USS Willard Keith (DD-775)
Encyclopedia
USS Willard Keith (DD-775), an Allen M. Sumner-class
destroyer
, is currently the only completed ship of the United States Navy
ever named for Willard Keith
, a United States Marine Corps
captain who died in combat during the campaign for Guadalcanal. He was awarded the Navy Cross
for his actions. Willard Keith (DD-775) was laid down on 5 March 1944 at San Pedro, California, by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched on 29 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Willard W. Keith, the mother of Capt. Keith; and commissioned two days after Christmas of 1944, Comdr. Lewis L. Snyder in command.
s that were to be named USS Willard Keith; however, they both were cancelled before they were completed. The contract for the construction of USS Willard Keith (DE-754)
—a Cannon-class
destroyer escort
whose keel had been laid down on 14 September 1943 at San Pedro, California
, by the Western Pipe and Steel Company
—was cancelled on 2 October 1943. The contract for the construction of USS Willard Keith (DE-314)
—an Evarts-class destroyer escort
laid down on 22 January 1944 at Vallejo
, California, by the Mare Island Navy Yard—was cancelled on 13 March 1944.
It is rumored that, during one of these runs from San Clemente to San Francisco, the Willard Kieth encountered, depth-charged, and supposedly destroyed a sonar contact of unknown origin or nationality. The matter was allegedly suppressed by the ship's officers, save the eyewitness accounts of some crew members. However, no documentation or physical proof of this alleged encounter has been discovered. A few remaining crew of the Willard Keith have formed a non-profit organization (The Marine War Memorial Association of Half Moon Bay, CA) with the mission of finding and memorializing this alleged sunken wreck. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/26/MN230519.DTL
Completing that tour of training duty in mid-April 1945, Willard Keith sailed for the Western Pacific (WestPac) on 16 April, heading for Pearl Harbor in company with Atlanta (CL-104)
and Tillman (DD-641)
. After onward routing to the forward area, Willard Keith arrived at Okinawa on 29 May. Assigned screening and radar picket duties for the remainder of the Okinawan campaign, Willard Keith destroyed two Japanese planes during her tour. Her closest brush with the enemy came on the final day of the campaign when a Japanese torpedo plane winged in low and unobserved and launched her "fish." Fortunately, the warhead proved a dud and only left a dent in Willard Keith's hull.
After her baptism of fire, Willard Keith then joined a cruiser-destroyer task force on 24 June for anti-shipping sweeps into the East China Sea. Due to the losses inflicted upon the once-large Japanese merchant marine, however, the pickings were slim. Willard Keith spent the remainder of the war engaged in such largely fruitless operations and, with the coming of the Japanese surrender, drew screening duties with the initial occupying forces in the erstwhile enemy's home waters. That autumn, the destroyer visited the Japanese ports of Wakayama, Yokosuka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, on occasion performing courier service between ports, carrying men and mail.
Chosen as the flagship for Commodore John T. Bottom, Jr., Commander, Task Flotilla 1 and area commander, Willard Keith wore the commodore's burgee pennant while remaining at Nagoya from the last part of October until early December. On 5 December, Commodore Bottom's burgee came down, and Willard Keith put to sea to rendezvous with her sisterships in Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 66. She then sailed east, reaching the west coast in time to spend Christmas at San Diego, California
; crossed the Gulf of Mexico
and then proceeded around the tip of Florida, bound for New York City. After voyage repairs at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y., the destroyer stood out of the yard on the last day of January and proceeded up the eastern seaboard to Newport, Rhode Island. She engaged in gunnery exercises out of that port and, upon conclusion of that first phase of her peacetime training program, returned to New York. She made five more short round trips between New York and Newport until 12 July, when she set out for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
After operations in the British West Indies area, Willard Keith returned to Norfolk, Virginia, from whence she escorted the veteran battleships Washington (BB-56)
and North Carolina (BB-55)
to Culebra, Puerto Rico, for shore bombardment exercises. The destroyer then returned to Norfolk as part of the screen for the battlewagons, before she drew another escort assignment, this time with the aircraft carrier Philippine Sea (CV-47)
. Conducting exercises and maneuvers en route, the carrier and her consorts reached Guantanamo Bay for training before returning northward and putting into Newport.
