USS Rodman ( DD - 456 ) USS " Rodman " ( DD - 456 / DMS - 21 ) , a " Gleaves " - class destroyer , is the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Admiral Hugh Rodman . " Rodman " ( DD - 456 ) was laid down 16 December 1940 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co . , Kearny , New Jersey ; launched 26 September 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs . Albert K . Stebbins , Jr . , grandniece of Admiral Rodman , and commissioned 27 January 1942 , Commander William Giers Michelet in command . World War II . 1942 . Following shakedown , " Rodman " , assigned to Task Force 22 ( TF 22 ) , alternated training and patrol duties at NS Argentia , Newfoundland with screening and plane guard services for as that aircraft carrier trained aviation personnel along the northeast U . S . coast and ferried planes of the Army ' s 33rd Pursuit Squadron to Accra on the Gold Coast from 22 April to 28 May 1942 . Detached in June , she departed Newport 1 July , escorted a seven - troopship convoy to the Firth of Clyde , then continued on to Orkney where , as a unit of TF 99 , she commenced operations with the British Home Fleet . Based at Scapa Flow into August , she alternated patrols from Scotland and Iceland to protect the southern legs of the PQ / QP convoy lanes between those two countries and the north Russia n ports of Murmansk and Archangel . With the long summer days , however , the U - boat s and Norwegian based Luftwaffe units continued to exact a heavy toll . In early July , they destroyed Convoy PQ - 17 . Further convoys were postponed until the relative cover of the Arctic winter darkness could be regained . Operation " Easy Unit " then came into being . Toward the end of July , " Rodman " was designated to assist in filling the increasing immediate logistics demands of the Russians , and of British and American personnel in northern Russia , and to prepare for bases , men , and equipment to provide air cover for the convoys when they resumed . On 17 August " Rodman " , with and two other American destroyers departed Scapa Flow carrying medical personnel and supplies men , and equipment for the RAF ' s number 144 and 145 Hampden Squadrons , ammunition , pyrotechnics , radar gear drystores , and provisions . Following the route taken by British destroyers three weeks earlier , they entered Kola Inlet after dark on the 23d . The Luftwaffe was grounded . The ships offloaded , refueled , took on merchant sailors survivors of ill - fated convoys , and departed Vaenga Bay on the 24th . En route back to Scotland , the American ships were joined by Royal Navy destroyer s . On the 25th , the British ships tracked the German minelayer " Ulm " — one of many ships and boats engaged in planting mine s at the entrance to the White Sea and in the shallow waters off Novaya Zemlya — and sank her southeast of Bear Island ( Norway ) . " Rodman " arrived back in the Firth of Clyde on the 30th and on 1 September got underway for New York . An abbreviated overhaul at Boston followed and , at the end of the month , she resumed training and patrols off the U . S . northeast coast . On 25 October she sortied with Task Group 34 . 2 ( TG 34 . 2 ) to support the amphibious force of TF 34 in Operation Torch , the invasion of North Africa . On 7 November , Task Unit 34 . 2 . 3 ( TU 34 . 2 . 3 ) , , , and " Rodman " left TG 34 . 2 and screened the Southern Attack Group to its destination . From then through the 11th , " Rodman " screened " Santee " , then put into Safi for replenishment . On the 13th she retired , arrived at Norfolk on the 24th , thence proceeded to Boston where her 1 . 1 inch ( 28 mm ) battery was replaced by 40 mm and 20 mm guns . 1943 . In December she steamed to the Panama Canal whence she escorted a convoy back to the U . S . east coast , arriving at Norfolk on 7 January 1943 . The next day she sailed again joining " Ranger " for two more ferry runs to Africa , this time to Morocco . During March and April , she remained in the western Atlantic , again ranging as far north as Argentia on patrol and escort duty . In May , she returned to the United Kingdom . Arriving at Scapa Flow on the 18th , " Rodman " rejoined the Home Fleet . Into the summer she and her sister ships patrolled out of Scotland and Iceland and screened the larger ships of the combined force , including HMS " Duke of York " , USS " South Dakota " ( BB - 57 ) , and USS " Alabama " ( BB - 60 ) , as they attempted to draw the German fleet — particularly the battleship " Tirpitz " — out of the protected fjords . With August , " Rodman " returned to the United States and by 1 September had resumed patrols at Argentia . Detached in October , she departed Norfolk 3 November for Bermuda whence she sailed in the advance scouting line screening then carrying President Franklin D . Roosevelt on the first leg of his journey to the Teheran Conference . 1944 . Returning in mid - December , the destroyer guarded carriers on training exercises out of Newport and Portland , Maine , until April 1944 . Then , on the 20th , she headed east with other units of her squadron , DesRon 10 . On 1 May she arrived at Mers - el - Kebir , whence she operated as a unit of TG 80 . 