in the wake of the minesweeping group on 11 September. The task unit anchored at 1820 that day. With the completion of the evacuation—part of her ship's company serving on ashore during that time—on 15 September, the destroyer escort was assigned to Task Force
51 the same day.
After riding out a typhoon that swept through the area on 17 and 18 September, Alvin C. Cockrell operated as one of four destroyer escorts serving as the mine screen for the escort carriers and , as those ships' planes covered the occupation of Wakayama on 24 to 26 September. During this period, the destroyer escort sank two Japanese mines with gunfire.
Soon thereafter, Alvin C. Cockrell departed Wakanoura Wan in company with French and screening , putting to sea with a search group on 7 October to rendezvous with other ships looking for a PBM believed down at sea; among the "Mariner's" passengers was Rear Admiral William D. Sample
, who was along on the flight to familiarize himself with the area. The special search mission continued on 8 October, and, with short breaks for refueling, continued over the ensuing days until the search was ordered abandoned on 17 October.
, and Wakayama, shuttling passengers and mail between those ports. She interrupted this routine briefly on 10 and 11 November when she operated with Siboney as the escort carrier conducted gunnery drills and flight training.
. She touched briefly at Pearl Harbor on 14 January, and later proceeded thence to the west coast, reaching San Francisco, California
, on 22 January. Decommissioned and placed in reserve at San Diego, California, on 2 July 1946, Alvin C. Cockrell remained inactive until returned to active duty with the buildup of the fleet during the Korean War
.
School, San Diego. She conducted antisubmarine warfare (ASW) type-training exercises, and served as courier ship between San Diego and Long Beach, California
.
Deploying to the western Pacific (WestPac) for the first time since the end of World War II, Alvin C. Cockrell sailed for the Far East
in August 1953. She served as station ship at Hong Kong
, for three months before she proceeded to the Philippine Islands and visited Sangley Point and Subic Bay
. She also visited Bangkok
, Thailand
, during this deployment, and operated for two weeks in the Gulf of Siam, training sailors from the Thai Armed Forces Academy at Sattahip, in gunnery and engineering. Returning to San Diego by way of Guam, Midway Island, and Pearl Harbor, the destroyer escort reached San Diego in March 1954, and operated locally into the autumn of 1955. Her regular overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard
, conducted during March and April 1955, punctuated that period of local operations, and saw the ship being converted for service as a flagship
.
landings and convoy escort duties. Her ports of call on this WestPac cruise encompassed Hong Kong, Keelung
and Kaohsiung
, Taiwan
; Okinawa; and the Japanese ports of Atami, Sasebo
and Yokosuka. Returning to San Diego at the end of March 1956, Alvin C. Cockrell spent the next nine months engaged in local operations out of that port, serving as sonar school ship
and participating in several minor ASW
training operations. Highlighting the latter period was the ship's participation in a fleet review at San Diego on 14 September 1956.
During 1957, Alvin C. Cockrell deployed to WestPac with CortRon 3, visiting the southern and western Pacific. During the course of this cruise, she visited Kwajalein
Atoll, in the Marshalls; Auckland, New Zealand; Manus
, in the Bismarck Archipelago
; Yokosuka, Japan; Okinawa; Kaohsiung; Singapore
; Hong Kong; Corregidor
, Subic Bay, and Manila
. She participated in exercise "Beacon Hill" in the Philippines; a SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization) exercise, "Astra", in the Gulf of Siam and South China Sea
with units of the British, Australian, New Zealand, French, and Thai Navies; and spent a month on surveillance patrols in the Carolines
, Marianas
, and Bonins, visiting several islands famous in World War II: Guam, Ponape
, Iwo Jima
, Truk, Tinian
, and Saipan. Returning to San Diego in early July, via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor, Alvin C. Cockrell underwent her regular overhaul at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
between October 1957 and January 1958.
