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USS O'Brien (DD-725)
Encyclopedia
USS O'Brien (DD-725), an , was the 4th ship of the United States Navy
to be named after Captain
Jeremiah O'Brien
and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, who captured HMS Margaretta on 12 June 1775 during the American revolution
.
The fourth O'Brien (DD-725) was laid down by Bath Iron Works
, Bath, Maine
, 12 July 1943 and launched 8 December 1943; sponsored by Miss Josephine O'Brien Campbell greatgreat-great granddaughter of Gideon O'Brien and commissioned at Boston Naval Shipyard, Commander
P. F. Heerbrandt in command 25 February 1944.
, British West Indies
and Norfolk, Virginia
O'Brien joined convoy forces 14 May 1944 en route to Scotland
and England
. Following patrol and escort duty near England, she participated the invasion of Normandy and in-shore Bombardment of Cherbourg
. On 25 June while supporting minesweeps well inshore of Texas (BB-35)
, which was engaging German shore batteries at Cape Levi, near Cherbourg, O'Brien's own gunfire was so accurate that enemy gunnery positions shifted from Texas to O'Brien. She received a direct hit just abaft the bridge, but was able to stay on station long enough to lay a smoke screen for Texas. Thirteen men were killed and nineteen wounded. Following temporary repairs on the Isle of Portland
, England
, O'Brien escorted a convoy to the Boston Naval Shipyard where she underwent extensive work.
After training in the Boston and Norfolk areas, she escorted Ticonderoga (CV-14)
to the Pacific via the Panama Canal
and San Diego for carrier operations with the 3rd Fleet east of the Philippines
. In early December, she joined 7th Fleet assault forces at Ormoc Bay, Philippines. While under continuous air attack, O'Brien crewmen attempted to extinguish oil fires in Ward (APD-16) caused by Japanese suicide planes until ordered to sink the stricken transport by gunfire. O'Brien's commanding officer, Commander W. W. Outerbridge, had been in command of Ward when she had sunk a Japanese submarine off Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941. On 15 December 1944, O'Brien fought fires in LST-472 caused by suicide planes, and rescued 198 survivors.
Following a brief patrol period at Mindoro Strait she proceeded to Lingayen Gulf for the invasion of Luzon. On 6 January 1945, a Japanese aircraft crashed into the port side of her fantail causing slight damage. After several days of escort duty and shore bombardment during the landing of Army assault troops, she proceeded to Manus Island
, for repairs. She joined fleet carrier forces 10 February 1945 for air strikes against Tokyo
, Iwo Jima
, and the Bonin Islands. Aircraft attacked her off Kerama Retto 27 March while U.S. forces secured an advance logistics base for the attack on the Japanese home islands. One plane crashed into the water as a result of gunfire while another, a "Val" suicide plane carrying a 500 pound bomb, crashed into the port side amidships exploding a magazine. Fifty were killed or missing and seventy-six wounded in the valiant crew.
During the summer, the ship underwent repairs at Mare Island Naval Shipyard
and training in San Diego. As the war ended in mid-August 1945, she returned to the 3rd Fleet for patrol duty in Japanese water. O'Brien operated in the eastern Pacific, Hawaii, the Marianas, and Australia through the first half of 1947. She returned to the west coast in the summer and decommissioned at San Diego, California, 4 October 1947.
During the Korean War
she first joined the TF 77 carrier group in early March 1951. Later that month she joined TF 95. the United Nations Blockading and Escort Force, and participated in the siege of Songin. On 17 July 1951, at Wonsan harbor, shore batteries opened on O'Brien, Blue and Cunningham from three sides in a futile attempt to drive UN vessels from the harbor. The ships went at once into the "War Dance", an evasive maneuver in which ships steamed in an ellipse at 22 knots firing on batteries in each sector as their guns came to bear. This four and a half hour engagement became known as the Battle of the Buzz-saw.
In July and August O'Brien provided covering fire for LSMR bombardment, and coordinated rescue operations which saved three downed Navy pilots and one Air Force pilot. Although both Radio Moscow
and Radio Peking reported O'Brien sunk by the North Korean Peoples Army, she returned to San Diego for repairs in late September 1951. On 23 July 1952, she returned to Korea as part of TF 95 and participated in shore bombardment, interdiction and patrol duties near Wonsan Harbor. Ordered to the 7th Fleet with Helena (CA-75)
, she provided search and rescue protection for carrier aircraft and shore bombardment fire on the east coast of Korea in September. The ship joined Operation "Feint", a mock invasion of Kojo 12–16 October 1952, in which UN forces attempted to lure the enemy into the open. At the end of the month, she left the Korean area for exercises and repairs in Japan before returning to San Diego in mid January 1953.
resistance to the Nationalist Chinese evacuation of the Tachen Islands off mainland China
.
