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USS Edwards (DD-619)
Encyclopedia
USS Edwards (DD-619) was a Gleaves-class
destroyer
of the United States Navy
. She was the second Navy ship named "Edwards", and the first named for Lieutenant Commander
Walter A. Edwards (1886–1926), who as commander of in 1922 rescued nearly five hundred people from the burning French
transport Vinh-Long. For his heroism Edwards was awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor
, the French
Légion d'honneur
, and the British
Distinguished Service Order
.
Edwards was launched on 19 July 1942 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
, Kearny, New Jersey
; sponsored by Mrs. Edward Brayton, widow of Lieutenant Commander Edwards; and commissioned on 18 September 1942, Lieutnenat Commander W. L. Messmer in command.
s along the east coast and in the Caribbean
, Edwards sailed from New York on 8 November 1942 to join the Pacific Fleet
. She joined Task Force 18 (TF 18) at Nouméa
on 4 January 1943, to cover a large troop convoy bound for Guadalcanal
. On 29 January, they were attacked by a swarm of Japanese torpedo bomber
s off Rennell Island
. Although most were driven off by the heavy accurate fire of the ships, enough broke through to put two torpedo
es into . Edwards with four other destroyers was detached to screen the damaged cruiser
. On the following day, as the group sailed for Espiritu Santo
, attacks continued. The destroyers put up a stout defense, but Chicago was torpedoed again and sank. Edwards rescued 224 of the 1,049 survivors. One of the other screening destroyers, , was also torpedoed. Edwards saw her safely to port before rejoining her task group.
Edwards returned to Pearl Harbor
on 27 March for overhaul, then set sail for the Aleutians on 15 April. She saw action bombarding Attu
on 26 April, and as antiscreen for during the landings of 11 May. The following day she teamed with for a relentless 10-hour depth charge
attack on a submarine
which attempted to torpedo the battleship. was forced to the surface and badly damaged by Edwards guns before diving, only to be sunk finally by .
Edwards continued to ply stormy Aleutian waters on antisubmarine patrol. In June 1943, she joined the blockade patrol, which bombarded Kiska Island from 2–12 August, and covered the landings
on the 15th. After overhaul, she returned to Espiritu Santo in October for training.
On 8 November, Edwards sailed to screen aircraft carrier
s in air strikes on Rabaul
on the 11th. A flight of Japanese planes attacked her task group at noon that day; Edwards and her companions drove off or splashed every plane before it could injure any American ship. She screened the support force at Tarawa
from 19 November, then escorted transports to Pearl Harbor en route to the west coast for a brief overhaul.
off which she patrolled as well as screening strikes on Mili Atoll
in the Marshalls
and in the Palau
s by carriers of the 5th Fleet. In April, she guarded the flattops as they launched air attacks on New Guinea
in coordination with the Hollandia landings. Edwards also figured in the attack on Truk of 29–30 April.
From 12 May to 18 August, Edwards destroyer division formed the Eastern Marshalls Patrol Group. They patrolled off the Japanese-held atolls of Mili, Jaluit, Maloelap, and Wotje to keep the enemy from receiving assistance or evacuating. On 22 May, she joined to put several enemy batteries on Wotje out of action. Again off Wotje on 27 June, she ignored shore fire to rescue downed aviators drifting toward shore.
On 27 June, while patrolling off Wotje island in the Marshall Islands, the Edwards rescued aviators from a Marine F4U Corsair
that had crashed into the ocean. A Navy PBY Catalina
already had been shot down by Japanese fighter aircraft while attempting to rescue the Marine Corsair aviators. In the face of fierce shore fire, a launch boat of six men from Edwards (Lieutenant, junior garde Harold Mann, CPhM Emery Pensak, MoMM1c Andrew Stein Elliott, SM2c John Joseph Crane, Coxswn James Joseph Gonsalves & S1c Richard Stanley) rescued the Marine Corsair aviators without casualty.
