USS John D . Ford ( DD - 228 ) USS " John D . Ford " ( DD - 228 / AG - 119 ) was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II . She was named for Rear Admiral John Donaldson Ford . " John D . Ford " was laid down 11 November 1919 and launched 2 September 1920 from William Cramp & Sons ; sponsored by Miss F . Faith Ford , daughter of Rear Admiral Ford ; and commissioned as " Ford " 30 December 1920 , Lieutenant , junior grade L . T . Forbes in temporary command . Service history . After acceptance trials off New England , " John D . Ford " received Lieutenant Commander C . A . Pownall as commanding officer 16 July 1921 . On 17 November , while operating along the eastern seaboard , her name was changed to " John D . Ford " . After training in the Caribbean , she departed Newport , Rhode Island , 20 June 1922 for permanent duty with the Asiatic Fleet . Sailing via the Mediterranean Sea , the Suez Canal , and the Indian Ocean , she arrived Cavite , Manila Bay , 21 August to begin almost two decades of service in the Far East . Prior to the outbreak of World War II , " Ford " operated out of Manila , cruising Asiatic waters from southern China to northern Japan . During April and May 1924 , she helped establish temporary air bases on the Japanese Kurile and Hokkaidō Islands in support of the pioneer , global flight between 9 April and 28 September by the U . S . Air Service . Chinese Civil War . On 6 June she deployed to Shanghai , China , to protect American lives and interests , which were threatened by Chinese civil strife . After renewal of the Chinese Civil War in May 1926 , she patrolled the Chinese coast to protect convoys from roving bands of bandits . On 24 March 1927 she supported the evacuation of American and foreign nationals , who were fleeing from mob violence at Nanking . That event included a naval bombardment of the city . The ascendancy of the reformed Nationalist government under Chiang Kai - Shek in 1928 reduced the intensity of the civil strife . However , Sino - Japanese relations deteriorated , requiring " Ford " to remain in China . Following Japanese aggression in northern China during July 1937 , she evacuated Americans from Peiping as Japanese ships prepared to blockade the Chinese coast . Steaming to Manila 21 November , she operated between the Philippines and southern China on fleet maneuvers . After war broke out in Europe in September 1939 , she increased training off the Philippines and commenced Neutrality patrol s in the Philippine and South China Seas . World War II . After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941 , " John D . Ford " readied for action at Cavite as a unit of DesDiv 59 . Undamaged by the destructive Japanese air raid on Manila Bay 10 December , she sailed southward the same day to patrol the Sulu Sea and Makassar Strait with Task Force 6 . She remained in Makassar Strait until 23 December , then she steamed from Balikpapan , Borneo , to Surabaya , Java , arriving the 24th . As the Japanese pressed southward through the Philippines and into Indonesia , the Allies could hardly hope to contain the Japanese offensive in the East Indies . With too few ships and practically no air support they strove to harass the Japanese forces in an attempt to delay their advance , and to prevent the invasion of Australia . Anxious to strike back at the Japanese , " Ford " departed Surabaya 11 January 1942 for Kupang , Timor , where she arrived on the 18th to join a destroyer striking force . Two days later the force sailed for Balikpapan to conduct a surprise torpedo attack on Japanese shipping . Arriving off Balikpapan during mid watch 24 January , the four destroyers launched a raid through the Japanese transports while Japanese destroyers steamed about Makassar Strait in search of reported American submarines . For over an hour the destroyers fired torpedoes and shells at the astonished enemy . Before retiring from the first surface action in the Pacific war , they sank four Japanese ships , one a victim of " John D . Ford ' s " torpedoes . The striking force arrived Surabaya 25 January . The Japanese pincer offensive through the Dutch East Indies continued despite Allied harassment . On 3 February the Japanese began air raids on Surabaya , and " John D . Ford " retired in convoy to Tjilatjap on the southern coast of Java . During mid - February the Japanese tightened their control of islands east and west of Java , and on 18 February they landed troops on Bali , adjacent to the eastern end of the Java . In response " John D . Ford " , , and other American and Dutch ships steamed to Badoeng Strait in two waves to engage an enemy destroyer - transport force during the