Arriving at Norfolk on 20 June 1947, Willard Keith was assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet a short time later. "Mothballed" at Charleston, South Carolina Naval Shipyard, the destroyer remained inactive until the Fleet buildup brought about by the Korean War in 1950.
en route, Willard Keith reached her destination on 13 January 1951 to commence her shakedown soon thereafter.
Completing that training phase on 22 February 1951, Willard Keith stopped briefly at Culebra for gunnery exercises before proceeding on to Norfolk and upkeep. After a three-month overhaul, the destroyer returned to the Guantanamo region for further refresher training. She then returned to Norfolk for a tender upkeep.
On 3 September 1951, Willard Keith departed the east coast, bound for the Mediterranean and duty with the 6th Fleet. Relieving Dennis J. Buckley (DD-808)
as a unit of that force on the 22nd of the month, Willard Keith spent the next six months in the "Med," making operational visits to such ports as Gibraltar
; Naples
and Trieste, Italy; Augusta Bay, Sicily
; Istanbul
, Turkey
; Leros, Greece; and Suda Bay, Crete.
From November 1951 to February 1952, Willard Keith operated in company with John W. Weeks (DD-701)
as a unit of the Northern European Force under the overall command of Rear Admiral W. F. Boone. During that period of time, the destroyer visited Plymouth, England; Copenhagen
and Bornholm, Denmark; Bremerhaven, Germany; Bordeaux, France; and Derry
, Northern Ireland
. While operating out of the last-named port, she conducted exercises jointly with British destroyers.
While in northern European waters, Willard Keith performed rescue and escort duties for a week, assisting the crippled before that ship broke apart and sank in heavy seas. That incident gained the United States Navy international attention at the time. The owners of the lost ship, the Isbrandtsen Lines
, later presented a plaque to Willard Keith in appreciation for her assistance rendered to their vessel.
Completing her duty in European waters early in February 1952, Willard Keith shaped course for home, reaching Norfolk on 6 February for leave and upkeep. Once the needed voyage repairs had been accomplished and both officers and men refreshed after their deployment overseas, the destroyer headed north, departing Norfolk on 21 April 1952. She was bound for Argentia, Newfoundland, with a party of observers from the United States Naval Underwater Sound School embarked on board. From 21 April to 12 May, the destroyer then conducted antisubmarine warfare (ASW) drills for the benefit of the observers.
Upon the ship's return to Norfolk, all hands began to make preparations for a scheduled midshipmen's cruise. In early June, the ship sailed to Annapolis, Maryland, and embarked 72 officers-to-be, taking them to Norfolk. Subsequently, Willard Keith sailed to European waters and then to Guantanamo Bay. Ports visited during the midshipmen's cruise included Torquay, England, and Le Havre, France.
Returning to Norfolk via Guantanamo, Willard Keith disembarked her passengers and resumed her routine of training. She conducted two weeks of hunter/killer training in company with the escort carrier Block Island (CVE-106)
, a task group under the command of Rear Admiral D. V. Gallery. Willard Keith put back into Norfolk at the end of November and spent the remainder of the year there.
. En route, however, an urgent message from Commandant, 6th Naval District, directed the ship to proceed to a rendezvous with an LST which had a Marine sergeant on board who was stricken with appendicitis. Willard Keith complied and transported the man to Charleston, South Carolina, where he received medical attention. The ship received a special commendation from the Commandant of the 6th Naval District for her fine work in helping to save the man.
Ultimately completing her assigned duties in company with Monterey, Willard Keith returned to Norfolk to prepare for a scheduled three and one-half month overhaul. After repairs and alterations at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 11 February to 27 May, Willard Keith conducted refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay after first stopping at Norfolk en route. Returning to her home port on 4 August, the destroyer subsequently sailed for the Far East on 25 September in company with the other ships of Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 221.