For the first six months of 1958, the destroyer escort deployed to the central and western Pacific; her ports of call included Yokosuka, Hong Kong, and Subic Bay. She participated in a joint Air Force-Navy Operation Handclasp
project, a U.S. 7th Fleet weapons demonstration for Asian political and military leaders, and spent two of the six months in the Carolines, Marianas, and Bonins, on surveillance patrol. She returned to San Diego in mid-June 1958, via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor as in previous deployments.
.
in the autumn of 1961 resulted in a call-up of reserve units. In September 1961, President John F. Kennedy
directed that all ASW surface components of the selected reserve forces report for active duty on 1 October 1961. Accordingly, Alvin C. Cockrell was recommissioned on 1 October 1961, Comdr. Robert A. Bush in command. After the ship underwent a routine overhaul, her home port was changed to Pearl Harbor. She sailed for Hawaii on 2 January 1962, and took part in a large-scale, opposed-entry exercise at Pearl Harbor ten days later.
Increased tensions in the Far East soon resulted in Alvin C. Cockrell's sailing for that area of the globe; following refresher training, the destroyer escort departed Hawaiian waters on 24 February 1962 with CortDiv 72, which consisted of Alvin C. Cockrell (flagship), , and ]]USS Charles E. Brannon (DE-446)]]. Proceeding to Subic Bay via Guam and Midway Island, Alvin C. Cockrell reported for duty with Task Force 72 upon arrival at Subic on 11 March 1962.
, Republic of Vietnam, for operations with units of the South Vietnamese Navy. She conducted intensive training assistance with units of that force, improving general ship-to-shore communications and providing on-the-job training for Vietnamese sailors.
Visiting Hong Kong from 5 to 11 April 1962, Alvin C. Cockrell then proceeded to Subic Bay, for tender availability alongside . Following that period of repairs and upkeep, the destroyer escort sailed for the Gulf of Siam, and conducted operations there between 20 April and 2 May. She conducted a four-day port visit to Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam
, and then returned to Subic Bay. Alvin C. Cockrell ultimately sailed for Yokosuka on 21 May, and then participated in exercises the first week of June. Proceeding via Midway Island, the destroyer escort reached Pearl Harbor on 18 June 1962, and commenced a two-week availability alongside the destroyer tender
.
and Esquimalt. In 1966 she operated out of San Diego. In the summer of 1967, the ship visited Vancouver and Seattle, Washington
, in the course of her two-week cruise.
on 23 September 1968. Her hulk was subsequently utilized in weapons testing, and she was sunk on 19 September 1969.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Decommissioned several times, in addition to serving in the World War, she also served during the Berlin Crisis of 1961
Berlin Crisis of 1961
The Berlin Crisis of 1961 was the last major politico-military European incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of post–World War II Germany. The U.S.S.R...
.
She was laid down on 1 May 1944 at Orange, Texas
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
, by the Consolidated Steel Corp.; launched on 27 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. James A. Perkins, the sister of the late 1st Lt. Cockrell; and commissioned on 7 August 1944 at her builder's yard, Lt. Comdr. Merrill M. Sanford, USNR, in command.
World War II
After initial fitting out alongside the City Docks at Orange, Alvin C. Cockrell shifted to Galveston, TexasGalveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, arriving on 14 October, and continued fitting out at the Todd-Galveston Shipbuilding, Inc., yard. Completing these preparations for service on 25 October, she sailed for Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
that afternoon in company with her sister ship , for shakedown
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
training. Arriving at noon on the last day of October, the new destroyer escort carried out her shakedown training out of Bermuda until 29 November, after which time she sailed for Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
and post-shakedown availability. Underway from Boston, Massachusetts, on 10 December, Alvin C. Cockrell arrived at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, the following day.
On 15 December, Alvin C. Cockrell sailed from Norfolk, and escorted the attack transport to the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, arriving there on the 20th. Transiting the canal the same day, the destroyer escort then proceeded independently to San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, arriving there three days after Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
of 1944. She sailed thence for the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, reaching Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on the afternoon of 7 January 1945.