February to October 1961 was spent in Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California for FRAM II conversion. The ship now specialized in antisubmarine warfare (ASW) procedures and periodically deployed to the western Pacific. In May 1965, operating with Antisubmarine Warfare Group 1, she was one of the first ships successfully to refuel a helicopter inflight. In June O'Brien successfully refueled a helicopter from Hornet off San Francisco while it made a pioneer non-stop helicopter flight from Seattle, Washington
to Imperial Beach, California
.
The ship sailed for 7th Fleet duty in August and was assigned to Taiwan
patrol. On 14 November 1965, while patrolling the Taiwan Straits, the ship was ordered to the aid of a Chinese Nationalist patrol craft under attack by Chinese Communist torpedo boats. Arriving after the vessel had sunk, she rescued all fifteen survivors, and was praised by Commander in Chief, Nationalist Chinese Navy.
. Called to the aid of a surrounded outpost at Thach Ten, Quang Ngai province, the ship's accurate fire helped turn back a North Vietnamese regiment. In January arid early February 1966, she supported carrier operations, conducted search and rescue missions in the Tonkin Gulf, and provided gunfire support for the amphibious landing near Cape Batangan, Operation "Double Eagle."
O'Brien returned to her homeport March 1966 and operated on the west coast for the next eight months. During a port visit to The Dalles, Oregon, in July O'Brien became the largest vessel to use the locks at the Bonneville Dam
arid to transit the Columbia River
to The Dalles.
The destroyer got underway again for the troubled western Pacific 5 November 1966. Following antisubmarine warfare exercises in Hawaii and the eastern South China Sea
, O'Brien became flagship for Operation "Sea Dragon," the surface action task unit off North Vietnam. With Maddox (DD-731)
, she was ordered to interdict enemy coastal traffic. More than twenty vessels carrying enemy war supplies to the Viet Cong were sunk or damaged by O'Brien. On 23 December 1966, the ship received three direct hits from coastal batteries north of Dong Hoi
. Two crewmen were killed and four wounded. After repairs at Subic Bay, Philippines, she provided support for air strikes from Tonkin Gulf while guarding five different carriers in January 1967. In February and March, she was assigned to Taiwan patrol. The ship returned to the Tonkin Gulf in late March first as a carrier escort and then on "Sea Dragon" operations. Again as flagship for Commander, Destroyer Division 232, she was instrumental in significantly slowing coastal supply traffic. She was taken under fire by shore batteries seven times during this period.
The ship returned to her homeport of Long Beach, California, in May 1967. In July she made a second trip to The Dalles, Oregon, before entering Long Beach Naval Shipyard
for overhaul. Following refresher training at San Diego, she was assigned to destroyer squadron 29 on 1 February 1968. She returned to the 7th Fleet operations in the spring of 1968.
She put to sea for 7th Fleet operations on 30 April 1968, arriving in Japan via Pearl Harbor on 29 May. Following an ASW exercise in the Sea of Japan with Japanese warships, the destroyer sailed south for operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, beginning shore bombardment duties upon arrival on 24 June. Over the next four weeks, O'Brien supported U.S. Army and Marine operations, engaging enemy forces ashore with 5-inch gunfire. After a short port visit to Singapore in early August, the destroyer returned to Japan for a two-week upkeep period alongside tender Hector (AR-7). Returning to the Gulf of Tonkin in late August, O'Brien escorted carriers at Yankee Station for the next month. On one evening, the destroyer was alerted by America (CVA-66) that two men had fallen overboard. The destroyer quickly retraced the carrier's path and rescued one sailor who had stayed afloat for over five hours. After another naval gunfire support period off South Vietnam in mid-October, O'Brien turned for home. She arrived in Long Beach on 28 November after a long southern cruise that took her to Subic Bay, Philippines; Brisbane, Australia; Pago Pago, American Samoa; and Pearl Harbor.
Following a post-deployment stand down, O'Brien conducted local training operations out of Long Beach through the summer of 1969, the highligh of which was a major warfare exercise off Hawaii in mid-March. After pre-deployment exercises in July and August, the destroyer got underway for the Far East on 8 October.