The division reached Yokosuka, Japan, on 10 November 1953, via Bermuda, Gibraltar, Naples, Port Said, Aden, Colombo, and Manila. Willard Keith and her sisterships operated with Naval Forces, Far East, under the overall command of Rear Admiral Robert P. Briscoe
. Operating with the hunter/killer group for the initial part of her time in the Far East, the destroyer served with part of the United Nations Blockading and Escort Group. In company with James C. Owens (DD-776)
, Willard Keith performed plane guard services for two weeks with the Australian aircraft carrier, HMAS Sydney, as that ship conducted flight operations. During the course of the tour, Willard Keith visited the ports of Sasebo and Yokosuka, Japan; Inchon, Korea; and Buckner Bay, Okinawa.
Completing her WestPac tour in March 1954, Willard Keith and her squadron mates returned to the United States via Midway; Hawaii; San Francisco; Long Beach; the Panama Canal
; Havana, Cuba; and Key West, Florida
, returning to Norfolk on 1 May and thus completing the ship's circumnavigation of the globe. For the remainder of the year 1954, Willard Keith operated from Labrador to the Caribbean, taking part in antisubmarine warfare (ASW) exercises and amphibious exercises interspersed with routine upkeep periods in port.
For the next seven years, Willard Keith remained with DesRon 22, operating from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. She participated in a variety of goodwill missions, midshipmen cruises, and the usual training assignments in gunnery, ASW, and the like. She also participated in the "quarantine" operations in the autumn of 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis
. One of the more pleasant highlights of that period occurred during the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959—during which time Willard Keith escorted the Royal Yacht Britannia
, the latter having Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
on board.
On 1 October 1963, Willard Keith began a new phase of her career. Reporting to DesRon 34 for duty, the warship soon commenced operating as a Naval Reserve training (NRT) ship. For the next nine years, Willard Keith operated in that capacity, accomplishing reserve training with monthly drill weekend cruises for the reservists permanently assigned to the ship's reserve crew and undertaking two-week active duty training cruises for reservists getting their annual active sea duty training. She ranged from the eastern seaboard to Guantanamo Bay as an NRT destroyer, providing the platform for training necessary to maintain a skilled pool of reservists ready for any eventuality.
Ultimately considered to have capabilities that were not up to modern Fleet standards, Willard Keith was chosen for inactivation and transfer. Decommissioned on 1 July 1972 at Norfolk, Virginia, Willard Keith
was transferred to the Navy of the Republic of Colombia. Simultaneously stricken from the Navy list, the destroyer was renamed Caldas (DD-02). She served the Colombian Navy until disposed of in 1977.
Willard Keith (DD-775) earned two battle stars for her World War II service.
Allen M. Sumner class destroyer
The Allen M. Sumner class was a group of 58 destroyers built by the United States during World War II. Another twelve ships were completed as destroyer minelayers...
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...
, is currently the only completed 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...
ever named for Willard Keith
Willard Keith
Willard Woodward Keith, Jr. was a United States Marine Corps officer who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic actions during the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal...
, a United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
captain who died in combat during the campaign for Guadalcanal. He was awarded the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
for his actions. Willard Keith (DD-775) was laid down on 5 March 1944 at San Pedro, California, by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched on 29 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Willard W. Keith, the mother of Capt. Keith; and commissioned two days after Christmas of 1944, Comdr. Lewis L. Snyder in command.
Cancelled ships
It is notable that the Navy had two contracts for destroyer escortDestroyer 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...
s that were to be named USS Willard Keith; however, they both were cancelled before they were completed. The contract for the construction of USS Willard Keith (DE-754)
USS Willard Keith (DE-754)
The first USS Willard Keith was a United States Navy proposed during World War II but never completed.Willard Keith was laid down by the Western Pipe and Steel Company at San Pedro, California, on 14 September 1943. Her construction was cancelled on 2 October 1943 before she could be launched...