After overhaul in Pearl Harbor in August 1944, 'Edwards reported arrival at San Pedro Bay
, Leyte, 30 October for patrol. She joined the assault force for the landings at Ormoc on 7 December. Here she splashed several of the hard hitting air attackers as well as aiding ships they had damaged. A resupply echelon to Ormoc met similar opposition but drove off the planes and got the convoy through.
On 7 December, near Ormoc Bay, Philippines, Edwards removed casualties from while being bombed by Japanese planes. Ten minutes later, she shot down three of the Japanese planes. One of these three Japanese planes—while attempting a suicide dive on Edwards—hit her fantail while crashing into the ocean after being hit and left a 5 ft (1.5 m) section of its wing on her fantail deck.
On 12 December, Edwards took aboard casualties from , which had been set on fire by a Japanese kamikaze
. Edwards commanding officer (Lieutenant Commander S.E. Ramey USN) received the Silver Star Medal for this action. Enlisted personnel on Edwards, who rendered more risky assistance of greater value in the rescue action, were neither decorated nor recognized for their heroism.
On 30 December, a Japanese aircraft dropped a bomb that landed short of the ship, skipped above and over the ship between its smoke stacks, and fell into the water on the other side of the ship.
, shepherding supply convoys through to Mindoro
, Lingayen Gulf
, Polloc Harbor, and Davao Gulf
. On 9 May 1945, she arrived at Morotai
to distinguish herself during the invasion of Borneo
, returning to Subic Bay
on 12 July. She made one voyage to Iwo Jima
, another to Okinawa to escort convoys, then sailed on 16 September for the U.S.
, where she was placed out of commission in reserve on 11 April.
Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
on 1 July 1971, Edwards was sold on 25 May 1973 and broken up for scrap.
Gleaves class destroyer
The Gleaves-class destroyers were a class of 66 destroyers of the United States Navy built 1938–1942, and designed by Gibbs & Cox. The first ship of the class was the USS Gleaves . The U.S. Navy customarily names a class of ships after the first ship of the class; hence the Gleaves class...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. She was the second Navy ship named "Edwards", and the first named for Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Walter A. Edwards (1886–1926), who as commander of in 1922 rescued nearly five hundred people from the burning French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
transport Vinh-Long. For his heroism Edwards was awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
.
Edwards was launched on 19 July 1942 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1949. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at...
, Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
; sponsored by Mrs. Edward Brayton, widow of Lieutenant Commander Edwards; and commissioned on 18 September 1942, Lieutnenat Commander W. L. Messmer in command.
1943
After brief service escorting convoyConvoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s along the east coast and in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Edwards sailed from New York on 8 November 1942 to join the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
. She joined Task Force 18 (TF 18) at Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
on 4 January 1943, to cover a large troop convoy bound for Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
. On 29 January, they were attacked by a swarm of Japanese torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
s off Rennell Island
Battle of Rennell Island
The Battle of Rennell Island took place on 29–30 January 1943, and was the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II...
. Although most were driven off by the heavy accurate fire of the ships, enough broke through to put two torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es into . Edwards with four other destroyers was detached to screen the damaged 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...
. On the following day, as the group sailed for Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
, attacks continued. The destroyers put up a stout defense, but Chicago was torpedoed again and sank. Edwards rescued 224 of the 1,049 survivors. One of the other screening destroyers, , was also torpedoed. Edwards saw her safely to port before rejoining her task group.
Edwards returned to 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 27 March for overhaul, then set sail for the Aleutians on 15 April. She saw action bombarding Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
on 26 April, and as antiscreen for during the landings of 11 May. The following day she teamed with for a relentless 10-hour depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
attack on a submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
which attempted to torpedo the battleship. was forced to the surface and badly damaged by Edwards guns before diving, only to be sunk finally by .
Edwards continued to ply stormy Aleutian waters on antisubmarine patrol. In June 1943, she joined the blockade patrol, which bombarded Kiska Island from 2–12 August, and covered the landings
Operation Cottage
Operation Cottage was a tactical maneuver during the Aleutian Islands campaign. In the operation, which took place on August 15, 1943, Allied military forces landed unopposed on Kiska Island, which had been occupied by Japanese forces since June, 1942. The Japanese forces, however, had secretly...
on the 15th. After overhaul, she returned to Espiritu Santo in October for training.