Alvin C. Cockrell then spent the next several days operating locally out of Pearl Harbor, conducting target practice, serving as a target for a division of motor torpedo boats, undergoing an availability alongside the destroyer tender , and carrying out gunnery exercises with student officers from the Destroyers, Pacific, gunnery school manning gun control stations. On 17 January, the destroyer escort, accompanied by French, sailed from Hawaiian waters for the Marshalls
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
as escort for convoy PD-256-T—one transport and five attack transports. Reaching Eniwetok on 25 January, the destroyer escort remained there only briefly, getting underway for the Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
s the following day and convoying the same half-dozen ships she had shepherded from Hawaii. Detaching the transport to proceed independently to Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
Atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
, the convoy proceeded on, reaching its destination, Kossol Roads
Kossol Roads
Kossol Roads, Palau is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob. During World War II, it was used by the United States Navy as the location of a floating resupply and repair base....
, on the last day of January.
Over the next several weeks, Alvin C. Cockrell escorted convoys between Eniwetok, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Ulithi, and Kossel Roads, and, when required, served as harbor patrol and air-sea rescue vessel. She carried out her first air-sea rescue mission on 23 February 1945, when she sailed from Ulithi to go to the assistance of a Martin PBM-3D "Mariner" flying boat
PBM Mariner
The Martin PBM Mariner was a patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War period. It was designed to complement the PBY Catalina in service. A total of 1,366 were built, with the first example flying on 18 February 1939 and the type entering service in September 1940.-Design and...
from Patrol Bombing Squadron 22 that had been forced down by engine trouble. Underway at 1008, Alvin C. Cockrell proceeded at flank speed, guided to the scene by a "Dumbo"
Dumbo (air-sea rescue)
Dumbo was the code name used by the United States Navy during the 1940s and 1950s to signify search and rescue missions, conducted in conjunction with military operations, by long-range aircraft flying over the ocean. The purpose of Dumbo missions was to rescue downed American aviators as well as...
plane overhead.
She put her whaleboat
Whaleboat
A whaleboat is a type of open boat that is relatively narrow and pointed at both ends, enabling it to move either forwards or backwards equally well. It was originally developed for whaling, and later became popular for work along beaches, since it does not need to be turned around for beaching or...
over the side as she neared the "Mariner", to take off the crew and attempt to take the aircraft in tow, and soon had seven of the nine enlisted men (two had remained on board to handle towlines), and the three officers from the crew on board. While the destroyer escort screened the operation, Alvin C. Cockrell managed to get the plane under tow by 0910 the following day, after which time the destroyer escort set out for Ulithi. Unfortunately, soon after the remaining crewmen from the plane were taken on board, the towline parted. Further attempts at salvage by Manlove proved fruitless and, ultimately, the "Mariner" (one wing of which had been damaged in the initial attempt to get a line to it) had to be sunk by gunfire.
The next instance of rescue occurred on 22 March 1945, while the ship was stationed on harbor entrance patrol at Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of Guam in the Mariana Islands. The harbor is formed by Orote Peninsula in the south and Cabras Island in the north. To the south, the harbor narrows and then widens again to form an inner harbor. The southern end of the harbor is the location...
, Guam. At 1540 on that day, Alvin C. Cockrell received orders to depart from her patrol station for an air-sea rescue mission 12 miles from Orote Point. Once again guided by aircraft overhead, the destroyer escort spotted a life raft and its two occupants shortly before 1800, and by 1804 the ship had brought on board Lt.(jg.) Kenneth B. Coleman, USNR, and Aviation Radioman
Radioman
Radioman was a rating for United States Navy and United States Coast Guard enlisted personnel, specializing in communications technology.-History of the rating:...
3d Class H. Moorhead. Transferring them to a picket boat sent out for that purpose, Alvin C. Cockrell then resumed patrolling her station.
In June, while at Kossol Passage, in the Palaus, she was directed to put to sea to search for reported airplane wreckage. In company with the destroyer escort , she searched the assigned area on 14 June and the days following, but found nothing. A similar search conducted off Peleliu
Peleliu
Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....
during the waning days of July 1945 also yielded no trace of downed planes or pilots reported in her vicinity.