—a Cannon-class
Cannon class destroyer escort
The Cannon class destroyer escorts were built primarily for ocean Anti-Submarine Warfare escort service during World War II. The lead ship, was commissioned on 26 September 1943 at Wilmington, Delaware. The class was also known as the DET type from their Diesel Electric Tandem drive. Of the 116...
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...
whose keel had been laid down on 14 September 1943 at San Pedro, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, by the Western Pipe and Steel Company
Western Pipe and Steel Company
The Western Pipe and Steel Company was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U.S...
—was cancelled on 2 October 1943. The contract for the construction of USS Willard Keith (DE-314)
USS Willard Keith (DE-314)
The second USS Willard Keith was a United States Navy proposed during World War II but never completed.Willard Keith was laid down at Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo, California, on 22 January 1944. Her construction was cancelled on 13 March 1944.The name Willard Keith was reassigned to...
—an Evarts-class destroyer escort
Evarts class destroyer escort
The Evarts class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1942–1944. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. They were also known as the GMT or "short hull" DE class, with GMT standing for General Motors Tandem Diesel...
laid down on 22 January 1944 at Vallejo
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
, California, by the Mare Island Navy Yard—was cancelled on 13 March 1944.
World War II
After shakedown training out of San Diego, California, Willard Keith operated temporarily out of the Pre-commissioning Training Center at San Francisco, California, as training ship for engineering personnel. During that time, she made weekly trips from San Francisco to San Clemente Island and back.It is rumored that, during one of these runs from San Clemente to San Francisco, the Willard Kieth encountered, depth-charged, and supposedly destroyed a sonar contact of unknown origin or nationality. The matter was allegedly suppressed by the ship's officers, save the eyewitness accounts of some crew members. However, no documentation or physical proof of this alleged encounter has been discovered. A few remaining crew of the Willard Keith have formed a non-profit organization (The Marine War Memorial Association of Half Moon Bay, CA) with the mission of finding and memorializing this alleged sunken wreck. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/26/MN230519.DTL
Completing that tour of training duty in mid-April 1945, Willard Keith sailed for the Western Pacific (WestPac) on 16 April, heading for Pearl Harbor in company with Atlanta (CL-104)
USS Atlanta (CL-104)
USS Atlanta of the United States Navy was a Cleveland-class light cruiser during World War II. She was the fourth Navy ship named after the city of Atlanta, Georgia....
and Tillman (DD-641)
USS Tillman (DD-641)
USS Tillman , a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for United States Senator Ben Tillman....
. After onward routing to the forward area, Willard Keith arrived at Okinawa on 29 May. Assigned screening and radar picket duties for the remainder of the Okinawan campaign, Willard Keith destroyed two Japanese planes during her tour. Her closest brush with the enemy came on the final day of the campaign when a Japanese torpedo plane winged in low and unobserved and launched her "fish." Fortunately, the warhead proved a dud and only left a dent in Willard Keith's hull.
After her baptism of fire, Willard Keith then joined a cruiser-destroyer task force on 24 June for anti-shipping sweeps into the East China Sea. Due to the losses inflicted upon the once-large Japanese merchant marine, however, the pickings were slim. Willard Keith spent the remainder of the war engaged in such largely fruitless operations and, with the coming of the Japanese surrender, drew screening duties with the initial occupying forces in the erstwhile enemy's home waters. That autumn, the destroyer visited the Japanese ports of Wakayama, Yokosuka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, on occasion performing courier service between ports, carrying men and mail.
Chosen as the flagship for Commodore John T. Bottom, Jr., Commander, Task Flotilla 1 and area commander, Willard Keith wore the commodore's burgee pennant while remaining at Nagoya from the last part of October until early December. On 5 December, Commodore Bottom's burgee came down, and Willard Keith put to sea to rendezvous with her sisterships in Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 66. She then sailed east, reaching the west coast in time to spend Christmas at San Diego, California
1946
Subsequently, Willard Keith proceeded down the west coast; transited the Panama CanalPanama 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...
