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USS Greenwood (DE-679)
Encyclopedia
USS Greenwood (DE-679) was a Buckley-class
destroyer escort
of the United States Navy
, named in honor of Lieutenant (j.g.)
Frank Greenwood
(1915–1942).
Greenwood was launched
by the Fore River Shipyard
, Quincy, Massachusetts
, on 21 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Laura Greenwood, mother of Lt. (j.g.) Greenwood; and commissioned
on 25 September 1943, Lieutenant Commander
A. W. Slayton in command.
Greenwood sailed for the Pacific
29 November 1943, reaching Samoa
, via the Panama Canal
26 December. She spent nearly a year in the South Pacific
escorting transports
and cargo ship
s through the New Hebrides
and the Solomons
, with side trips to Australia
. On 30 December 1944 Greenwood sailed from New Guinea
to join Admiral
Thomas C. Kinkaid
's 7th Fleet
at Leyte Gulf
. After escorting 26 merchantmen and LSTs to the Philippines
and screening them while there, Greenwood sailed for Ulithi
. There she picked up a convoy of supply and troop ships bound for Iwo Jima
, still the scene of bloody battle
, and sailed 5 March. Departing the Iwo Jima area 27 March, Greenwood sailed to Eniwetok
, where she conducted submarine
and anti-submarine
training exercises.
After war's end, Greenwood sailed for a much-needed overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard
, and on 4 September 1945 steamed under the Golden Gate Bridge
to end 22 months continuous service in the Pacific.
Following overhaul, Greenwood sailed for the East Coast
via Panama
on 2 January 1946. After exercises with the Atlantic Fleet
at Panama, she continued to New London, Conn.
, arriving 10 April. The following three years saw Greenwood functioning as an escort along the East Coast from Maine
to Key West
. On 2 May 1949 she reported at Key West for duty as school ship for the Fleet Sonar School
, and remained in that useful service for nearly six years. After tours of escort duty at Norfolk, Va.
and Newport, R.I.
, 1954 through 1957, Greenwood returned to Key West in July 1957. Six months later she was designated Selected Reserve Training Ship for the 6th Naval District
, based at Charleston, S.C.
Placed out of commission in service 2 September 1958, Greenwood served as a reserve training ship until 2 October 1961, when she recommissioned in response to the renewed Berlin
crisis. After training along the coast, she reported to Key West for further duty with the Fleet Sonar School on 7 January 1962. As world tension eased, Greenwood decommissioned again 1 August 1962 but again stayed in service. Operating out of St. Petersburg, Florida
, she continued to conduct reserve training cruises designed to keep the Navy's fighting strength and potential at their peak through the next five years. Greenwood was struck from the Navy List
on 20 February 1967 and sold for scrapping.
Greenwood received 2 battle stars
for World War II
service.
Buckley class destroyer escort
The Buckley class destroyer escorts were 102 destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943 - 1944. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. The lead ship was USS Buckley which was launched on 9 January 1943. The ships had General Electric steam...
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
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...
, named in honor of Lieutenant (j.g.)
Lieutenant, Junior Grade
Lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, United States Merchant Marine USMM, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade...
Frank Greenwood
Frank Greenwood (naval officer)
Frank Greenwood was born in Methuen, Massachusetts, on 10 January 1915 and enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on 17 July 1940. He was later appointed Midshipman, received training at the Naval Reserve Midshipman's School, and commissioned on 12 December 1940...
(1915–1942).
Greenwood was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
by the Fore River Shipyard
Fore River Shipyard
The Fore River Shipyard of Quincy, Massachusetts, more formally known as the Fore River Ship and Engine Building Company, was a shipyard in the United States from 1883 until 1986. Located on the Weymouth Fore River, the yard began operations in 1883 in Braintree, Massachusetts before being moved...
, Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, on 21 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Laura Greenwood, mother of Lt. (j.g.) Greenwood; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 25 September 1943, 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...
A. W. Slayton in command.
Greenwood sailed for the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
29 November 1943, reaching Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
26 December. She spent nearly a year in the South Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
escorting transports
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
and cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s through the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
and the Solomons
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, with side trips to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. On 30 December 1944 Greenwood sailed from 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...
to join Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Thomas C. Kinkaid
Thomas C. Kinkaid
Thomas Cassin Kinkaid was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. He built a reputation as a "fighting admiral" in the aircraft carrier battles of 1942 and commanded the Allied forces in the Aleutian Islands Campaign...
's 7th Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
at Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
. After escorting 26 merchantmen and LSTs to the Philippines
Philippines
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...
and screening them while there, Greenwood sailed for 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...
. There she picked up a convoy of supply and troop ships bound for 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...
, still the scene of bloody battle
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
, and sailed 5 March. Departing the Iwo Jima area 27 March, Greenwood sailed to Eniwetok
Enewetak
Enewetak Atoll is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area totals less than , surrounding a deep central lagoon, in circumference...
, where she conducted 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...
and anti-submarine
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 exercises.
After war's end, Greenwood sailed for a much-needed overhaul at 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...
, and on 4 September 1945 steamed under the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
to end 22 months continuous service in the Pacific.
Following overhaul, Greenwood sailed for the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
via Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
on 2 January 1946. After exercises with the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
at Panama, she continued to New London, Conn.
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
, arriving 10 April. The following three years saw Greenwood functioning as an escort along the East Coast from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
. On 2 May 1949 she reported at Key West for duty as school ship for the Fleet Sonar School
Fleet Sonar School
The Fleet Sonar School was a United States Navy facility in Key West, Florida for the training of Service personnel in Sonar techniques and equipment, and Anti-submarine warfare....
, and remained in that useful service for nearly six years. After tours of escort duty at Norfolk, Va.
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
and Newport, R.I.
Naval Station Newport
The Naval Station Newport is a United States Navy base located in the towns of Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School...
, 1954 through 1957, Greenwood returned to Key West in July 1957. Six months later she was designated Selected Reserve Training Ship for the 6th Naval District
United States Naval Districts
The naval district is a military and administrative command ashore, established for the purpose of decentralizing the U.S. Navy Department's functions with respect to the control of the coastwise sea communications and the shore activities outside the department proper, and for the further purpose...
, based at Charleston, S.C.
Placed out of commission in service 2 September 1958, Greenwood served as a reserve training ship until 2 October 1961, when she recommissioned in response to the renewed Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
crisis. After training along the coast, she reported to Key West for further duty with the Fleet Sonar School on 7 January 1962. As world tension eased, Greenwood decommissioned again 1 August 1962 but again stayed in service. Operating out of St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
, she continued to conduct reserve training cruises designed to keep the Navy's fighting strength and potential at their peak through the next five years. Greenwood was struck from the Navy List
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
on 20 February 1967 and sold for scrapping.
Greenwood received 2 battle stars
Service star
A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service...
for World War II
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...
service.