Like her previous deployment, O'Brien primarily served in Vietnamese waters, conducting carrier escort duties at Yankee Station and naval gunfire support operations through the end of the year. In January 1970, however, the destroyer steamed north to Okinawa, there joining a task group built around Ranger (CVA-61) for winter exercises in the Sea of Japan. Returning to Vietnam in February, the warship spent the next two months supporting the carriers on Yankee Station before returning to Long Beach on 15 April. One home, The destroyer underwent a quick turnaround, with a yard period and refresher training preparing the warship for another deployment starting on 6 November.
During what proved to be her last deployment, O'Brien was plagued by material and equipment problems. Before departing Pearl Harbor for Japan, for example, the destroyer suffered an evaporator failure that required a week of repairs. After arrival on the gun line off Vietnam on 13 January 1971, the warship conducted gunnery operations until a six-foot crack in her hull forced her into dry dock at Subic Bay on 2 February. Following those repairs, O'Brien commenced a seven-week period at Yankee Station and on search and rescue duty. She put in at Subic Bay for repairs again on 17 April and sailed for home at the end of the month, arriving home on 29 May after stops at Manus Island; Brisbane, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; Pago Pago, American Samoa; and Pearl Harbor.
O'Brien (DD-725) received 6 battle stars for World War II service, five battle stars for Korean War service, and three battle stars for Vietnam service (1967).
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 after Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Jeremiah O'Brien
Jeremiah O'Brien
Captain Jeremiah O’Brien was a captain in the Massachusetts State Navy. Prior to its existence Captain Jeremiah O’Brien (1744–1818) was a captain in the Massachusetts State Navy. Prior to its existence Captain Jeremiah O’Brien (1744–1818) was a captain in the Massachusetts State...
and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, who captured HMS Margaretta on 12 June 1775 during the American revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
The fourth O'Brien (DD-725) was laid down by Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...
, Bath, Maine
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
, 12 July 1943 and launched 8 December 1943; sponsored by Miss Josephine O'Brien Campbell greatgreat-great granddaughter of Gideon O'Brien and commissioned at Boston Naval Shipyard, 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...
P. F. Heerbrandt in command 25 February 1944.
World War II
After shakedown out of BermudaBermuda
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...
, British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
and 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....
O'Brien joined convoy forces 14 May 1944 en route to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Following patrol and escort duty near England, she participated the invasion of Normandy and in-shore Bombardment of Cherbourg
Bombardment of Cherbourg
The Bombardment of Cherbourg was undertaken by ships of the United States Navy and Royal Navy on June 25, 1944 to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg. The Allied force attacked the German fortifications near the city and engaged in a duel with coastal batteries...
. On 25 June while supporting minesweeps well inshore of Texas (BB-35)
USS Texas (BB-35)
USS Texas , the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Texas, is a . The ship was launched on 18 May 1912 and commissioned on 12 March 1914....
, which was engaging German shore batteries at Cape Levi, near Cherbourg, O'Brien's own gunfire was so accurate that enemy gunnery positions shifted from Texas to O'Brien. She received a direct hit just abaft the bridge, but was able to stay on station long enough to lay a smoke screen for Texas. Thirteen men were killed and nineteen wounded. Following temporary repairs on the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, O'Brien escorted a convoy to the Boston Naval Shipyard where she underwent extensive work.
After training in the Boston and Norfolk areas, she escorted Ticonderoga (CV-14)
USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)
USS Ticonderoga was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for historic Fort Ticonderoga, which played a role in the American Revolutionary War...
to the Pacific 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...
and San Diego for carrier operations with the 3rd Fleet east 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...
. In early December, she joined 7th Fleet assault forces at Ormoc Bay, Philippines. While under continuous air attack, O'Brien crewmen attempted to extinguish oil fires in Ward (APD-16) caused by Japanese suicide planes until ordered to sink the stricken transport by gunfire. O'Brien's commanding officer, Commander W. W. Outerbridge, had been in command of Ward when she had sunk a Japanese submarine off Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941. On 15 December 1944, O'Brien fought fires in LST-472 caused by suicide planes, and rescued 198 survivors.
Following a brief patrol period at Mindoro Strait she proceeded to Lingayen Gulf for the invasion of Luzon. On 6 January 1945, a Japanese aircraft crashed into the port side of her fantail causing slight damage. After several days of escort duty and shore bombardment during the landing of Army assault troops, she proceeded to Manus Island
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...
, for repairs. She joined fleet carrier forces 10 February 1945 for air strikes against 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...
, 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...
, and the Bonin Islands. Aircraft attacked her off Kerama Retto 27 March while U.S. forces secured an advance logistics base for the attack on the Japanese home islands. One plane crashed into the water as a result of gunfire while another, a "Val" suicide plane carrying a 500 pound bomb, crashed into the port side amidships exploding a magazine. Fifty were killed or missing and seventy-six wounded in the valiant crew.