The final month of the war, August 1945, began with Alvin C. Cockrell operating with the Palau Island Patrol and Escort Unit, keeping watch on the by-passed Palaus and the Japanese garrisons there. On 2 August, the ship departed her patrol station on orders to pick up two men from a raft reported by a patrol plane. The two turned out to be Japanese soldiers or laborers attempting to escape from Babelthuap and hoping for an American ship to pick them up. Alvin C. Cockrell turned them over to a small boat for transfer ashore, and resumed her patrol.
On 5 August, however, while operating in the Peleliu-Angaur
Angaur
Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population is 188 . State capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side...
antisubmarine screen, Alvin C. Cockrell received orders to proceed at full speed to the scene of the sinking of the heavy cruiser . She arrived in the area at 0600, and commenced a search in company with the destroyers , , and and the destroyer escort . One flying boat orbited overhead.
With each ship proceeding to cover an assigned sector, Alvin C. Cockrell began finding grim evidence of the tragedy that had befallen the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
. She sighted two empty rubber rafts at 1007, and recovered an unidentified body at 1115, quickly burying it at sea. A half-hour later, at 1145, the ship spotted several other corpses—six of which were given a burial soon thereafter. Only one of the six was identifiable, and the advanced state of decomposition in all indicated that they had been dead for several days.
Many had life jackets, and a few had clothing. The destroyer escort sighted very little debris or wreckage by that point, and "no signs of any live survivors." Eventually ordered to break off the search and return to her regular operating base, Alvin C. Cockrell departed the area at 0622 on 6 August to return to Peleliu.
End-of-war activity
The end of the war in mid-August saw Alvin C. Cockrell still assigned local operations out of Peleliu. These lasted until 19 August, when she joined other units of Escort Division (CortDiv) 86 at Ulithi. She then proceeded to Okinawa for duty with the U.S. 5th Fleet, reporting on 26 August.Alvin C. Cockrell departed Buckner Bay on 9 September 1945, bound for Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with Task Unit (TU) 56.5.2—one light cruiser, an escort carrier, a dock landing ship, two hospital ships, a seaplane tender
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...
and a Coast Guard cutter; three destroyer escorts (including Alvin C. Cockrell) and three fast transports (converted from destroyer escorts) rounded out the screen. Steaming for Wakanoura Wan to evacuate Allied prisoners of war (POWs), the task unit reached Kii Suido and entered Wakanoura Wan in the wake of the minesweeping group on 11 September. The task unit anchored at 1820 that day. With the completion of the evacuation—part of her ship's company serving on ashore during that time—on 15 September, the destroyer escort was assigned to Task Force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
51 the same day.
After riding out a typhoon that swept through the area on 17 and 18 September, Alvin C. Cockrell operated as one of four destroyer escorts serving as the mine screen for the escort carriers and , as those ships' planes covered the occupation of Wakayama on 24 to 26 September. During this period, the destroyer escort sank two Japanese mines with gunfire.
Soon thereafter, Alvin C. Cockrell departed Wakanoura Wan in company with French and screening , putting to sea with a search group on 7 October to rendezvous with other ships looking for a PBM believed down at sea; among the "Mariner's" passengers was Rear Admiral William D. Sample
William Sample
William Dodge Sample was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and an Escort Carrier Division commander in World War II...
, who was along on the flight to familiarize himself with the area. The special search mission continued on 8 October, and, with short breaks for refueling, continued over the ensuing days until the search was ordered abandoned on 17 October.
Occupation duties
Proceeding to Yokosuka, Japan, Alvin C. Cockrell stood out of that port on 24 October as part of the screen for Siboney and as the carriers' planes covered the occupation of Nagoya. The destroyer escort returned to Wakanoura Wan on 26 October, but sailed thence for Yokosuka the following day, arriving on the 28th. During November and December 1945, Alvin C. Cockrell served as courier ship between Yokosuka, KureKure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
, and Wakayama, shuttling passengers and mail between those ports. She interrupted this routine briefly on 10 and 11 November when she operated with Siboney as the escort carrier conducted gunnery drills and flight training.