night of 19 / 20 February in what became known as the Battle of Badung Strait . A unit of the first wave , " Ford " conducted a running engagement with two Japanese destroyers without results . The outcome from the battle as a whole was a Japanese victory : the landings on Bali were successful and the Dutch destroyer HNLMS " Piet Hein " was sunk , while suffering substantial damage to only one ship . Returning to Tjilatjap 21 February for fuel , " Ford " and " Pope " immediately sailed to Kiritimati to pick up the last reserve of 17 to 18 torpedoes from . Then they steamed to Surabaya , arriving on the 24th to join the dwindling ABDA Striking Force . Hampered by shortages of fuel , ammunition , and torpedoes and reduced in strength by sinkings , battle damage , and repair needs , the Allies indeed faced a " critical situation . " Only four U . S . destroyers remained operational in the Striking Force . Late on the 25th , " Ford " sortied with the Striking Force from Surabaya in search of a large enemy amphibious force in the Java Sea . Returning to port the following day , the force was joined by five British ships ; once more the Striking Force steamed to intercept the enemy . Following an unsuccessful strike by enemy planes the morning of the 27th , the Allied force steamed for Surabaya . While steaming through the mine field , the ships reversed course and deployed to meet the enemy off the northern coast of Java . The Battle of Java Sea commenced at 1616 and continued for over 7 hours . The Allied ships , 5 cruisers and 9 destroyers , engaged the enemy force , 4 cruisers and 13 destroyers , in a furious running battle marked by intermittent gun and torpedo duels . " Ford " emerged from the battle undamaged , but once again the battle as whole was a defeat for the Allies , as in the unsuccessful attempt to prevent the invasion of Java five Allied ships were sunk . Retiring to Surabaya , " Ford " and three other destroyers of DesDiv 58 departed after dark 28 February for Australia . Steaming undetected through the narrows of Bali Strait during midwatch 1 March , the destroyers encountered three Japanese destroyers guarding the southern end of the strait . Out of torpedoes and low on ammunition , the destroyers retreated from the Japanese patrol and steamed for Fremantle . Lieutenant Commander J . E . Cooper , who had skippered " Ford " since before the outbreak of the war , brought her safely to Australia 4 March . After 2 months of convoy escort duty along the Australian coast , " Ford " departed Brisbane 9 May for Pearl Harbor . Arriving 2 June , she sailed in convoy 3 days later for San Francisco and arrived 12 June . She cleared San Francisco for Pearl Harbor 23 June , and during the next 11 months escorted nine convoys between San Francisco and Pearl . Returning to the West Coast 20 May 1943 , she departed San Francisco 24 May for convoy and antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) patrols in the Atlantic . Assigned to the 10th Fleet , " Ford " transited the Panama Canal 4 June and joined a Trinidad - bound convoy the 6th . For the next 6 months she ranged the North and South Atlantic from New York and Charleston , South Carolina , to Casablanca , French Morocco , and Recife , Brazil , protecting supply convoys from U - boat s . After ASW training late in December , she joined out of Norfolk , Virginia 5 January 1944 for offensive ASW operations in the Atlantic . The destroyer supported the destruction of German submarine U - 544 by planes from " Guadalcanal " , who surprised and depth charged the submarine while refueling west of the Azores 16 January . After returning to the East Coast 16 February , " Ford " cleared Norfolk 14 March for a convoy run to the Mediterranean . While at Gibraltar 29 March , she was damaged in a collision with a British tanker . Following repairs , she returned to Norfolk , arriving 1 May . Departing Norfolk 24 May for convoy duty to the Canal Zone , " Ford " continued convoy patrols for almost a year from eastern seaboard ports to Recife , Reykjavík , and Casablanca . From 24 May 1945 to 27 June , she acted as escort and plane guard for during the carrier ' s shakedown in the Caribbean , then she returned to Norfolk . She sailed 8 July for Boston Navy Yard where she arrived 9 July for conversion to miscellaneous auxiliary AG - 119 . After conversion , she returned to Norfolk 9 September and decommissioned 2 November 1945 . Subsequently , she was sold for scrap 5 October 1947 to Northern Metal Company , Philadelphia . Awards . " John D . Ford " received four battle star s for her World War II service . As of 2010 , no other U . S . Navy ship has been named " John D . Ford " .