USS Helm ( DD - 388 ) USS " Helm " ( DD - 388 ) was a " Bagley " - class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II . She was named for Rear Admiral James Meredith Helm . " Helm " received 11 battle stars for her World War II service in the Pacific . Pre - war . " Helm " was launched by Norfolk Navy Yard on 27 May 1937 ; sponsored by Mrs . J . M . Helm , widow ; and commissioned on 16 October 1937 , with Lt . Comdr . P . H . Talbot in command . After shakedown , " Helm " operated in the Caribbean until March 1938 . Following summer exercises , she was attached to the newly formed Atlantic Squadron on 1 October 1938 . Early in 1939 , she deployed with Carrier Division 2 in the Caribbean for Fleet Problem XX . After being transferred to the West Coast in May 1939 , " Helm " engaged in fleet exercises and screening maneuvers out of San Diego and the Hawaiian Islands . Pearl Harbor . At 0755 on the morning of 7 December 1941 , " Helm " had just turned into West Loch in Pearl Harbor , en route to deperming buoys , when Japan ese carrier planes attacked the naval base . It was the only ship under way at the beginning of the attack . The destroyer manned her guns and brought down at least one of the attackers while she was strafed and slightly damaged by two bombs close aboard . After the attack , she joined the task group of carrier USS " Saratoga " , just arrived from San Diego and served as screening ship and plane guard . 1942 . The destroyer sailed 20 January 1942 on a special mission to rescue Department of the Interior workers from Howland and Baker islands . Using her whaleboat " Helm " brought off six men from the two islands 31 January . She was attacked by a Japanese patrol bomber later that day . Her gunners drove off the attacker and the ship returned to Pearl Harbor on 6 February . New Hebrides operations . Following a round trip voyage to San Diego , " Helm " departed Pearl Harbor 15 March 1942 , escorting an advance base party to the New Hebrides . She arrived at Efate on 19 March and for the next few weeks escorted ships in that area while U . S . bases were consolidated . She rescued 13 survivors from SS " John Adams " on 9 and 4 May from the oiler " Neosho " , sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea on 17 May . These men were taken to Brisbane , Australia , where " Helm " joined British Rear Admiral Crutchley ' s Task Force 44 on 19 May . For the next two months " Helm " , performed escort duty along the Australian Coast . The fleet was then assembling for the first offensive amphibious operation in the Pacific , the capture of Guadalcanal . " Helm " departed Auckland , New Zealand , on 22 July for the Fiji Islands . Following practice landings Admiral Turner ' s fleet suddenly struck Guadalcanal and Tulagi , arriving off the beaches on 7 August and catching the Japanese completely by surprise . The destroyer screened the transports as troops disembarked , shooting down several attacking aircraft during the first two days . Battle of Savo Island . With the cruisers " Vincennes " , " Quincy " , and " Astoria " , " Helm " patrolled the waters around Savo Island the night of 7 August and , as night fell on 8 August , the four ships and destroyer " Wilson " took up patrol between Savo and Florida Islands . Another group of two cruisers and two destroyers patrolled to the south , and picket destroyers " Blue " and " Ralph Talbot " were stationed to the northwest of Savo Island . A fateful combination of circumstances had allowed Admiral Mikawa ' s cruisers and destroyers to approach Savo Island undetected . Failures in search and identification had prevented early analysis of the dangerous situation , and the inadequate two - ship screen off Savo Island had not warned of the Japanese ships . The alarm was sounded by destroyer " Patterson " at about 01 : 43 , just seconds before two torpedoes ripped into HMAS " Canberra " in the southern group . Soon both formations of cruisers were battling the fierce Japanese attack . " Helm " , on the port bow of " Vincennes " , turned back to help the stricken cruisers . She stood by " Astoria " , brought survivors to transports off Guadalcanal , and withdrew with the remainder of the force to Noumea on 13 August . The Battle of Savo Island was a disaster , but even in defeat the ships had prevented the Japanese from attacking the vulnerable transports at Guadalcanal . Much desperate fighting followed but the Americans had come to stay . For the next few weeks " Helm " remained in the dangerous waters near Guadalcanal , escorting transports and patrolling . She sailed to Brisbane on 7 September and departed the next day to provide escort protection for transports between Australia and New Guinea . 