USS Lewis Hancock ( DD - 675 ) USS " Lewis Hancock " ( DD - 675 ) was a " Fletcher " - class destroyer of the United States Navy , named for Lieutenant Commander Lewis Hancock , Jr . ( 1889 – 1925 ) . " Lewis Hancock " was laid down 31 March 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co . , Kearny , N . J . ; launched 1 August ; sponsored by Lt . Joy Hancock , USNR , widow of Lieutenant Commander Hancock , and the first Wave officer to christen a U . S . combatant ship ; and commissioned 29 September 1943 , Comdr . Charles H . Lyman III in command . World War II . Following shakedown out of Bermuda , " Lewis Hancock " in company with " Langley " ( CVL - 27 ) sailed from New York 6 December for the Pacific ; arrived Pearl Harbor on Christmas Day 1943 ; and joined Vice Admiral Marc A . Mitscher ’ s Fast Carrier Task Force ( then 5th Fleet ' s TF 58 , later 3rd Fleet ' s TF 38 ) , a mighty naval weapon organized to neutralize Japanese airpower and forward bases in advance of leapfrogging American amphibious operations . On 16 January 1944 " Lewis Hancock " sortied from Pearl Harbor with Task Group 58 . 2 ( TG 58 . 2 ) for the invasion of the Marshall Islands . Assigned the task of neutralizing enemy airpower on Kwajalein Atoll , the flattops in " Lewis Hancock " ’ s group smashed the airdrome at Roi on the 29th , destroying every Japanese plane . The next day a second carrier strike hit defensive positions softening enemy emplacements in preparation for landings on the 31st . For the next 3 days planes from the carriers provided close tactical support for the marines who wrested the atoll from the Japanese Emperor . The destroyer returned to Majuro Logoon on the 4th . The destroyer accompanied the task force on the first strike against Truk , the major Japanese naval base in the Central Pacific , 16 and 17 February . In this operation Mitscher ’ s ships and planes destroyed several enemy warships , some 200 , 000 tons of merchant shipping , and about 275 planes . " Lewis Hancock " departed the Hawaiian Islands 15 March for 5 months of action in the forward areas . After rejoining TG 58 . 2 , she screened the heavies during a strike on the Palaus late in March and during the capture of Hollandia in April . In May they hit the Marcus - Wake area . On 11 June planes of the task force began the softening - up process against Saipan , Tinian , Guam , and other islands of the Marianas . Normally assigned antiaircraft and antisubmarine duties . " Lewis Hancock " also bombarded Saipan on the 13th . The Japanese attempted to counter the American thrust , into the Marianas by striking at the invading task force with their full naval strength . The U . S . carriers , guarded by " Lewis Hancock " , smashed the enemy fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea 19 and 20 June , and thus saved the forces which were conquering the Marianas . Thereafter , the giant flattops continued to support operations in the Marianas and in July raided the Bonins and the Palaus . Following 2 weeks at Pearl Harbor , " Lewis Hancock " joined TF 38 . Attacks on airstrips in the Philippines , Okinawa , and Formosa followed in rapid succession . On 13 September , during her first raid against the Philippines , " Lewis Hancock " splashed her first enemy plane . These airstrikes helped to neutralize Japan ’ s airpower and soften up her defenses for General Douglas MacArthur ’ s long - awaited return to the Philippines . The U . S . troops landed on the beaches of Leyte , and Japan struck back with her full fleet in effort to stem the American advance . In the ensuing Battle of Leyte Gulf , while acting as a picket ship , " Lewis Hancock " assisted in sinking an enemy destroyer . Joining the 5th Fleet in February 1945 , she participated in a series of raids against the Japan ese home islands striking Tokyo on the 16th and 25th and the Kobe - Osaka area 19 March . During the later raid , DD - 675 splashed her final enemy planes , numbers 5 and 6 . On 1 April the Navy placed the American flag on the doorstep of Japan with the landings on Okinawa . " Lewis Hancock " supported the struggle for that bitterly contested island until heading for home 10 May . Miraculously undamaged and having suffered only four casualties during 16 months in the Pacific , this veteran steamed into San Francisco 6 July . Released from drydock overhaul 30 August , " Lewis Hancock " was girding herself to return to the war when the Japanese surrendered . She arrived San Diego 7 September and decommissioned 10 January 1946 . 1951 – 1957 . The Korean War ended her retirement . On Armed Forces Day , 19 May 1951 , she recommissioned at the Naval Station , Long Beach , Calif . , Comdr . R . L . Tully in command . On 11 October she departed San Diego for the east coast and arrived Newport , R . I . on the 27th for modernization . " Lewis Hancock " departed Newport under the command of Cmdr Myron Alpert 6 September 1952 , sailed through the Panama Canal , and reached Yokosuka , Japan 20 October . After additional training , she entered Korean waters early in December . Following brief service on the east coast of Korea , she steamed to the embattled peninsula ’ s west coast 18 December and operated with the carrier HMS " Glory " for the remainder of the year . This Far Eastern deployment ended late in January 1953 when she departed Tokyo Bay for Newport via Southeast Asia , the Middle East , the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean . Her arrival at Newport completed a circumnavigation of the world . " Lewis Hancock " now began a pattern of service alternating operations along the east coast with European deployments . In October she sailed for 4 months in European waters . She sailed for home 24 January 1954 and operated along the Atlantic coast until heading back toward Europe in May 1955 for 4 months of joint operations with the British Home Fleet and operations with the Spanish Navy , before returning to Newport late in August . The destroyer operated in the western Atlantic until the rising tension in the Middle East called her back to the volatile Mediterranean . The destroyer got underway 15 April 1956 , transited the Suez Canal 9 May and operated in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf . She returned to the Mediterranean , one of the last ships to pass through the Suez Canal before it closed , and arrived home 14 August . Following a period of refresher training and plane guard duty , " Lewis Hancock " departed Newport 6 May 1957 , again heading east . In between 6th Fleet exercises the destroyer operated for 5 weeks in the Red Sea , Gulf of Aden , and Indian Ocean . " Lewis Hancock " concluded this last foreign cruise at Newport 31 August . She arrived at Philadelphia 24 September , decommissioned there 18 December 1957 , and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . CT " Piaui " ( D 31 ) . Brought out of mothballs and modernized , " Lewis Hancock " was transferred to the government of Brazil on 1 August 1967 , and was commissioned on the same day in the Brazilian Navy as CT " Piaui " ( D 31 ) . " Piaui " was stricken and broken up for scrap in 1989 . Awards . " Lewis Hancock " received nine battle stars for World War II service , and two for Korean service .