During the summer, the ship underwent repairs 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 training in San Diego. As the war ended in mid-August 1945, she returned to the 3rd Fleet for patrol duty in Japanese water. O'Brien operated in the eastern Pacific, Hawaii, the Marianas, and Australia through the first half of 1947. She returned to the west coast in the summer and decommissioned at San Diego, California, 4 October 1947.
Korea
Three years later she recommissioned at San Diego, on 5 October 1950, Commander Chester W. Nimitz, Jr. in command, and became the flagship of Destroyer Division 132.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...
she first joined the TF 77 carrier group in early March 1951. Later that month she joined TF 95. the United Nations Blockading and Escort Force, and participated in the siege of Songin. On 17 July 1951, at Wonsan harbor, shore batteries opened on O'Brien, Blue and Cunningham from three sides in a futile attempt to drive UN vessels from the harbor. The ships went at once into the "War Dance", an evasive maneuver in which ships steamed in an ellipse at 22 knots firing on batteries in each sector as their guns came to bear. This four and a half hour engagement became known as the Battle of the Buzz-saw.
In July and August O'Brien provided covering fire for LSMR bombardment, and coordinated rescue operations which saved three downed Navy pilots and one Air Force pilot. Although both Radio Moscow
Voice of Russia
Voice of Russia is the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service owned by the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company. Its predecessor Radio Moscow was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.-Early years:Radio Moscow...
and Radio Peking reported O'Brien sunk by the North Korean Peoples Army, she returned to San Diego for repairs in late September 1951. On 23 July 1952, she returned to Korea as part of TF 95 and participated in shore bombardment, interdiction and patrol duties near Wonsan Harbor. Ordered to the 7th Fleet with Helena (CA-75)
USS Helena (CA-75)
The USS Helena , a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of Helena, Montana. She was named Helena while building after the cancellation of CL-113....
, she provided search and rescue protection for carrier aircraft and shore bombardment fire on the east coast of Korea in September. The ship joined Operation "Feint", a mock invasion of Kojo 12–16 October 1952, in which UN forces attempted to lure the enemy into the open. At the end of the month, she left the Korean area for exercises and repairs in Japan before returning to San Diego in mid January 1953.
Chinese involvement
From the end of the Korean action through 1960, O'Brien made annual operational cruises to the western Pacific. In late January and early February 1955, she operated with Wasp when the 7th Fleet discouraged People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
resistance to the Nationalist Chinese evacuation of the Tachen Islands off mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
.
February to October 1961 was spent in Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California for FRAM II conversion. The ship now specialized in antisubmarine warfare (ASW) procedures and periodically deployed to the western Pacific. In May 1965, operating with Antisubmarine Warfare Group 1, she was one of the first ships successfully to refuel a helicopter inflight. In June O'Brien successfully refueled a helicopter from Hornet off San Francisco while it made a pioneer non-stop helicopter flight from 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...
to Imperial Beach, California
Imperial Beach, California
Imperial Beach is a residential beach city in San Diego County, California, with a population of 26,324 at the 2010 census. The city is the most southern beach city in Southern California and the West Coast of the United States...
.
The ship sailed for 7th Fleet duty in August and was assigned to 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...
patrol. On 14 November 1965, while patrolling the Taiwan Straits, the ship was ordered to the aid of a Chinese Nationalist patrol craft under attack by Chinese Communist torpedo boats. Arriving after the vessel had sunk, she rescued all fifteen survivors, and was praised by Commander in Chief, Nationalist Chinese Navy.
Vietnam
A week later 22 November 1965, more than 600 miles from the rescue, O'Brien saw her first action in the Vietnam WarVietnam 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...
. Called to the aid of a surrounded outpost at Thach Ten, Quang Ngai province, the ship's accurate fire helped turn back a North Vietnamese regiment. In January arid early February 1966, she supported carrier operations, conducted search and rescue missions in the Tonkin Gulf, and provided gunfire support for the amphibious landing near Cape Batangan, Operation "Double Eagle."
O'Brien returned to her homeport March 1966 and operated on the west coast for the next eight months. During a port visit to The Dalles, Oregon, in July O'Brien became the largest vessel to use the locks at the Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. The primary functions of...
arid to transit the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
to The Dalles.
The destroyer got underway again for the troubled western Pacific 5 November 1966. Following antisubmarine warfare exercises in Hawaii and the eastern 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...