; crossed the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
and then proceeded around the tip of Florida, bound for New York City. After voyage repairs at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y., the destroyer stood out of the yard on the last day of January and proceeded up the eastern seaboard to Newport, Rhode Island. She engaged in gunnery exercises out of that port and, upon conclusion of that first phase of her peacetime training program, returned to New York. She made five more short round trips between New York and Newport until 12 July, when she set out for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
After operations in the British West Indies area, Willard Keith returned to Norfolk, Virginia, from whence she escorted the veteran battleships Washington (BB-56)
USS Washington (BB-56)
USS Washington , the second of two battleships in the North Carolina class, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 42nd state. Her keel was laid down on 14 June 1938 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Launched on 1 June 1940, Washington went through fitting-out before...
and North Carolina (BB-55)
USS North Carolina (BB-55)
USS North Carolina was the lead ship of her class of battleship and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named in honor of this U.S. state. She was the first new-construction U.S. battleship to enter service during World War II, participating in every major naval offensive in the Pacific...
to Culebra, Puerto Rico, for shore bombardment exercises. The destroyer then returned to Norfolk as part of the screen for the battlewagons, before she drew another escort assignment, this time with the aircraft carrier Philippine Sea (CV-47)
USS Philippine Sea (CV-47)
USS Philippine Sea was one of 24 s built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the first US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea. Philippine Sea was commissioned in May 1946, too late to serve in World War II...
. Conducting exercises and maneuvers en route, the carrier and her consorts reached Guantanamo Bay for training before returning northward and putting into Newport.
1947-1949
Christmas and New Year's holidays came and went before the destroyer operated locally between Pensacola and Key West. During her time in those waters, she deviated from her routine once, when she sailed to Mobile, Alabama, on 13 February 1947 to serve as one of the Navy's official representatives to the yearly Mardi Gras festivities. For the remainder of the spring months, Willard Keith cruised routinely between Newport and Key West, carrying out training duties off the eastern seaboard.Arriving at Norfolk on 20 June 1947, Willard Keith was assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet a short time later. "Mothballed" at Charleston, South Carolina Naval Shipyard, the destroyer remained inactive until the Fleet buildup brought about by the Korean War in 1950.
1950-1952
Recommissioned on 23 October 1950, Willard Keith was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. After her activation was completed on 27 November, the ship departed Charleston, shaping course for Norfolk, Virginia. Subsequently pushing on to Guantanamo Bay, planeguarding for the Fleet carrier Intrepid (CV-11)USS Intrepid (CV-11)
USS Intrepid , also known as The Fighting "I", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in August 1943, Intrepid participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, most notably the Battle...
en route, Willard Keith reached her destination on 13 January 1951 to commence her shakedown soon thereafter.
Completing that training phase on 22 February 1951, Willard Keith stopped briefly at Culebra for gunnery exercises before proceeding on to Norfolk and upkeep. After a three-month overhaul, the destroyer returned to the Guantanamo region for further refresher training. She then returned to Norfolk for a tender upkeep.
On 3 September 1951, Willard Keith departed the east coast, bound for the Mediterranean and duty with the 6th Fleet. Relieving Dennis J. Buckley (DD-808)
USS Dennis J. Buckley (DD-808)
USS Dennis J. Buckley was a of the United States Navy, named for Fireman First Class Dennis J. Buckley, Jr. .Dennis J. Buckley was launched on 20 December 1944 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. D. J. Buckley, mother of F/1c Buckley; and commissioned on 2 March 1945,...
as a unit of that force on the 22nd of the month, Willard Keith spent the next six months in the "Med," making operational visits to such ports as Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
; Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and Trieste, Italy; Augusta Bay, Sicily
Augusta Bay, Sicily
coordinates: 37°13'N 15°14'E The Augusta Bay is located on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, about 270 nm south-southeast of Naples.It is the location of the Auguate Bay Port Facility which supports the Sixth Fleet of the US Navy. The facility is distributed among Porto Megarese, Porto Xifonio and...
; Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
; Leros, Greece; and Suda Bay, Crete.
From November 1951 to February 1952, Willard Keith operated in company with John W. Weeks (DD-701)
USS John W. Weeks (DD-701)
USS John W. Weeks , an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was named for John Wingate Weeks, who attained the rank of Rear Admiral. Weeks was elected to the United States House of Representatives where he served until entering the United States Senate in 1913. He became Secretary of War on 4 March...
as a unit of the Northern European Force under the overall command of Rear Admiral W. F. Boone. During that period of time, the destroyer visited Plymouth, England; Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and Bornholm, Denmark; Bremerhaven, Germany; Bordeaux, France; and Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. While operating out of the last-named port, she conducted exercises jointly with British destroyers.
While in northern European waters, Willard Keith performed rescue and escort duties for a week, assisting the crippled before that ship broke apart and sank in heavy seas. That incident gained the United States Navy international attention at the time. The owners of the lost ship, the Isbrandtsen Lines
American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines
American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the US east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both Cargo ship services and Passenger ship services, until declaring bankruptcy and was acquired by Farrell Lines, New York.-American...
, later presented a plaque to Willard Keith in appreciation for her assistance rendered to their vessel.
Completing her duty in European waters early in February 1952, Willard Keith shaped course for home, reaching Norfolk on 6 February for leave and upkeep. Once the needed voyage repairs had been accomplished and both officers and men refreshed after their deployment overseas, the destroyer headed north, departing Norfolk on 21 April 1952. She was bound for Argentia, Newfoundland, with a party of observers from the United States Naval Underwater Sound School embarked on board. From 21 April to 12 May, the destroyer then conducted antisubmarine warfare (ASW) drills for the benefit of the observers.
Upon the ship's return to Norfolk, all hands began to make preparations for a scheduled midshipmen's cruise. In early June, the ship sailed to Annapolis, Maryland, and embarked 72 officers-to-be, taking them to Norfolk. Subsequently, Willard Keith sailed to European waters and then to Guantanamo Bay. Ports visited during the midshipmen's cruise included Torquay, England, and Le Havre, France.
Returning to Norfolk via Guantanamo, Willard Keith disembarked her passengers and resumed her routine of training. She conducted two weeks of hunter/killer training in company with the escort carrier Block Island (CVE-106)
USS Block Island (CVE-106)
USS Block Island was a Commencement Bay class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was the second ship to carry her name, done in honor of the first one, being launched 12 days after the original was sunk....
, a task group under the command of Rear Admiral D. V. Gallery. Willard Keith put back into Norfolk at the end of November and spent the remainder of the year there.
1953-1954
She departed her home port nine days into the new year, though, setting sail for Pensacola, Florida, assigned as plane guard for the light carrier Monterey (CVL-26)USS Monterey (CVL-26)
USS Monterey was an Independence-class light aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, in service during World War II and used in training for several years thereafter....
. En route, however, an urgent message from Commandant, 6th Naval District, directed the ship to proceed to a rendezvous with an LST which had a Marine sergeant on board who was stricken with appendicitis. Willard Keith complied and transported the man to Charleston, South Carolina, where he received medical attention. The ship received a special commendation from the Commandant of the 6th Naval District for her fine work in helping to save the man.
Ultimately completing her assigned duties in company with Monterey, Willard Keith returned to Norfolk to prepare for a scheduled three and one-half month overhaul. After repairs and alterations at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 11 February to 27 May, Willard Keith conducted refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay after first stopping at Norfolk en route. Returning to her home port on 4 August, the destroyer subsequently sailed for the Far East on 25 September in company with the other ships of Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 221.
