USS Mustin ( DD - 413 ) USS " Mustin " ( DD - 413 ) was a " Sims " - class destroyer of the United States Navy , the first Navy ship of that name , in honor of Captain Henry C . Mustin ( 1874 – 1923 ) , a pioneer of naval aviation . " Mustin " was laid down on 20 December 1937 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co . , Newport News , Virginia ; launched on 8 December 1938 ; sponsored by Mrs . Lloyd M . Mustin , daughter - in - law of Captain Mustin ; and commissioned on 15 September 1939 , Lieutenant Commander James S . Freeman in command . Service history . Inter - War Period . " Mustin " joined the Atlantic Fleet for the tense period of neutrality patrol preceding American entry in World War II , playing her part in guarding the western Atlantic . On 7 December 1941 , she lay in overhaul at Boston Navy Yard , Massachusetts , but put to sea next day escorting and off to war . She herself completed overhaul in Charleston Navy Yard , South Carolina on 3 January 1942 , transited the Panama Canal on 20 January , and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 17 February for duty escorting convoys between Hawaii and San Francisco , California until 3 April . World War II . South Pacific , May 1942 - April 1943 . A convoy mission to Samoa was completed at Pearl Harbor on 24 May . " Mustin " next escorted a merchantman with reinforcements to Midway Island , threatened by the Japanese attack which exploded while " Mustin " was returning to Pearl Harbor , where she arrived on 5 June . Two days later , the destroyer sailed with Task Force 17 ( TF 17 ) , searching for scattered Japanese survivors of the great battle of Midway . After a negative search , the force returned to Hawaiian waters on 13 June , and " Mustin " began 2 months of training and patrols out of Pearl Harbor . " Mustin " sailed on 17 August with TF 17 , the group , bound for an important role in the great sea warfare which wrested the Southwest Pacific from the Japanese . Her group covered the southern approaches to Guadalcanal during the initial phase of fighting there , then struck Buin , Faisi , and Tonolai from the air . In the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October , " Mustin " rescued 337 of " Hornet " s survivors , and had the grim duty of destroying the heavily damaged carrier with a full salvo of torpedo es . She avenged the carrier in part by shooting down five enemy aircraft during the battle . Patrol and convoy duty from Nouméa and Espiritu Santo alternated with task force duty , and on 11 November , she joined TF 16 for the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal . On 25 December , " Mustin " fired shore bombardment at enemy positions on Guadalcanal , to which she had just escorted transports . In February 1943 , she again guarded carrier operations off Guadalcanal , then returned to patrol and escort duties until 14 April , when she returned to Pearl Harbor . North Pacific , April – August 1943 . Ten days later , " Mustin " reached Adak , Alaska , where she joined the patrol northwest of the island until the end of May , when her force sailed to cover the occupation of Attu Island . Through the summer , she patrolled the foggy , treacherous waters of the Aleutians , bombarding Kiska a number of times , and blocking Japanese reinforcement of that island . On the night of 25 / 26 July , her group was engaged in the freak " Battle of the Pips " , firing on what was actually a phantom Japanese force created only on radar by unusual atmospheric conditions . After covering the American recapture of Kiska on 15 August , " Mustin " headed for a Mare Island Naval Shipyard overhaul , from which she returned to Pearl Harbor on 31 October . Central Pacific , November 1943 – October 1944 . " Mustin " sortied with TF 52 on 10 November for the assault on Makin in the Gilberts 10 days later , then returned to the west coast for rehearsal amphibious operations off San Pedro , California . She arrived in Lahaina Roads , Maui on 21 January 1944 to stage for the Marshall Islands Campaign , and on the 30th bombarded enemy positions on Wotje . The next day , she screened cruiser s pounding Kwajalein , and on 1 February joined in firing at the atoll . For the next 2 weeks , she escorted various task groups around Kwajalein , then operated off newly captured Eniwetok until returning to Pearl Harbor on 3 March . " Mustin " next joined the support force of powerful TF 58 , protecting vital fleet oiler s as the carriers and planes they fueled struck Palau , Yap , Woleai , and Ulithi in the Carolines on 30 March – 1 April . She returned to the southwest Pacific on 7 April to screen carriers in amphibious assault s on New Guinea , at Aitape and Hollandia ( currently known as Jayapura ) in April , and at Wakde in May . The continuing operations on and around New Guinea gave " Mustin " varied duty , on escort , patrol , bombardment , and as fighter - director , as one landing after another moved up the coast to wrest the huge island from the enemy . Noemfoor , Sansapor , Mios Woendi , Humboldt Bay , Biak were all struck by forces in which " Mustin " served . Philippines , October 1944 – February 1945 . On 15 September , " Mustin " served as primary fighter - director in the initial assault on Morotai , Netherlands East Indies , and after escorting reinforcements there from New Guinea , cleared Humboldt Bay on 16 October with reinforcements for newly invaded Leyte . Arriving on 25 October , " Mustin " departed the same day , escorting a convoy safely away from the Battle for Leyte Gulf . Escort operations among the bases of the western Pacific followed as " Mustin " gave distant support to the Philippines operation , before returning to Leyte Gulf on 25 November to join the local defense force under attack by enemy planes on 27 November . " Mustin " splashed three . After rehearsals off New Guinea , " Mustin " sortied for the assault on Luzon on 9 January 1945 , and for the next month fired in support of land forces , joined in repelling enemy air attack off Lingayen , and made antisubmarine patrols . She operated in the Philippines , aiding in movement of reinforcements until 2 February , when she sailed for Guadalcanal , off which she joined the 5th Fleet , serving as antisubmarine patrol ship while awaiting the beginning of the rehearsals for the Battle of Okinawa . Okinawa , March – May 1945 . Her task group staged at Ulithi , and arrived off Hagushi Beach , Okinawa on 1 April , screening the transport area as the initial assault was made . For the next 4 days , she guarded the transports off the beaches by day and during their night retirements , firing on the numerous " kamikaze " attackers . From 5 to 17 April , " Mustin " sailed to bring a convoy in from Saipan and Ulithi , then returned to fire support , radar picket , antisubmarine , and antiaircraft duty off Okinawa until 2 May , when she joined the screen of an escort carrier group operating to the southwest of Okinawa . " Mustin " left Okinawa on 28 May for Guam , Pearl Harbor , Eniwetok , and San Pedro , arriving on 18 June for a yard overhaul and alterations . The war ended 6 days before she left San Pedro . After refresher training , " Mustin " sailed for occupation duty in Japan , arriving Ominato , Honshū on 16 September . Post - War . Operation Crossroads . Late in the year she returned to the west coast and sailed back to Hawaii to prepare for Operation Crossroads , the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll , in which she was engaged through the summer of 1946 . She decommissioned on 29 August 1946 after use as a target ; remained at Bikini ; and was destroyed by gunfire on 18 April 1948 in the Marshall Islands . Awards . " Mustin " received 13 battle star s for World War II service .