1943 . The veteran destroyer remained on this duty for some months . On 15 May 1942 the " Helm " assisted in the search for survivors from the Australian hospital ship " Centaur " that had been torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I - 177 , south east of Cape Moreton , near Brisbane . Later it escorted LST ' s to Woodlark Island for an unopposed landing in June 1943 and protecting the important base at Milne Bay . As MacArthur ' s army prepared to move into New Britain under naval cover , " Helm " bombarded Gasmata on 29 November 1943 and sortied from Milne Bay again on 14 December under Admiral Crutchley for the capture of Cape Gloucester . " Helm " helped in the pre - invasion bombardment , fired close support missions after the initial landings , and performed screening duties as transports unloaded . The operation by Admiral Barbey ' s VII Amphibious Corps was a smooth and successful one , and , as soon as the position was secured , " Helm " and the rest of Admiral Crutchley ' s fleet moved to Saidor , where Admiral Barbey performed one of his famous amphibious " hops . " The destroyer screened the cruiser force as it prevented attack by surface and air forces from seaward . 1944 . " Helm " continued her escort duty in the Guadalcanal and Milne Bay areas until departing on 19 February 1944 for Pearl Harbor . The ship proceeded thence to Mare Island Navy Yard escorting the battleship " Maryland " , and arrived on 4 March . " Helm " departed San Francisco on 5 May 1944 . After arrival in Pearl Harbor five days later she engaged in refresher training in Hawaiian waters . She arrived Majuro on 4 June and Kwajalein on 7 June to join the naval force assembling for the next step in America ' s amphibious sweep across the Pacific , the invasion of the Marianas . She joined Vice Admiral Mitscher ' s famed Task Force 58 and sailed with it from Kwajalein on 7 June . The fast carrier group guarded the western approaches to the islands from 11 June to 13 June and provided air support for the landings , which were carried out by Admiral Kelly Turner ' s amphibian group 1 , 000 miles from the nearest advance base at Eniwetok . The carrier task forces returned from a strike on the Bonin Islands on 18 June and deployed to repel the Japanese fleet as it closed the Marianas for a decisive naval battle . The great fleets approached each other on 19 June for the biggest carrier engagement of the war . As four large air raids hit the American fleet formation , fighter cover from " Helm " ' s task group and surface fire from the ships annihilated the Japanese planes . With able assistance from American submarines , Mitscher succeeded in sinking two Japanese carriers while inflicting such staggering losses on the enemy naval air arm that the battle was dubbed the " Marianas Turkey Shoot . " Admiral Spruance had succeeded in protecting the invasion force in a battle the importance of which was well understood by the Japanese . Admiral Toyoda had said on 15 June : " The fate of the Empire rests on this one battle , " repeating the words of Admiral Togo at the Battle of Tsushima . Following the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea , " Helm " and the fast carriers turned their attention to neutralizing the enemy bases on the Bonin and Volcano Islands and supporting the invasion of Guam . The mobile carrier groups , screened by destroyers and cruisers , also began attacks on the Palau Islands on 25 July 1944 . With occasional respite at Eniwetok or Ulithi , the carriers attacked Iwo Jima and other islands in the western Pacific until well into September . " Helm " sank a small Japanese freighter off Iwo Jima on 2 September and later that day surprised and sank a small cargo ship . " Helm " and her carrier group arrived in Seeadler Harbor on 21 September 1944 . They sortied again on 24 September ; and , after ground support strikes in the Palaus , rendezvoused with the entire task force of seventeen carriers with their supporting and screening vessels for an important sweep to the west . Strikes were launched against Okinawa on 10 October ; after which the carriers turned to their real objective , the airfields and military installations on Formosa . In a devastating 3 - day attack carrier planes did much to destroy that island as a supporting base for the Japanese in the battle of the Philippines and other invasions to come . Enemy planes retaliated with heavy and repeated land - based attacks . " Helm " brought down one bomber with her 5 - inch guns on 13 October and assisted in shooting down several more . Following the Formosa Air Battle , a convincing demonstration of the power and mobility of sea power , Task Force 38 returned to the east coast of Luzon to strike enemy air bases in the Philippines to neutralize Japanese air power during the invasion of Leyte . By 24 October it was clear that the assault on Leyte had called forth one final effort on the part of the Japanese to destroy the American fleet . Its three major fleet units moved toward the Philippines . The Northern Group was to lure the American carriers northward away from Leyte , before the others converged on the assault area in Leyte Gulf for a two - pronged death blow . In for the historic Battle of Leyte Gulf , " Helm " with Rear Admiral Davison ' s Task Group 38 . 