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USS McKee (DD-575)
Encyclopedia
USS McKee (DD-575) was a Fletcher-class
destroyer
, the third ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Lieutenant
Hugh W. McKee.
McKee was laid down 2 March 1942 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.
; launched
2 August 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Richard A. Asbury, cousin of Lieutenant McKee; and commissioned
31 March 1943, Commander
J. J. Greytak in command.
on 6 July 1943 for the Pacific
in company with . Transiting the Panama Canal
, the ships sailed into Hawaii
an waters 24 July for a 3-month training period. Ordered to join Task Force 53 (TF 53) in the South Pacific
, McKee arrived New Hebrides
on 4 November, but was diverted to help cover a convoy
retiring from newly invaded Bougainville Island
in the Solomon Islands
. During heavy air attacks the night of the 8th McKees 20 mm guns splashed two enemy planes, the second after it had released a torpedo
which passed beneath the ship. Refueling at Florida Island 10 November she guarded carriers
for a successful air strike against the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul
, New Britain
. The following afternoon the enemy lost over 50 planes in a retaliatory strike against the retiring ships. McKee accounted for one Mitsubishi G4M
"Betty".
On 12 November, she at last reported to TF 53, now en route for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands
. She screened the larger combatant ships off Tarawa
from 19 November-7 December, then withdrew to the Ellice Islands.
to prepare for the invasion of Kwajalein
scheduled for 31 January. On station that date she bombarded adjoining Enubuj and provided close fire support. Screening and bombardment assignments continued until 3 February, when she began two escort missions to Guadalcanal
terminating at Efate
, New Hebrides. McKee sortied with TF 37 on 15 March, and participated with its battleship
s 5 days later in the diversionary shelling of Kavieng
, New Ireland
. The destroyer next covered the initial landings on Humboldt Bay
, New Guinea
on 23 April, and then escorted resupply convoys to the various beachheads of the Hollandia
operation.
In May and June, she prepared in the Solomons and the Marshall Islands
for the invasion of the Marianas
. She sortied from Eniwetok on 17 July with Task Group 53.18 (TG 53.18). Scheduled fire commenced on the 21st in Agana Bay, Guam
, as 3rd Marine Division went ashore. Lying close enough offshore to see pillboxes and trenches, McKee delivered close support fire through 4 August, when she retired with a group of carriers to New Hebrides.
The need for an intermediary base and airfield for the recapture of the Philippines
led to the bombardment and seizure of Morotai
in the Moluccas
beginning on 15 September. Meeting only light opposition, McKee and her force soon sailed back to Humboldt Bay, a staging area for Leyte. By mid-October, over 700 vessels were underway to see the 6th Army safely ashore. On 20 October, as McKee approached her designated area in Leyte Gulf
, two natives paddled out from Samar
. Their information enabled the ship to destroy two camouflaged landing barge
s, a tug
, and an ammunition dump. That same night she departed with a convoy of LSDs
for Humboldt Bay. A series of new convoy missions brought McKee to San Francisco, California
on 15 November.
where she joined the Fast Carrier Task Force
(then TF 58) on 7 February for strikes against the Japanese home islands. The task force's planes struck Tokyo
on 16, 17, and 25 February, hitting Iwo Jima
in between, in raids so destructive and successful that the enemy failed to retaliate against the carriers or their screen.
They returned a mouth later for strikes, beginning on 18 March, against Kyūshū
to reduce airborne resistance to the Okinawa landings set for 1 April. This raid encountered much resistance as kamikaze
s managed to penetrate the combat air patrol
and antiaircraft fire to reach the formation. This time, McKee found pilots to rescue, numbers of live targets for her antiaircraft guns, and submarine
contacts for two depth charge
runs.
Air attacks increased in intensity beginning 6 April as this force of the 5th Fleet sought to protect the Okinawa invasion force
against a fanatically resistive enemy. On the 13th, while McKee patrolled on picket duty, four planes made runs on her. She splashed one and badly damaged another. The third crashed 50 feet (15 m) off her starboard bow, while the fourth missed her and crashed into . Three days later she shot down a A6M Zero
attempting to crash her. On 21 April, she bombarded Manimi Daito Shima. At the end of the month TG 58.1 retired to Ulithi for a 9-day replenishment and rest period.