, O'Brien became flagship for Operation "Sea Dragon," the surface action task unit off North Vietnam. With Maddox (DD-731)
USS Maddox (DD-731)
USS Maddox , an was named for Captain William A. T. Maddox, USMC. She was laid down by the Bath Iron Works Corporation at Bath in Maine on 28 October 1943, launched on 19 March 1944 by Mrs. Harry H...
, she was ordered to interdict enemy coastal traffic. More than twenty vessels carrying enemy war supplies to the Viet Cong were sunk or damaged by O'Brien. On 23 December 1966, the ship received three direct hits from coastal batteries north of Dong Hoi
Dong Hoi
Đồng Hới is the capital city of Quang Binh province, in the north central coast of Vietnam. The city’s area is , population as per the 2009 census: 108,526. Urban area is 55.47 km², urban population was 71,620; Suburban area is 100.24 square kilometers, suburban population was 36,906...
. Two crewmen were killed and four wounded. After repairs at Subic Bay, Philippines, she provided support for air strikes from Tonkin Gulf while guarding five different carriers in January 1967. In February and March, she was assigned to Taiwan patrol. The ship returned to the Tonkin Gulf in late March first as a carrier escort and then on "Sea Dragon" operations. Again as flagship for Commander, Destroyer Division 232, she was instrumental in significantly slowing coastal supply traffic. She was taken under fire by shore batteries seven times during this period.
The ship returned to her homeport of Long Beach, California, in May 1967. In July she made a second trip to The Dalles, Oregon, before entering 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...
for overhaul. Following refresher training at San Diego, she was assigned to destroyer squadron 29 on 1 February 1968. She returned to the 7th Fleet operations in the spring of 1968.
She put to sea for 7th Fleet operations on 30 April 1968, arriving in Japan via Pearl Harbor on 29 May. Following an ASW exercise in the Sea of Japan with Japanese warships, the destroyer sailed south for operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, beginning shore bombardment duties upon arrival on 24 June. Over the next four weeks, O'Brien supported U.S. Army and Marine operations, engaging enemy forces ashore with 5-inch gunfire. After a short port visit to Singapore in early August, the destroyer returned to Japan for a two-week upkeep period alongside tender Hector (AR-7). Returning to the Gulf of Tonkin in late August, O'Brien escorted carriers at Yankee Station for the next month. On one evening, the destroyer was alerted by America (CVA-66) that two men had fallen overboard. The destroyer quickly retraced the carrier's path and rescued one sailor who had stayed afloat for over five hours. After another naval gunfire support period off South Vietnam in mid-October, O'Brien turned for home. She arrived in Long Beach on 28 November after a long southern cruise that took her to Subic Bay, Philippines; Brisbane, Australia; Pago Pago, American Samoa; and Pearl Harbor.
Following a post-deployment stand down, O'Brien conducted local training operations out of Long Beach through the summer of 1969, the highligh of which was a major warfare exercise off Hawaii in mid-March. After pre-deployment exercises in July and August, the destroyer got underway for the Far East on 8 October.
Like her previous deployment, O'Brien primarily served in Vietnamese waters, conducting carrier escort duties at Yankee Station and naval gunfire support operations through the end of the year. In January 1970, however, the destroyer steamed north to Okinawa, there joining a task group built around Ranger (CVA-61) for winter exercises in the Sea of Japan. Returning to Vietnam in February, the warship spent the next two months supporting the carriers on Yankee Station before returning to Long Beach on 15 April. One home, The destroyer underwent a quick turnaround, with a yard period and refresher training preparing the warship for another deployment starting on 6 November.
During what proved to be her last deployment, O'Brien was plagued by material and equipment problems. Before departing Pearl Harbor for Japan, for example, the destroyer suffered an evaporator failure that required a week of repairs. After arrival on the gun line off Vietnam on 13 January 1971, the warship conducted gunnery operations until a six-foot crack in her hull forced her into dry dock at Subic Bay on 2 February. Following those repairs, O'Brien commenced a seven-week period at Yankee Station and on search and rescue duty. She put in at Subic Bay for repairs again on 17 April and sailed for home at the end of the month, arriving home on 29 May after stops at Manus Island; Brisbane, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; Pago Pago, American Samoa; and Pearl Harbor.
End of career
O'Brien decommissioned at Long Beach on 18 February 1972 and was struck from the Navy list that same day. The hulk was towed out to sea by tug Sioux (ATF-75) and sunk as a target off California on 13 July 1972.O'Brien (DD-725) received 6 battle stars for World War II service, five battle stars for Korean War service, and three battle stars for Vietnam service (1967).