USS Stormes ( DD - 780 ) USS " Stormes " ( DD - 780 ) , an " Allen M . Sumner " - class destroyer , is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Commander Max Clifford Stormes , who was killed in action during the night of 14 and 15 November 1942 , when " Preston " ( DD - 379 ) was sunk in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal . Comdr . Stormes was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross as " his coolness and courage in the face of grave danger , inspired his men to supreme efforts of determination and endurance to carry on the attack . " . " Stormes " ( DD - 780 ) was laid down on 15 February 1944 by Todd - Pacific Shipyards Inc . , Seattle , Washington ; launched on 4 November 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . M . C . Stormes ; and commissioned on 27 January 1945 , Comdr . William N . Wylie in command . World War II . " Stormes " was fitted out at Seattle and departed there on 14 February for the San Diego Bay area where she held her shakedown training . Upon completion of her shakedown , she sailed on 1 April for Bremerton for a post - shakedown overhaul . Dock trials were held on the morning of the 22nd ; and , that afternoon , the destroyer put to sea , en route to Hawaii . " Stormes " arrived at Pearl Harbor on 30 April and sailed the next day as escort for " Louisville " ( CL - 28 ) en route to Okinawa , via Guam . The two ships arrived at Hagushi anchorage on 23 May and joined the 5th Fleet . The destroyer was immediately assigned to the antiaircraft screen . She spent the night in the anchorage and took her position in the screen the next day . The ship underwent her first air raid that evening . The weather was bad on the morning of 25 May with poor visibility and intermittent rain squalls . At 0905 , a Japanese plane was sighted as it passed between two Navy planes and headed for " Ammen " ( DD - 527 ) directly ahead of " Stormes " . At the last moment , the plane turned and crashed into " Stormes ' s " aft torpedo mount . Its bomb exploded in the magazine under her number three 5 - inch mount . The ship was on fire , and sea water poured through holes in the hull . By noon , repair parties had extinguished the fires and plugged the holes . Twenty - one members of the crew were killed and 15 injured . The battered destroyer slowly made her way back to Kerama Retto . She remained there until 5 July when she moved to Buckner Bay to enter a floating drydock . The ship left drydock on 13 August and was sufficiently seaworthy for the long trip back to the United States , even though only her port shaft was in commission . " Stormes " stood out of Buckner Bay on 17 August and steamed , via Saipan , Eniwetok , and Pearl Harbor , to San Francisco . She arrived at Hunters Point on 17 September and began a three - month overhaul . The destroyer held refresher training in the San Diego area and , in January 1946 , sailed for the east coast . She arrived at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , on 14 January , and , before continuing to Norfolk , acted as a plane guard for aircraft carriers holding shakedown operations in the area . " Stormes " arrived at Norfolk on 1 February and spent the remainder of the month preparing for Operation " Frostbite " which was to take place in March . " Midway " ( CVB - 41 ) , a tanker , " Stormes " , and two other destroyers , moved into an area between Greenland , Labrador , and Hudson Strait in March to test carrier operations in sub - zero temperatures . Upon completion of the operation , " Stormes " steamed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for upkeep . On 11 April , she sailed to Casco Bay , Maine , for training and returned for a major overhaul . On 22 July , she sailed to Guantanamo Bay for refresher training and returned to Norfolk on 9 September . In October 1946 , the destroyer escorted the " Philippine Sea " ( CV - 47 ) to Guantanamo Bay for the carrier ' s shakedown . In January 1947 , " Stormes " participated in an exercise at Guantanamo Bay and returned to the Caribbean the following month for a fleet exercise . The destroyer carried out routine fleet duties from her Norfolk base until 1950 . In August , she sailed to Charleston , South Carolina , for inactivation . Korean War . However , she was reactivated in September due to the Korean War . In December 1950 , she began a three - month yard overhaul at Charleston which was followed by a six - week shakedown cruise . In May 1951 , the destroyer sailed to the west coast and was routed onward to join the 7th Fleet off Korea . " Stormes " operated with Task Force 77 , shelling enemy lines , screening large fleet units , rescuing downed pilots , and performing antisubmarine duties until January 1952 when she returned to Norfolk . While on protection detail in Wonsan Harbor as support for the Marine observation team on a small island , The Stormes was involved in the rescue operation of a B - 29 Bomber shot down by Migs while returning from a mission . Of the eleven man crew , seven of the crew were rescued , the others were killed outright by gun fire from the Migs . The survivors parachuted into the sea off the coast and subsequently picked up by The Stormes and other ships in the immediate area . The crew Master Sargent crew chief was having a hard time staying afloat . The rescue medic went into the water to help and found he was still wearing two belts containing all the tools for engine maintenance , if needed . The medic cut the belts loose to enable the other rescuers to bring him aboard the rescue boat . The mechanic was panicked because he was responsible for the equipment and was concerned that he would be charged to replace the tools . The Pilot in charge assured him it was an