Decommissioning
Relieved from duty with the 5th Fleet on 2 January 1946, Alvin C. Cockrell sailed for the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She touched briefly at Pearl Harbor on 14 January, and later proceeded thence to the west coast, reaching San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, on 22 January. Decommissioned and placed in reserve at San Diego, California, on 2 July 1946, Alvin C. Cockrell remained inactive until returned to active duty with the buildup of the fleet during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Korean War
Recommissioned on 27 June 1951, Lt. Comdr. Thomas R. Pearson in command, Alvin C. Cockrell was assigned to Escort Squadron (CortRon) 3, and over the next two years served as a training ship for the Fleet SonarSonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
School, San Diego. She conducted antisubmarine warfare (ASW) type-training exercises, and served as courier ship between San Diego and Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
.
Deploying to the western Pacific (WestPac) for the first time since the end of World War II, Alvin C. Cockrell sailed for the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
in August 1953. She served as station ship at Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, for three months before she proceeded to the Philippine Islands and visited Sangley Point and Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
. She also visited Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, during this deployment, and operated for two weeks in the Gulf of Siam, training sailors from the Thai Armed Forces Academy at Sattahip, in gunnery and engineering. Returning to San Diego by way of Guam, Midway Island, and Pearl Harbor, the destroyer escort reached San Diego in March 1954, and operated locally into the autumn of 1955. Her regular overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard
Long Beach Naval Shipyard
thumb|right|300px|Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1993The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.The Long Beach...
, conducted during March and April 1955, punctuated that period of local operations, and saw the ship being converted for service as a flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
.
Deployed as CortRon 3 flagship
Deploying to the Far East again in October 1955, Alvin C. Cockrell was designated flagship of CortRon 3 in December 1955. During the course of this cruise, the ship participated in a wide variety of evolutions, ranging from hunter-killer exercises to covering U.S. Marine Corps amphibiousAmphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
landings and convoy escort duties. Her ports of call on this WestPac cruise encompassed Hong Kong, Keelung
Keelung
Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...
and Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
; Okinawa; and the Japanese ports of Atami, Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
and Yokosuka. Returning to San Diego at the end of March 1956, Alvin C. Cockrell spent the next nine months engaged in local operations out of that port, serving as sonar school ship
School ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....
and participating in several minor ASW
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
training operations. Highlighting the latter period was the ship's participation in a fleet review at San Diego on 14 September 1956.
During 1957, Alvin C. Cockrell deployed to WestPac with CortRon 3, visiting the southern and western Pacific. During the course of this cruise, she visited Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
Atoll, in the Marshalls; Auckland, New Zealand; Manus
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
, in the Bismarck Archipelago
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...
; Yokosuka, Japan; Okinawa; Kaohsiung; Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
; Hong Kong; Corregidor
Corregidor
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
, Subic Bay, and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. She participated in exercise "Beacon Hill" in the Philippines; a SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization) exercise, "Astra", in the Gulf of Siam and South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
with units of the British, Australian, New Zealand, French, and Thai Navies; and spent a month on surveillance patrols in the Carolines
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
, Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, and Bonins, visiting several islands famous in World War II: Guam, Ponape
Pohnpei
Not to be confused with Pompeii, the ancient city destroyed by Vesuvius in AD 79.Pohnpei "upon a stone altar " is the name of one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia , situated among the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group...
, Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
, Truk, Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
, and Saipan. Returning to San Diego in early July, via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor, Alvin C. Cockrell underwent her regular overhaul at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
between October 1957 and January 1958.
For the first six months of 1958, the destroyer escort deployed to the central and western Pacific; her ports of call included Yokosuka, Hong Kong, and Subic Bay. She participated in a joint Air Force-Navy Operation Handclasp
Operation Handclasp
Operation Handclasp was a 1958 joint Air Force-Navy operation conducted with the U.S. Navy's U.S. 7th Fleet to demonstrate military weapons for Asian political and military leaders.- Example of use :...
project, a U.S. 7th Fleet weapons demonstration for Asian political and military leaders, and spent two of the six months in the Carolines, Marianas, and Bonins, on surveillance patrol. She returned to San Diego in mid-June 1958, via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor as in previous deployments.
