USS Rowe ( DD - 564 ) USS " Rowe " ( DD - 564 ) was a " Fletcher " - class destroyer of the United States Navy , named for Lieutenant John Rowe , who served with Lt . Stephen Decatur during the First Barbary War . " Rowe " was laid down 7 December 1942 by the Seattle - Tacoma Shipbuilding Co . , Seattle , Wash . ; launched 30 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Louise Bradley Roberson ; and commissioned 13 March 1944 , Commander A . L . Young , Jr . , in command . World War II . Following shakedown off San Diego , " Rowe " got underway for Pearl Harbor 24 May 1944 . After 2 weeks of additional underway training in the Hawaiian Islands , she completed a round - trip escort run to Eniwetok , 16 June to 2 July , and on 3 August 1944 sailed as flagship of Destroyer Squadron 57 ( DesRon 57 ) for Adak , Alaska , to report for duty with the 9th Fleet . She engaged in underway training there , and participated in three strikes against the Kurils ; Matsuwa To Island on 21 November 1944 , Suribati Wan on 3 January 1945 , and Kurabu Zaki , Paramushiro Island on 18 February 1945 . On 18 April , Destroyer Division 113 ( DesDiv 113 ) was detached from the North Pacific Force and sailed for Pearl Harbor . Following repairs and training , " Rowe " sailed on 11 May for Ulithi with aircraft carrier " Ticonderoga " and her destroyer division . Arriving 22 May , she joined the 5th Fleet for duty and a week later left Ulithi in convoy for Okinawa . Reaching the Ryukyus 2 June , " Rowe " began radar picket duty . Fifteen days later , with DesDiv 113 , she escorted the battleship " Mississippi " out of Hagushi anchorage and steamed for the Philippines , reaching San Pedro Bay , Leyte Gulf , 20 June . Standing out of Leyte Gulf on 1 July , " Rowe " rendezvoused with Task Force 38 ( TF 38 ) for screening and plane guard duties during attacks against the Japanese home islands — Honshū , Shikoku and Hokkaidō . The first strike was launched on 10 July against airfields and installations in the vicinity of Tokyo . Temporarily detached on 23 July 1945 , " Rowe " participated in the bombardment of the town of Omura on Chichi Jima , then rejoined the carrier force . When the official Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945 , " Rowe " was still steaming with Task Group 38 . 4 ( TG 38 . 4 ) in a patrol area east of Honshū Island , while the group ' s planes performed air observation missions over prisoner of war camp s . Following a round - trip run to Eniwetok , " Rowe " steamed out of Tokyo Bay 18 November for Pearl Harbor and the United States . Touching at San Diego , Calif . , " Rowe " transited the Panama Canal 17 December and reached Philadelphia , Pa . 23 December . Arriving Charleston , S . C . 20 March 1946 , " Rowe " decommissioned 31 January 1947 and was berthed at Charleston as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . 1951 – 1959 . After almost 5 years , on 20 September 1951 , " Rowe " was brought out of mothballs and recommissioned 5 October 1951 . Following shakedown in the Guantanamo Bay area , " Rowe " conducted shore bombardment exercises at Culebra Island , Puerto Rico , and returned to Norfolk , Va . 12 March 1952 for local operations with DesDiv 322 . In July she steamed to Halifax returning to Charleston in late August for a yard availability . Following further training exercises in the Caribbean in early 1953 , she made a midshipman cruise to Europe during the summer , and , during the fall , she undertook hunter - killer antisubmarine warfare exercises with TG 81 . 2 in the Caribbean . On 20 April 1954 " Rowe " , with ComDesRon 32 embarked , got underway for duty in the Far East . Steaming via Panama , she reached Yokosuka , Japan , 28 May 1954 . Three days later she and " Fechteler " got underway for Sasebo , thence to Pusan for patrol duties . Arriving the same day , they relieved " Douglas H . Fox " and " Laffey " on Korean patrol . On 4 June " Rowe " assisted crash boats and aircraft in a search for a United States Air Force plane that had crashed between Korea and Japan . Six members of the plane ' s crew and passengers were rescued . " Rowe " then towed an Air Force seaplane , which was unable to take off in the rough seas , to port . On 28 August 1954 , " Rowe " completed her tour with the 7th Fleet and prepared for the homeward leg of her round - the - world journey . Steaming via Suez and the Mediterranean , the division arrived in Norfolk 28 October 1954 . The following months were spent in tender availability , upkeep , leave and local operations . On 20 June 1955 , while conducting high - speed night carrier operations with " Bennington " , " Rowe " rescued a downed pilot . From 18 July through 19 September , " Rowe " participated in various CONVEX events and training exercises while operating with Commander , Anti - Submarine Warfare Forces , Atlantic Fleet . " Rowe " returned to Mediterranean duty on 5 November and served in the 6th Fleet returning to Norfolk 26 February 1956 . In June and July 1956 , " Rowe " conducted another midshipman cruise , then resumed operations out of Norfolk . Attached to the 6th Fleet , 21 October 1957 to 5 March 1958 , " Rowe " returned to European waters in June to call at ports in Sweden and Germany . Back in Norfolk in early August , she operated off the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts until decommissioned in November 1959 and berthed at Norfolk , where she remained until struck from the Navy list on 1 December 1974 . Honors . " Rowe " earned three battle star s for World War II service .