page_title: USS Stockham (DD-683)
section_title: 1950 – 1977
hierarchical_section_title: USS Stockham (DD-683) / 1950 – 1977
caption_attribution_description: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Stockham (DD-683) underway off the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Pennsylvania (USA), on 12 December 1952.
context_page_description: USS Stockham (DD-683), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Gy.Sgt. Fred W. Stockham, USMC.
  Stockham (DD-683) was laid down on 19 December 1942 by the Bethlehem Steel Co. at San Francisco, California; launched on 25 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Melba Mattingly; and commissioned on 11 February 1944, Commander E. P. Holmes in command.
context_section_description: The hostilities in Korea in 1950 necessitated an increase in the size of the active fleet. Stockham was recommissioned on 14 November 1951, Comdr. A. P. Zavadil in command. She was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet until 1953, engaged in fleet training missions out of Newport, R.I. In December 1953, the destroyer joined the United Nations Fleet and operated in the Far East, stopping at the southern tip of Japan, then traveling to the Pusan harbor briefly and later Inchon, until the summer of 1954. In July, she returned to Newport after completing a circumnavigation of the world. In November 1954, Stockham entered Boston Naval Shipyard and, at the completion of her overhaul in February 1955, she shook down in the Caribbean. She then resumed normal operations with the Atlantic Fleet until 1 February 1956, when she was posted to the 6th Fleet. She cruised the Mediterranean for four months; visited Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, and Greece; then, resumed operations out of Newport. Stockham returned to the 6th Fleet in the fall of 1956; visited France, Italy, and Greece; and participated in an antisubmarine exercise with American and Italian ships. On 23 February 1957, the destroyer returned to Newport. Seven months later, she was decommissioned on 2 September 1957 and placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  Stockham was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1 December 1974, and sunk as a target off Puerto Rico 17 February 1977.
  Stockham (DD-683) earned eight battle stars during World War II.
caption: Stockham in the 1950s.
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