The division reached Yokosuka, Japan, on 10 November 1953, via Bermuda, Gibraltar, Naples, Port Said, Aden, Colombo, and Manila. Willard Keith and her sisterships operated with Naval Forces, Far East, under the overall command of Rear Admiral Robert P. Briscoe
Robert P. Briscoe
Robert Pearce Briscoe was an Admiral of the United States Navy. He commanded two ships, a destroyer squadron, and an amphibious group during World War II. He later served as Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe, from 1956 to 1959...
. Operating with the hunter/killer group for the initial part of her time in the Far East, the destroyer served with part of the United Nations Blockading and Escort Group. In company with James C. Owens (DD-776)
USS James C. Owens (DD-776)
USS James C. Owens , an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant James C. Owens, Jr., a member of Torpedo Squadron 8 on board Hornet . His entire squadron was lost in an attack against Japanese carriers 4 June during the Battle of...
, Willard Keith performed plane guard services for two weeks with the Australian aircraft carrier, HMAS Sydney, as that ship conducted flight operations. During the course of the tour, Willard Keith visited the ports of Sasebo and Yokosuka, Japan; Inchon, Korea; and Buckner Bay, Okinawa.
Completing her WestPac tour in March 1954, Willard Keith and her squadron mates returned to the United States via Midway; Hawaii; San Francisco; Long Beach; 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...
; Havana, Cuba; and Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, returning to Norfolk on 1 May and thus completing the ship's circumnavigation of the globe. For the remainder of the year 1954, Willard Keith operated from Labrador to the Caribbean, taking part in antisubmarine warfare (ASW) exercises and amphibious exercises interspersed with routine upkeep periods in port.
1955-1977
After spending Christmas, 1954, in her home port, Willard Keith departed Norfolk five days into the new year, 1955, bound for the Mediterranean. She paid goodwill calls at the ports of Algiers, Naples, Genoa, and the Azores in the course of her extended deployment, before she returned to Norfolk on 15 March. Then, after a brief upkeep period, Willard Keith offloaded stores and ammunition and shifted to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a four-month overhaul. Emerging from the shipyard on 8 August, the destroyer conducted refresher training out of the familiar waters of Guantanamo Bay before conducting gunfire support exercises with the rest of her division at Culebra. Returning northward that autumn, she conducted amphibious warfare gunfire support exercises as a fire support unit during Marine Corps amphibious landing exercises off the coast of North Carolina.For the next seven years, Willard Keith remained with DesRon 22, operating from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. She participated in a variety of goodwill missions, midshipmen cruises, and the usual training assignments in gunnery, ASW, and the like. She also participated in the "quarantine" operations in the autumn of 1962 during 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...
. One of the more pleasant highlights of that period occurred during the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959—during which time Willard Keith escorted the Royal Yacht Britannia
HMY Britannia
Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former Royal Yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the 83rd such vessel since the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. She is the second Royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the famous racing cutter built for The Prince of Wales...
, the latter having Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
on board.
On 1 October 1963, Willard Keith began a new phase of her career. Reporting to DesRon 34 for duty, the warship soon commenced operating as a Naval Reserve training (NRT) ship. For the next nine years, Willard Keith operated in that capacity, accomplishing reserve training with monthly drill weekend cruises for the reservists permanently assigned to the ship's reserve crew and undertaking two-week active duty training cruises for reservists getting their annual active sea duty training. She ranged from the eastern seaboard to Guantanamo Bay as an NRT destroyer, providing the platform for training necessary to maintain a skilled pool of reservists ready for any eventuality.
Ultimately considered to have capabilities that were not up to modern Fleet standards, Willard Keith was chosen for inactivation and transfer. Decommissioned on 1 July 1972 at Norfolk, Virginia, Willard Keith
Willard Keith
Willard Woodward Keith, Jr. was a United States Marine Corps officer who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic actions during the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal...
was transferred to the Navy of the Republic of Colombia. Simultaneously stricken from the Navy list, the destroyer was renamed Caldas (DD-02). She served the Colombian Navy until disposed of in 1977.
Willard Keith (DD-775) earned two battle stars for her World War II service.