USS Holder ( DD - 819 ) USS " Holder " ( DD / DDE - 819 ) was a of the United States Navy , the second Navy ship named for Lieutenant ( jg ) Randolph Mitchell Holder , a Navy pilot who was killed during the Battle of Midway . " Holder " was launched by Consolidated Steel Corp . , Orange , Texas , on 25 August 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . Annette Holder , mother of Lieutenant ( j . g . ) Holder ; and commissioned on 18 May 1946 at Orange , Texas , Comdr . B . K . Atkins in command . Service history . 1946 – 1962 . " Holder " conducted her shakedown training in the Caribbean and returned to Norfolk , Virginia on 28 August 1946 . After a period of training exercises along the coast she sailed for the Mediterranean on 23 October . During the subsequent operations with the 6th Fleet in this area , " Holder " visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia , arriving Newport on 22 March 1947 . She then took part in anti - submarine training exercises out of Newport and in the Caribbean . The destroyer continued this pattern of operations for the years that followed . In June – July 1949 " Holder " took part in a Midshipman training cruise to northern Europe and upon her return moved her home port from Newport to Norfolk . Her classification was changed to DDE - 819 on 4 March 1950 , but she continued to alternate cruises to Europe and the Mediterranean with periods of training and upkeep out of Norfolk and the Caribbean . When the Suez Crisis flared in the Middle East over Egypt ' s seizure of the Suez Canal in 1956 , " Holder " steamed to join the 6th Fleet in operations . Again in 1958 " Holder " sailed to the Mediterranean in March and in July took part in the landings at Beirut , Lebanon . 1962 – 1966 . The veteran destroyer , reclassified DD - 819 again on 7 August 1962 , took part in another graphic demonstration of the importance of sea power , this time in the Western Hemisphere . During the Cuban Missile Crisis , when the introduction of offensive missiles into Cuba forced President Kennedy to proclaim a naval quarantine of that island , " Holder " and other ships took up station so as to intercept and inspect shipping . The destroyer made an inspection of a Russian ship leaving Cuba on 8 November and remained on this duty until 21 November , when she steamed to Norfolk . " Holder " entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 17 December 1962 for Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization Overhaul , a major repair and modernization job which added years to her useful life . New weapons , including ASROC and QH - 50 DASH , and a helicopter hangar and flight deck increased the ship ' s anti - submarine capability . Emerging in October 1963 , the ship conducted shakedown training before returning to the Caribbean for maneuvers . " Holder " devoted 1964 and 1965 to ASW training . From 12 January to 4 February 1965 she participated in the recovery of NASA ' s unmanned Gemini 2 capsule . Between 26 April and 17 May , " Holder " patrolled the Dominican Republic ' s coast during the struggle to prevent a Communist take over of that island nation . She spent the next year on duty in the Atlantic . On 6 June 1966 " Holder " sailed through the Panama Canal on her way to the Pacific Fleet . From 15 to 28 July she was plane guard ship for aircraft carrier in Gulf of Tonkin . She then conducted naval gunfire support off Vietnam from 29 July to 8 August . In October " Holder " was plane guard for , and also she acted in support of the heavy cruiser . Sailing for home on 10 November via the Suez Canal , " Holder " arrived in Norfolk on 17 December to prepare for future action . Transfer to Ecuador . The " Holder " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1976 . The ship was then transferred to Ecuador on 23 February 1977 and renamed " Presidente Eloy Alfaro " . " Presidente Elroy Alfaro " was stricken and broken up for scrap in 1991 .