6 , a hunter - killer group formed to work with the North African coastal air squadrons against the U - boat menace to shipping in the 325 - mile stretch between the Straits of Gibraltar and Oran . The Anglo - American air - sea effort , devised to keep U - boats submerged to the point of exhaustion and then overwhelm them as they surfaced , required time and patience , as well as coordination . It was instrumental in slicing the number of operational U - boats in the Mediterranean by over one - third between March and June . On 14 May " Rodman " , with others of her squadron , departed Mers - el - Kebir to track a submarine which had sunk four merchantmen in less than two days . A 72 - hour air - surface hunt ensued , but on the morning of the 17th , the damaged " U - 616 " surfaced , was abandoned , and sank . The force picked up survivors and retired to Mers - el - Kebir only to sail for England the following day . On 22 May Rodman arrived at Plymouth and on the 23d assumed duties as CTU 126 . 2 . 1 for Operation Neptune , the naval phase of Operation Overlord the invasion of France . On the 24th , she conducted shore bombardment exercises . Then she waited . On the 4th the convoy " B - 1 " , formed , headed out across the English Channel , but then turned back , as the invasion was postponed one day . On the 5th the convoy again formed and headed east , this time continuing on to France and landing reinforcements on Omaha Beach on the afternoon of the 6th . " Rodman " , detached on arrival in the assault area , joined TG 122 . 4 and through the 16th provided gunfire support and patrolled in the Baie de la Seine . Brief respite at Plymouth followed , but on the 18th she returned to the Normandy coast . Back in English waters from the 21st through the 24th , she joined TF 129 on the 25th as that force joined the U . S . IX Army Air Force in supporting the U . S . VII Corps ( the 9th , 79th , and 4th Division s ) closing on Cherbourg . " Rodman " returned to England the same day , preceded to sea again on the 30th ; and , after a 3 - day stop at Belfast , got underway for the Mediterranean to participate in Operation Dragoon ( " Anvil " ) , the invasion of southern France . Arriving at Mers - el - Kebir 11 July , she was en route to Sicily on the 16th , and into August operated between that island , the coast of Italy , and Malta . On 11 August , assigned to TU 85 . 12 . 4 , " Rodman " sailed from Taranto . Two days later French warships joined the formation ; and on the 15th , the force arrived off the Delta assault area in the Baie de Bougnon . From 04 : 30 to 06 : 41 , " Rodman " covered the minecraft sweeping the channels to the beaches . Two hours of shore bombardment followed . She then shifted to call fire support duties , which , with antiaircraft screening duties , she continued until retiring to Palermo on the 17th . Back off southern France on the 22nd , she fired on shore batteries at Toulon on the 23rd , covered minesweepers in the Golfe de Fos on the 25th , and in the Baie de Marseilles on the 26th . Engaged in screening and patrol duties through the end of the month , she sailed for Oran 2 September and for the next month and a half escorted men and supplies into the assault area . In late October , Destroyer Squadron 10 escorted a convoy back to the United States . From New York " Rodman " continued on to Boston for conversion to a destroyer minesweeper . Emerging from the yard as DMS - 21 on 16 December , she sailed for Norfolk the following week . 1945 . On 1 January 1945 , " Rodman " got underway for the Pacific . During the remainder of that month and into February , she conducted minesweeping and gunnery exercises off California and in Hawaiian waters , then sailed west . On 12 March she anchored at Ulithi and seven days later sailed for the Ryukyus and her last amphibious operation , " Iceberg " . On the 24th and 25th she participated in minesweeping operations off Kerama Retto , then prepared for the assault on Okinawa . After 1 April landings on the Hagushi beaches , she remained in the area and was caught in the air - surface action which enveloped the island on the 6th . Assigned to picket duty early that day , she later shifted to screening duties and joined in covering small minecraft sweeping the channel between Iheya Retto and Okinawa . In midafternoon a large flight of kamikaze s flew over . At 15 : 32 their leader dived out of the clouds and crashed " Rodman ' s " port bow . His bomb exploded under her . Sixteen men were killed or missing , 20 were wounded , but " Rodman ' s " engineering plant remained intact . " Emmons " commenced circling " Rodman " to provide antiaircraft fire as other suicide minded pilots closed in . Six were splashed . Marine Corps F4U Corsair s arrived , joined in , and scored on 20 , but not before others got through . " Rodman " was hit twice more during the 3½ - hour battle . " Emmons " splashed six more , but was crashed by five and damaged by four near misses . Her hulk was sunk the next day . From 7 April to 5 May " Rodman " underwent temporary repairs at Kerama Retto , then started her journey back to the United States . Arriving at Charleston Navy Yard on 19 June , her repairs were completed in mid - October , and on the 22nd she sailed for Casco Bay for refresher training . Post war . For the next three years , she operated along the U . S . east coast , ranging from Newfoundland to the Caribbean ; then , in September 1949 , deployed to the Mediterranean . There for only two weeks , she resumed her western Atlantic operations and during the next six years sailed twice more to the Mediterranean , both times for 5 - month tours with the 6th Fleet , 2 June to 1 October 1952 and 19 January to 17 May 1954 . Reclassified DD - 456 on 15 January 1955 , she decommissioned 28 July 1955 and was transferred the same day to the Republic of China to serve as RCS " Hsien Yang " ( DD - 16 ) . After she ran aground c . 1969 , her name and pennant number were reassigned to the former , which was acquired in 1970 . " Rodman " earned five battle star s during World War II .