USS Raymond ( DE - 341 ) USS " Raymond " ( DE - 341 ) was a acquired by the U . S . Navy during World War II . The purpose of the destroyer escort was primarily to escort and protect ships in convoy , in addition to other tasks as assigned , such as patrol or radar picket . Post - war , she returned home proudly with five battle stars to her credit , including credit for her striking a Japanese cruiser with her 5 inch guns during the Battle off Samar . " DE - 341 " was named for Reginald Marbury Raymond , who was killed by enemy gunfire on 30 April 1943 aboard USS " Scorpion " . The second Navy ship to be named " Raymond " , she was laid down by Consolidated Steel Corp . , Orange , Texas on 3 November 1943 ; launched on 8 January 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Helen Raymond ; and commissioned on 15 April 1944 , Lieutenant Commander A . F . Beyer , Jr . , in command . History . World War II . 1944 . Following shakedown off Bermuda , " Raymond " served as training ship for the Norfolk Training Station , then steamed on 1 July for the Panama Canal . She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 23 July , and got underway on 12 August for Guadalcanal and Manus Island . Arriving at the latter on 28 August , she joined the escort carrier group staging for the Morotai assault . On 15 September , she screened the CVE ' s attacking Morotai in the Netherlands East Indies . After returning to Manus , she supported air operations on 16 October against Leyte , Philippine Islands . Battle off Samar . On 25 October , she participated in the Battle off Samar during which she attacked Japanese ships , inflicting damage to a Japanese cruiser with her 5 inch guns . Shortly after the battle , she picked up survivors from , which was sunk by a " kamikaze " . 1945 . Iwo Jima . Returning to Manus and Pearl Harbor , she left the latter port on 29 December and arrived at Eniwetok on 7 January 1945 . She then performed escort duty to Saipan and Tinian , and on 9 February was underway with Task Unit 50 . 8 . 24 ( TU 50 . 8 . 24 ) to refuel Task Force 58 ( TF 58 ) prior to the Iwo Jima assault . As part of the antisubmarine screen for TU 50 . 8 . 24 , " Raymond " supported the Iwo Jima campaign , arriving off Guam en route to Ulithi on 3 March . Okinawa . On 21 March , she sortied with TU 50 . 18 . 34 , bound for Kerama Retto , Okinawa . During Operation Iceberg , " Raymond " performed escort and screening duties until mid - May 1945 . She then resumed convoy escort duties and for the remainder of the war steamed between the Caroline and Ryukyu Islands . Post - War . " Raymond " served in occupied Japanese waters from 2 – 6 September , then returned to the United States , and in November entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet . Decommissioned on 24 January 1947 , " Raymond " was berthed at San Diego , California , until recommissioned on 27 April 1951 . She transited the Panama Canal and arrived Newport , Rhode Island on 11 August 1951 . Local operations along the New England coast , exercises in the Caribbean and duty with the Fleet Sonar School at Key West , Florida kept her in the western Atlantic until the summer of 1953 , when she conducted a midshipman training cruise to Scandinavia . Returning to Newport for local operations on 1 September , she resumed her previous schedule and , interrupting them only for a second midshipman cruise , in the summer of 1954 , continued operations off the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean until 22 September 1958 . She was then decommissioned and placed in service . She continued her operations off the east coast into 1959 . Placed in reserve on 31 May 1960 and berthed at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1972 . Awards . " Raymond " earned five battle stars for World War II service and the Presidential Unit Citation for heroism in the Battle off Samar .