USS Lowry (DD-770), an , is the only ship 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...

 to be named for Reigart Bolivar Lowry

Reigart Bolivar Lowry

Commodore Reigart Bolivar Lowry was born at La Guaira, Venezuela, the son of Robert K. Lowry of Maryland, United States Consul.He was appointed a midshipman on January 21, 1840...

, who served in the Mexican-American War and was a member of Commodore

Commodore (rank)

Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...

 Matthew C. Perry's expedition to 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...

 in 1855. He served with distinction in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, capturing the New Orleans and in the first attack on Vicksburg (April-June 1862).

Lowry was laid down 1 August 1943 by Bethlehem Steel

Bethlehem Steel

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...

 Co., San Pedro, California; launched 6 February 1944; sponsored by Miss Ann Lowry; and commissioned 23 July 1944, Commander

Commander (United States)

In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...

 L. H. Martin in command.

World War II

Lowry cleared San Pedro 26 October 1944 for training at Pearl Harbor and arrived San Pedro Bay 14 December. From 19 December to 29 December she escorted convoys between Leyte and the Mindoro Island beachhead, and was also part of a special striking force that helped protect Mindoro from enemy attack. From 2 January to 10 January 1945 she operated as an effective task force screen and gunfire support ship in the invasion of Luzon, then patrolled the approaches to Lingayen Gulf guarding the newly won beachhead until sailing for Ulithi 22 January.

The destroyer departed Ulithi 10 February to screen fast carrier TF 58 for air strikes against Honshū in support of the Invasion of Iwo Jima. The force returned to Ulithi 1 March, from which Lowry sailed 21 March for Okinawa to screen the support carrier group for the invasion until 29 April. Lowry then served as radar picket off Okinawa. During this hazardous assignment, the ship engaged in numerous actions with enemy aircraft. The heaviest of these occurred 28 May, when accompanying picket destroyer was hit by two suicide planes and sank with heavy loss of life. Lowry, after fighting valiantly to prevent the loss of her companion, stood by to rescue survivors despite the continued presence of enemy aircraft in the area. From 29 June she covered minesweeping operations in the 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...

, then arrived San Pedro Bay 27 July. For her valiant work as radar picket she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation

Navy Unit Commendation

The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...

.

Lowry joined fast carrier TF 38 off Tokyo 24 August for occupation duty during which she furnished food to Allied prisoners of war until 1 October, when she sailed for Okinawa to embark passengers for the United States. Arrived at San Diego 21 October for overhaul and west coast training.

Lowry left San Francisco 14 July 1946 for Kwajalein to patrol during Operation Crossroads

Operation Crossroads

Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...

, the Bikini

Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....

 atomic bomb tests. She was on station from 24 July to 10 August, when she sailed for San Diego, arriving 22 August.

Training off the west coast and in the Hawaiian Islands was broken in May 1947 when she visited Sydney, Australia, for the anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea

Battle of the Coral Sea

The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...

. Returning to San Diego 14 June, she decommissioned 30 June 1947 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Korea

Lowry recommissioned 27 December 1950, Comdr. C. H. Morrison, Jr., in command. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, she arrived New York 30 April 1951, was overhauled at Norfolk, and in August began training exercises in the Caribbean, returning to Norfolk 15 November. On 22 January 1952, Lowry sailed, 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...

, to join the 7th Fleet, arriving Yokosuka 27 February. With TF 77, Lowry served off the east coast of Korea on shore bombardment, plane guard, and screening duty until early April, then had similar duty off the west coast of Korea with TF 95, the U.N. Blockading and Escort Force, through May. On 8 June, she sailed to rejoin TF 77 for gunstrike missions. Sailing via the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

 and the principal Mediterranean ports, Lowry arrived Norfolk 19 August.

Between 19 August 1952 and 1 February 1954, Lowry made training cruises to the Caribbean and off Florida, engaging in intensive exercises to increase her combat efficiency. She departed Norfolk 1 February for her second world cruise, arriving Yokosuka from the Panama Canal 9 March. After a number of simulated combat exercises, including a full‑scale mock invasion of Iwo Jima, she left Yokosuka 29 June for Suez, completing her second circumnavigation at Norfolk 25 August.

Training along the coast and in the Caribbean prepared Lowry for her first deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, for which she left Norfolk 7 November 1956, returning to Norfolk 28 February 1957 for renewed training and overhaul. She again left Norfolk 3 September for NATO "Strikeback" exercises

Operation Strikeback

Operation Strikeback was a major naval exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that took place over a ten-day period in September 1957....

 in the North Atlantic, continuing on to the Mediterranean from which she returned to Norfolk 22 December.

Her third tour with the 6th Fleet, 7 August 1959 to 26 February 1960, was followed by a FRAM II overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, completed 14 January 1961.

In June 1961, Lowry joined Antisubmarine Warfare

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....

 Task Group Alpha, a special force engaged in research and development. She served in this force for the major part of the next 4 years, which included such operations as the rescue‑of Astronaut

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

 Virgil Grissom successfully completing the second American space flight 21 July 1961, and the Naval Quarantine of Cuba which played the major role in ending the Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...

 of October-November 1962.

Vietnam

After her fourth Mediterranean deployment, 18 February 1965 to 12 July, Lowry had the DASH system installed, then participated in a large Atlantic Fleet operational exercises. Her 1966 6th Fleet deployment, 4 March to 12 August, was followed by duty as schoolship for the Fleet Sonar School, Key West. Through most of January and February 1967, Lowry embarked several Peruvian midshipmen for training under the Midshipmen Exchange Program. From 8 May through 22 September she underwent regular overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, followed by refresher training out of the Fleet Training Center, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Lowry departed Norfolk early in April 1968 for the Panama Canal, thence for the Far East on her first 7th Fleet deployment of the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. Serving off the coast of that troubled country, she performed plane guard, naval gunfire support, and other duties for which the versatile destroyer is well suited. Highlight of port visits was a trip to Bangkok, Thailand. She arrived back at Norfolk 27 November, and continued Atlantic coast operations into 1969.

In July 1969 a gun turret exploded during regular sea operations. One man was killed and several were injured. (As witnessed by a sailor from the Lowry just assigned to Portsmouth Naval Hospital, after talking with the hospitalized sailors.)

Lowry received four battle stars for World War II service and two for Korean service.

Brazilian service

Lowry was struck from the Naval Registry on 31 October 1973 and transferred to the Brazilian Navy on the same day. She was renamed the Espirito Santo and remained in Brazilian service until she was struck from service on 2 February 1996, used as target practice, and ultimately sunk in 1998. Other sources indicate the ship was scrapped October 1996.

External links

• history.navy.mil: USS Lowry
• navsource.org: USS Lowry
• hazegray.org: USS Lowry
• Hell and High Water in the Pacific: The Story of the USS Lowry, DD 770 - review of history written by two gunner's mates who served aboard Lowry