Once underway again McKees carriers struck Kyūshū on 13 May, then followed an alternating pattern against the enemy in his home islands and on Okinawa. Meanwhile, 28 May, McKee joined Admiral
William Halsey's 3rd Fleet. Eight days later, a typhoon with winds reaching 110 knots (200 km/h) threatened to be more damaging than the Japanese. Skillful seamanship brought McKee through with only minor damage.
Repaired and overhauled at Leyte, she joined TG 38.1 on 9 July off the Japanese coast. On the 30th, along with six other destroyers, she made the closest penetration of Japanese home waters up to that time as they swept into Suruga Wan to shell an aluminum plant and railroad yards at Shimizu
, Honshū
. Despite the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
, and rumors of peace, airstrikes continued against the Tokyo area until 0900 15 August, when Japan capitulated. The day before the official ceremony on board , McKee turned homeward. She escorted to Eniwetok. then steamed to Pearl Harbor where she joined TG 11.6 bound for the east coast. McKee arrived Charleston, S.C., on 16 October, decommissioned there on 25 February 1946, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
McKee was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
on 1 October 1970. She was sold on 2 January 1974 and broken up for scrap.
Fletcher class destroyer
The Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types...
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...
, the third 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 Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Hugh W. McKee.
McKee was laid down 2 March 1942 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.
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...
; 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...
2 August 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Richard A. Asbury, cousin of Lieutenant McKee; 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...
31 March 1943, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
J. J. Greytak in command.
1943
After shakedown off Guantanamo Bay, McKee departed 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...
on 6 July 1943 for the Pacific
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
in company with . Transiting 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...
, the ships sailed into Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an waters 24 July for a 3-month training period. Ordered to join Task Force 53 (TF 53) in the South Pacific
South Pacific Area
The South Pacific Area was a multinational U.S.-led military command active during World War II. It was a part of the U.S. Pacific Ocean Areas under Admiral Chester Nimitz.Instructions to the senior U.S...
, McKee arrived 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...
on 4 November, but was diverted to help cover a convoy
Convoy
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...
retiring from newly invaded Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
in the Solomon Islands
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...
. During heavy air attacks the night of the 8th McKees 20 mm guns splashed two enemy planes, the second after it had released a 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...
which passed beneath the ship. Refueling at Florida Island 10 November she guarded carriers
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...
for a successful air strike against the Japanese stronghold at 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...
, New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
. The following afternoon the enemy lost over 50 planes in a retaliatory strike against the retiring ships. McKee accounted for one Mitsubishi G4M
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
"Betty".
On 12 November, she at last reported to TF 53, now en route for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
. She screened the larger combatant ships off Tarawa
Tarawa Atoll
Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It is the location of the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, South Tarawa...
from 19 November-7 December, then withdrew to the Ellice Islands.
1944
On 1 January 1944, she steamed into Pearl HarborPearl 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...
to prepare for the invasion of Kwajalein
Battle of Kwajalein
The Battle of Kwajalein was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought from 31 January-3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of...
scheduled for 31 January. On station that date she bombarded adjoining Enubuj and provided close fire support. Screening and bombardment assignments continued until 3 February, when she began two escort missions to 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...
terminating at Efate
Éfaté
Efate is an island in the Agean Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in The Republic of Maliki. It is also known as Île Vate. It is the most populous island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national...
, New Hebrides. McKee sortied with TF 37 on 15 March, and participated with its battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s 5 days later in the diversionary shelling of Kavieng
Kavieng
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
, New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
. The destroyer next covered the initial landings on Humboldt Bay
Teluk Yos Sudarso
Yos Sudarso Bay also known earlier as Humboldt Bay is a small bay in Indonesia. It is on the north coast of New Guinea, about 50 kilometers west of the border between Indonesia's province of Papua and the country of Papua New Guinea...
, 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...
on 23 April, and then escorted resupply convoys to the various beachheads of the Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
operation.
