USS Breeman ( DE - 104 ) USS " Breeman " ( DE - 104 ) was a Cannon class destroyer escort in the United States Navy . The ship was named for George Breeman , a Navy seaman who was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism during a turret explosion on USS " Kearsarge " ( BB - 5 ) . History . " Breeman " ( DE - 104 ) was laid down on 20 March 1943 at the Dravo Corporation shipyard in Wilmington , Delaware ; launched on 4 September 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . Marie Breeman Schellgell , niece of the late Chief Turret Captain Breeman ; completed at the Norfolk Navy Yard ; and commissioned there on 12 December 1943 , with Lieutenant Commander Edward N . W . Hunter , USNR , in command . The destroyer escort spent the remainder of 1943 and the first week in 1944 outfitting at Norfolk . On 11 January 1944 , she embarked upon her shakedown cruise to the waters around Bermuda . She completed the training period on 1 February and returned to Norfolk on 5 February for post - shakedown repairs . On 16 February , " Breeman " steamed out of Chesapeake Bay as an element of Escort Division ( CortDiv ) 48 which itself made up a part of the screen of Task Group ( TG ) 21 . 16 , a hunter - killer group built around " Block Island " ( CVE - 21 ) . After fueling off Fayal in the Azores , the task group headed north to provide antisubmarine support for transatlantic convoys . Though " Breeman " appears to have taken no direct part in the attacks , the task group accounted for at least two U - boat s before entering Casablanca on 8 March . The destroyer escort put to sea with the " Block Island " task group again on 12 March . On the 19th , planes from " Block Island " sank " U - 1059 " , and " Breeman " assisted in the rescue of the U - boat ' s survivors . " Breeman " and " Bronstein " ( DE - 189 ) parted company with TG 21 . 16 on 23 March . The following day , the two destroyer escorts put into Dakar , French West Africa , and began loading an unusual cargo — 60 million dollars in gold belonging to the Bank of Poland . The two warships departed Dakar on 26 March and proceeded to New York by the most direct and safest route and arrived there on 3 April . Following repairs , " Breeman " returned to sea on 12 April with another hunter - killer force which formed a portion of the screen for Convoy UGS - 39 . She and her convoy entered Bizerte , Tunisia , safely on 3 May . On the return voyage , the destroyer escort helped to screen Convoy GUS 39 , arriving in Norfolk on 29 May . After an availability at the New York Navy Yard , she spent nine days during mid - June engaged in training at Casco Bay , Maine . On 21 June , the destroyer escort headed south to the vicinity of Bermuda where she joined TG 22 . 10 — another hunter - killer group built around " Card " ( CVE - 11 ) . Once again , the task group attacked a number of sonar contacts and sank at least one U - boat . " Breeman " , however , shared none of the credit for the sinking . The warship returned to New York late in August and , after repairs , conducted training at Casco Bay in early September . On 18 September , she rejoined the " Card " task group near Bermuda for further training . Soon thereafter , " Breeman " suffered propeller damage that forced her to return to the New York Navy Yard . She completed repairs by 23 October , and put to sea that same day for torpedo training at the Submarine Base , New London , Connecticut , and in Casco Bay . On 24 November the destroyer escort and the rest of CortDiv 48 joined company with " Card " once again to form TG 22 . 2 . For about a month , the warship trained in anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) tactics in the waters surrounding Bermuda . She returned to New York on 29 December . " Breeman " rejoined TG 22 . 2 on 12 January 1945 to act as plane guard and escort during carrier qualifications off Quonset Point , Rhode Island . On 22 January , the destroyer escort and her colleagues of CortDiv 48 joined " Bogue " ( CVE - 9 ) in shaping a course for Norfolk . In late February and early March , " Breeman " returned to sea with a hunter - killer group built around " Bogue " for a fruitless search for German weather submarines purportedly operating to the south of Iceland . She and the rest of her task group entered New York on 17 March . During the first part of April , the destroyer escort conducted training at New London as a unit of a hunter - killer group built around " Card " . Between 15 April and 5 May , that task group hunted for submarines off the Virginia capes . Later , in May , " Breeman " moved north to Quonset Point where she served as a plane guard during carrier qualifications . In mid - August , the warship joined " Mission Bay " ( CVE - 59 ) in a voyage to Port Everglades , Florida . Once again plane guard operations occupied her time during the visit to the Florida coast . On 2 October , however , she headed north once again . At the New York Navy Yard , " Breeman " began the inactivation process . That phase lasted until 13 November when she got underway for Florida again . On 16 November , the destroyer escort arrived in Green Cove Springs , Florida , to begin final preparations for decommissioning . " Breeman " was decommissioned on 26 April 1946 and berthed with the Green Cove Springs Group , Atlantic Reserve Fleet . She remained there until 29 October 1948 at which time she was transferred to the Nationalist Chinese government based on Taiwan . She was commissioned in their Navy as " Tai Chong " ( DE - 24 ) . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 22 December 1948 . Honors . " Breeman " earned one battle star for World War II service .