4 turned her attention toward Admiral Kurita ' s Center Force . Planes from the carriers struck the Japanese ships near mid - day in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea , sinking giant battleship " Musashi " and damaging other heavy ships . While two of the other phases of this great battle , the Battle off Samar and the Battle of Surigao Strait , were being fought , Admiral Halsey took the carrier groups north to engage the powerful fleet of Admiral Ozawa . Screened by " Helm " and other surface units , the carriers made air contact on 25 October and , in a series of devastating strikes , sank four Japanese carriers and a destroyer . The great sea battle was thus ended , with the invasion of Leyte secured and the Japanese fleet no longer an effective fighting unit . " Helm " and the carriers resumed direct support of ground operations on Leyte on 26 October . In addition to air attacks by land - based Japanese aircraft , the group also experienced submarine attack on 28 October . " Helm " and companion destroyer " Gridley " made a contact around noon and , as the carriers cleared the area , the two ships dropped depth charges and sank 1 - 46 . Two carriers , " Franklin " and " Belleau Wood " , were damaged on 30 October by suicide planes . That night the group retired toward Ulithi , where it arrived on 2 November after over two months of almost continuous service . Departing Ulithi again on 5 November 1944 , " Helm " and her carrier group returned to the Philippines for strikes against Japanese shipping and shore targets , returning on 20 November . " Helm " was then detached from Task Group 38 . 4 and steamed from Ulithi for Manus on 20 November . Arriving two days later , the ship began preparations for the next important amphibious operation in the Philippine campaign , the landings at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon . " Helm " departed on 27 December with a large task group bound for Lingayen Gulf . 1945 . As the ships entered the Sulu Sea , heavy air attacks began . The Japanese , hitting with their only remaining weapon , struck with suicide planes on 4 January 1945 and sank escort carrier " Ommaney Bay " . Gunfire from " Helm " and the other screening ships took a heavy toll of the attackers . From 6 January to 17 January the destroyer operated with carriers west of Lingayen Gulf providing air support for these important landings . The ships departed on 17 January and arrived in Ulithi six days later . As the great naval task force assembled for the invasion of Iwo Jima , next stop on the island road to Japan , " Helm " sailed on 12 February in the screen of a group of escort carriers , arriving off the volcanic island fortress on 16 February . She screened the carriers during the important preliminary strikes and protected them while they lent close support to the invasion , which began on the 19th . The carrier groups were hit repeatedly by desperate air attacks , with " Helm " and the other destroyers accounting for many suicide and torpedo planes . When escort carrier " Bismarck Sea " was sunk , in a massive suicide attack on 21 February , " Helm " rescued survivors and brought them to the transport anchorage next day . The veteran destroyer continued screening operations off Iwo Jima until 7 March when she steamed toward Leyte for repairs . She was soon underway again , however , for the last and largest of the Pacific amphibious operations , the invasion of Okinawa . Sailing on 27 March , she joined escort carrier groups off the island for pre - invasion strikes ; and , after the historic assault on 1 April , for ground support operations . During her stay off Okinawa the destroyer shot down many suicide planes which menaced the carriers during fanatical , last - ditch efforts by the Japanese to repel the invasion . " Helm " steamed to Leyte on 19 June with Okinawa secured . Post - war . Following the Okinawa operation " Helm " served as an escort and patrol ship out of Ulithi and Leyte , and helped to search for survivors of ill - fated " Indianapolis " from 3 August to 6 August 1945 . The ship was steaming toward Ulithi from Okinawa when the war ended on 15 August . She returned to Okinawa and finally to Iwo Jima to join the Bonins patrol , for air - sea rescue work until 8 September . The destroyer then sailed to Sasebo , Japan , where she served as shipping guide and patrol vessel until returning to Okinawa on 26 September . After another stay in Japan , the ship departed for Pearl Harbor and San Diego on 29 October . Under the command of Lt . Allen G . Sibley , she returned to the United States on 19 November , then sailed back to Pearl Harbor where she was decommissioned on 26 June 1946 . " Helm " was used that summer as a target ship during the historic Operation Crossroads atomic tests in the Pacific , and her hulk was sold to Moore Dry Dock Co . , Oakland , California , in October 1947 for scrapping .