understandable loss and he would not have to pay for them , he relaxed . e " Stormes " made a midshipman cruise to England and France that summer and then operated along the Atlantic seaboard until June 1953 when she entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for a four - month yard period and its subsequent shakedown . In February 1954 , the destroyer embarked on a world cruise which took her to Naples , Suez , Port Said , Aden , Colombo , Singapore , Yokosuka , Sasebo , Midway , and Pearl Harbor . She reached San Francisco in July and returned to Norfolk in August . " Stormes " sailed , on 4 January 1955 , for the Caribbean to participate in Operation “ Springboard 55 . ” She operated with " Valley Forge " ( CVS - 45 ) in Antisubmarine Group 3 from 4 January to August . The destroyer participated in a NATO exercise in early September and then continued local operations until February 1956 when she entered the Norfolk Navy - Yard . Stormes left the shipyard in May and sailed to Guantanamo Bay for refresher training which lasted until July . From then to November , the ship participated in local exercises to maintain her state of readiness in anticipation of an overseas tour . On 7 November , " Stormes " sailed with Destroyer Division 261 and arrived at Naples , Italy , a month later where she was attached to the 6th Fleet . She served with the fast carriers in the Mediterranean until returning to Norfolk on 20 February 1957 . The ship operated along the east coast until 3 September when she sailed as part of an attack carrier strike force for Operation “ Seaspray . ” After crossing the North Atlantic , the ships arrived at the River Clyde , Scotland , where a number of NATO ships were waiting to take part in Operation “ Strikeback . ” The operation ended in late September , and the destroyer sailed to Gibraltar to join the 6th Fleet for her second tour which ended at Norfolk on 22 December 1957 . " Stormes " remained in port until 27 January 1958 when she embarked on a two - week exercise with other ships of DesDiv 261 . The remainder of the year and part of 1959 saw the destroyer taking part in local and fleet operations from New York to the Caribbean . On 7 August 1959 , she sailed for her third tour with the 6th Fleet which terminated upon her return to Norfolk on 26 February 1960 . The ship entered the Navy Yard on 3 June for a FRAM II conversion which lasted until 5 January 1961 . On the 24th , she sailed for Guantanamo Bay where she held refresher training , gunnery practice , and participated in group exercises . " Stormes " sailed for Norfolk , via Key West , and arrived there on 1 April . She operated with fleet units on the east coast and in the Caribbean for the remainder of the year . The highlight of the year ' s activities came in November when Stormes was designated to recover a spacecraft carrying a chimpanzee named Enos . The spacecraft landed approximately 30 miles from the destroyer . Stormes , aided by an aircraft which had the capsule in sight , recovered it and Enos who was in good health . She spent the next year operating with Task Group Alpha , a hunter - killer group developing the antisubmarine readiness of the Fleet . On 9 November 1962 , " Stormes " joined the Cuban Blockade and continued that duty until the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis . She then resumed her regular operations . In August of the following year , “ the 780 ” became the first United States ship to visit Santa Marta , Colombia , since 1880 . In the latter part of 1963 , she underwent an overhaul . She operated with Task Group Alpha in 1964 until October when she participated in Operation “ Steel - pike . ” Her task group acted as the hunter - killer group that preceded the main body of ships as they crossed the Atlantic . " Stormes " continued operating with Task Group Alfa until May 1965 when she was ordered to patrol the coastal waters of the Dominican Republic during the revolution there . When relieved of patrol duty , she returned to Norfolk and prepared for a deployment period . She was with the 6th Fleet from June to August and returned to her homeport in early September . On 1 June 1966 , " Stormes " stood out of Norfolk with DesRon 32 for a six and one - half month deployment to the western Pacific . Vietnam . While in WestPac , her primary duty was plane guard for " Constellation " ( CVA - 64 ) in the Tonkin Gulf . At one time , she was called on to provide gunfire support to ground forces ashore for a three - day period . She returned to Norfolk , via the Mediterranean , on 17 December 1966 . After east coast operations in the spring and summer of 1967 , " Stormes " deployed to the 6th Fleet from 14 November 1967 to 23 April 1968 . She sailed to South America in July 1968 to hold antisubmarine warfare operations as part of UNITAS IX and to visit ports in Puerto Rico , Brazil , and St . Lucia . After resuming her normal operations from Norfolk in September , " Stormes " deployed to the Mediterranean with DesRon 32 on 6 January 1969 . The six - month tour ended upon her return to Norfolk on 31 May . The remainder of the year and into June 1970 , she operated from her homeport as a dedicated participant of the Squeeze Play ASW exercises . When " Stormes " returned to Norfolk from her last east coast port call on 18 June , she began preparing for inactivation . Stormes was placed out of commission , in reserve , on 5 December 1970 . She was struck from the Navy list on 16 February 1972 . " Stormes " was sold to Iran on 16 February 1972 and serves that country ' s government as " Palang " ( DDG - 9 ) . " Stormes " received one battle star for World War II , three for service in Korea , and one for service in Vietnam . See also . Current Iranian Navy vessels