USS Wilson ( DD - 408 ) USS " Wilson " ( DD - 408 ) , a , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Charles Wilson , a seaman in the Union Navy during the American Civil War . History . " Wilson " was laid down on 22 March 1937 at Bremerton , Washington , by the Puget Sound Navy Yard ; launched on 12 April 1939 ; sponsored by Mrs . Edward B . Fenner , the wife of Rear Admiral Edward B . Fenner , the Commandant of the 13th Naval District ; and commissioned on 5 July 1939 , Lt . Comdr . Russell G . Sturges in command . " Wilson " operated along the west coasts of the United States , Central and South America into April 1940 , when she went to Hawaii to participate in Fleet Problem XXI . In June 1941 , after a year mainly spent in the Hawaiian area , " Wilson " was transferred to the Atlantic . In the last half of that year , and first months of 1942 , she served an escort for major fleet units off the U . S . east coast and , in March – May 1942 , steamed across the ocean to Iceland and the British Isles . " Wilson " returned to the Pacific as part of a task group centered around , and accompanied it to the south Pacific in July 1942 . Early in the next month , she provided bombardment and anti - aircraft services to the invasion force during landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi . While in that area on 9 August , " Wilson " engaged Japanese cruisers during the Battle of Savo Island , and later rescued survivors of the sunken cruisers " Quincy " , " Astoria " and " Vincennes " . Following a west coast overhaul , " Wilson " was back off Guadalcanal in January 1943 , in time for the last weeks of the fighting there . She subsequently participated in landings on the Russell Islands , bombarded enemy positions on New Georgia and escorted shipping in and around the Solomon Islands . In November 1943 , the destroyer screened U . S . aircraft carriers during strikes on Rabaul and Nauru and was similarly employed during attacks on the Marshall and Caroline Islands in January and February 1944 . In June and July 1944 , " Wilson " served with the carrier task forces during the Marianas Campaign and the Battle of the Philippine Sea , and also fired her guns at small craft and shore targets at Guam . After overhaul work in August – October 1944 , she battled enemy suicide planes in late December while escorting a convoy to Mindoro , in the central Philippines . The next month , " Wilson " again engaged hostile aircraft and shore positions during the Lingayen Gulf invasion . On 16 April 1945 , during the campaign for Okinawa , she was hit by a kamikaze , which cost the lives of five of her crewmen and left an unexploded bomb in her after hull . Soon repaired , she served in the Okinawa area until June and operated out of Saipan until the war ended in August . " Wilson " was employed on occupation duty until December 1945 , when she returned to the U . S . west coast . In May of the next year , she was assigned to Operation Crossroads target duty . Made radioactive by the July atomic bomb tests at Bikini , " Wilson " was decommissioned in August 1946 and sunk in deep water off Kwajalein on 8 March 1948 . Honors . " Wilson " received 11 battle star s for her service during World War II