In May and June, she prepared in the Solomons and the Marshall Islands
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...
for the invasion of the Marianas
Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November, 1944 during the Pacific War...
. She sortied from Eniwetok on 17 July with Task Group 53.18 (TG 53.18). Scheduled fire commenced on the 21st in Agana Bay, 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...
, as 3rd Marine Division went ashore. Lying close enough offshore to see pillboxes and trenches, McKee delivered close support fire through 4 August, when she retired with a group of carriers to New Hebrides.
The need for an intermediary base and airfield for the recapture of 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...
led to the bombardment and seizure of 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:...
in the Moluccas
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
beginning on 15 September. Meeting only light opposition, McKee and her force soon sailed back to Humboldt Bay, a staging area for Leyte. By mid-October, over 700 vessels were underway to see the 6th Army safely ashore. On 20 October, as McKee approached her designated area in 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...
, two natives paddled out from Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...
. Their information enabled the ship to destroy two camouflaged landing barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s, a tug
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
, and an ammunition dump. That same night she departed with a convoy of LSDs
Dock landing ship
A Dock landing ship or Landing ship is a form of amphibious warship designed to support amphibious operations. These amphibious assault ships transport and launch amphibious craft and vehicles with their crews and embarked personnel...
for Humboldt Bay. A series of new convoy missions brought McKee to 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 15 November.
1945
On 10 January 1945, she sailed for UlithiUlithi
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...
where she joined the Fast Carrier Task Force
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
(then TF 58) on 7 February for strikes against the Japanese home islands. The task force's planes struck Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
on 16, 17, and 25 February, hitting 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...
in between, in raids so destructive and successful that the enemy failed to retaliate against the carriers or their screen.
They returned a mouth later for strikes, beginning on 18 March, against Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
to reduce airborne resistance to the Okinawa landings set for 1 April. This raid encountered much resistance as 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....
s managed to penetrate the combat air patrol
Combat air patrol
Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
and antiaircraft fire to reach the formation. This time, McKee found pilots to rescue, numbers of live targets for her antiaircraft guns, and 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...
contacts for two 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...
runs.
Air attacks increased in intensity beginning 6 April as this force of the 5th Fleet sought to protect the Okinawa invasion force
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
against a fanatically resistive enemy. On the 13th, while McKee patrolled on picket duty, four planes made runs on her. She splashed one and badly damaged another. The third crashed 50 feet (15 m) off her starboard bow, while the fourth missed her and crashed into . Three days later she shot down a A6M Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
attempting to crash her. On 21 April, she bombarded Manimi Daito Shima. At the end of the month TG 58.1 retired to Ulithi for a 9-day replenishment and rest period.
Once underway again McKees carriers struck Kyūshū on 13 May, then followed an alternating pattern against the enemy in his home islands and on Okinawa. Meanwhile, 28 May, McKee joined 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"...
William Halsey's 3rd Fleet. Eight days later, a typhoon with winds reaching 110 knots (200 km/h) threatened to be more damaging than the Japanese. Skillful seamanship brought McKee through with only minor damage.
Repaired and overhauled at Leyte, she joined TG 38.1 on 9 July off the Japanese coast. On the 30th, along with six other destroyers, she made the closest penetration of Japanese home waters up to that time as they swept into Suruga Wan to shell an aluminum plant and railroad yards at Shimizu
Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka
is one of three wards of the city of Shizuoka, in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, located in the eastern part of the city.-Geography:Shimizu is located on the coast of Suruga Bay of the Pacific Ocean and covers a wide area from a coastal plain to the hills...
, Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
. Despite the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
, and rumors of peace, airstrikes continued against the Tokyo area until 0900 15 August, when Japan capitulated. The day before the official ceremony on board , McKee turned homeward. She escorted to Eniwetok. then steamed to Pearl Harbor where she joined TG 11.6 bound for the east coast. McKee arrived Charleston, S.C., on 16 October, decommissioned there on 25 February 1946, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
McKee was 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 October 1970. She was sold on 2 January 1974 and broken up for scrap.