On 8 November, Edwards sailed to screen aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s in air strikes on Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
on the 11th. A flight of Japanese planes attacked her task group at noon that day; Edwards and her companions drove off or splashed every plane before it could injure any American ship. She screened the support force at Tarawa
Battle of Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa, code named Operation Galvanic, was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, largely fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region....
from 19 November, then escorted transports to Pearl Harbor en route to the west coast for a brief overhaul.
1944
On 3 March, she arrived at MajuroMajuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
off which she patrolled as well as screening strikes on Mili Atoll
Mili Atoll
Mili Atoll is a coral atoll of 92 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is located approximately southeast of Arno Its total land area is making it the second largest of the Marshall Islands after Kwajalein. It encloses a...
in 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...
and in 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 by carriers of the 5th Fleet. In April, she guarded the flattops as they launched air attacks on New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
in coordination with the Hollandia landings. Edwards also figured in the attack on Truk of 29–30 April.
From 12 May to 18 August, Edwards destroyer division formed the Eastern Marshalls Patrol Group. They patrolled off the Japanese-held atolls of Mili, Jaluit, Maloelap, and Wotje to keep the enemy from receiving assistance or evacuating. On 22 May, she joined to put several enemy batteries on Wotje out of action. Again off Wotje on 27 June, she ignored shore fire to rescue downed aviators drifting toward shore.
On 27 June, while patrolling off Wotje island in the Marshall Islands, the Edwards rescued aviators from a Marine F4U Corsair
F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear and Brewster: Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and...
that had crashed into the ocean. A Navy PBY Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
already had been shot down by Japanese fighter aircraft while attempting to rescue the Marine Corsair aviators. In the face of fierce shore fire, a launch boat of six men from Edwards (Lieutenant, junior garde Harold Mann, CPhM Emery Pensak, MoMM1c Andrew Stein Elliott, SM2c John Joseph Crane, Coxswn James Joseph Gonsalves & S1c Richard Stanley) rescued the Marine Corsair aviators without casualty.
After overhaul in Pearl Harbor in August 1944, 'Edwards reported arrival at San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (Philippines)
San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...
, Leyte, 30 October for patrol. She joined the assault force for the landings at Ormoc on 7 December. Here she splashed several of the hard hitting air attackers as well as aiding ships they had damaged. A resupply echelon to Ormoc met similar opposition but drove off the planes and got the convoy through.
On 7 December, near Ormoc Bay, Philippines, Edwards removed casualties from while being bombed by Japanese planes. Ten minutes later, she shot down three of the Japanese planes. One of these three Japanese planes—while attempting a suicide dive on Edwards—hit her fantail while crashing into the ocean after being hit and left a 5 ft (1.5 m) section of its wing on her fantail deck.
On 12 December, Edwards took aboard casualties from , which had been set on fire by a Japanese kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
. Edwards commanding officer (Lieutenant Commander S.E. Ramey USN) received the Silver Star Medal for this action. Enlisted personnel on Edwards, who rendered more risky assistance of greater value in the rescue action, were neither decorated nor recognized for their heroism.
On 30 December, a Japanese aircraft dropped a bomb that landed short of the ship, skipped above and over the ship between its smoke stacks, and fell into the water on the other side of the ship.
1945
The doughty battle-hardened Edwards remained in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, shepherding supply convoys through to Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
, Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
, Polloc Harbor, and Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf is a gulf found in Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of 308,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from Celebes Sea. It is surrounded by all four provinces in the Davao Region. The largest island in the gulf is Samal Island. Davao City, on the gulf's west...
. On 9 May 1945, she arrived at Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
to distinguish herself during the invasion of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, returning to 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...
on 12 July. She made one voyage to 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...
, another to Okinawa to escort convoys, then sailed on 16 September for the U.S.
Post-war
On 7 January 1946, Edwards arrived at Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, where she was placed out of commission in reserve on 11 April.
Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval 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 1 July 1971, Edwards was sold on 25 May 1973 and broken up for scrap.