Reassigned to Naval Reserve Training ship duties
After she had brought her fourth WestPac deployment to a close, Alvin C. Cockrell was assigned Naval Reserve Training (NRT) ship duties with Reserve Escort Squadron 1, on 1 July 1958, home-ported at San Francisco. Decommissioned on 17 January 1959, the ship was designated a Group II destroyer escort in the ASW surface component of the selected reserve and remained "in service" to provide underway training for her own selected reserve crew of inactive reserve officers and men. Two active duty officers and 36 enlisted men maintained the ship, and on the third weekend of each month, a reserve crew of 161 officers and men would embark to steam and train their own ship. For two weeks each year the reserve crew would embark, and, integrated with the active duty men, would carry out a two week reserve training cruise. In May 1959, the ship moved to her new home port, the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Training Center at Alameda, CaliforniaAlameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
.
Recommissioned for Berlin Crisis of 1961
For the next two years the ship maintained this routine, until the Berlin crisisCheckpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War....
in the autumn of 1961 resulted in a call-up of reserve units. In September 1961, President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
directed that all ASW surface components of the selected reserve forces report for active duty on 1 October 1961. Accordingly, Alvin C. Cockrell was recommissioned on 1 October 1961, Comdr. Robert A. Bush in command. After the ship underwent a routine overhaul, her home port was changed to Pearl Harbor. She sailed for Hawaii on 2 January 1962, and took part in a large-scale, opposed-entry exercise at Pearl Harbor ten days later.
Increased tensions in the Far East soon resulted in Alvin C. Cockrell's sailing for that area of the globe; following refresher training, the destroyer escort departed Hawaiian waters on 24 February 1962 with CortDiv 72, which consisted of Alvin C. Cockrell (flagship), , and ]]USS Charles E. Brannon (DE-446)]]. Proceeding to Subic Bay via Guam and Midway Island, Alvin C. Cockrell reported for duty with Task Force 72 upon arrival at Subic on 11 March 1962.
Vietnam War
One week later, on 18 March, Alvin C. Cockrell sailed for Da NangDa Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
, Republic of Vietnam, for operations with units of the South Vietnamese Navy. She conducted intensive training assistance with units of that force, improving general ship-to-shore communications and providing on-the-job training for Vietnamese sailors.
Visiting Hong Kong from 5 to 11 April 1962, Alvin C. Cockrell then proceeded to Subic Bay, for tender availability alongside . Following that period of repairs and upkeep, the destroyer escort sailed for the Gulf of Siam, and conducted operations there between 20 April and 2 May. She conducted a four-day port visit to Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, and then returned to Subic Bay. Alvin C. Cockrell ultimately sailed for Yokosuka on 21 May, and then participated in exercises the first week of June. Proceeding via Midway Island, the destroyer escort reached Pearl Harbor on 18 June 1962, and commenced a two-week availability alongside the destroyer tender
Destroyer tender
A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...
.
Return to reserve duties
Sailing thence for San Francisco, California, Alvin C. Cockrell reached her destination on 17 July 1962, and was decommissioned on 1 August 1962, reverting to "in service" status as a Group II NRT ship. She remained in that status for the rest of her career. During 1963 her two-week active training cruise took her to Hawaiian waters. In 1964 she conducted intensive refresher training at San Diego, California. The cruise for August 1965 found the ship visiting the Canadian ports of VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and Esquimalt. In 1966 she operated out of San Diego. In the summer of 1967, the ship visited Vancouver and Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, in the course of her two-week cruise.
Final inactivation and decommissioning
Decommissioned on 20 September 1968, Alvin C. Cockrell was struck from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 23 September 1968. Her hulk was subsequently utilized in weapons testing, and she was sunk on 19 September 1969.