USS Hugh W . Hadley ( DD - 774 ) USS " Hugh W . Hadley " ( DD - 774 ) was an " Allen M . Sumner " - class destroyer which served in the United States Navy during World War II . It is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Hugh William Hadley , who lost his life during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal . " Hugh W . Hadley " ( DD - 774 ) was launched by Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Co . , San Pedro , California , 16 July 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Hadley , widow of the namesake ; and commissioned on 25 November 1944 , with Commander L . C . Chamberlin in command . History . After intensive shakedown training off the coast of California , " Hugh W . Hadley " sailed 21 February 1945 in company with HMS " Ranee " for Pearl Harbor . The ships arrived 27 February , but " Hugh W . Hadley " was soon underway again , sailing 8 days later for Ulithi and the great Okinawa invasion . The ship departed in company with a large group of LST ' s and their escorts 25 March bound for the Japanese island stronghold , and arrived off the Okinawa group 31 March . As the night approach was made , " Hugh W . Hadley " led a group of LST ' s toward the beach , shooting down an attacking Japanese plane en route . The destroyer escorted her charges safely to the beach , watched them unload their troops and equipment the morning of 1 April , and then took up antisubmarine patrol station outside the transport area . As the bitter fighting ashore continued , " Hugh W . Hadley " helped protect against submarines and aircraft as the Japanese made a final effort to stop the invasion . The ship remained on patrol until 4 April , when she sailed with a group of transports to Saipan , arriving 14 April . " Hugh W . Hadley " was soon on her way back to Okinawa , however , and arrived from Saipan 27 April to resume her outer patrol . For the next few days the destroyer fought off numerous air raids , picked up a downed fighter pilot , and carried out antisubmarine patrol . She went alongside destroyer " Brown " 1 May for transfer of communication equipment , and then took up additional duties as a fighter direction ship for the Combat Air Patrols , so vital to the invasion ' s air cover . As radar picket ships were scarce , " Hugh W . Hadley " was assigned this duty on the afternoon of 10 May . Joining destroyer " Evans " ( DD - 552 ) and four smaller craft , she took station 15 west of Okinawa and early the next morning began vectoring aircraft to meet the oncoming Japanese . For nearly 2 hours the morning of 11 May , " Hugh W . Hadley " and " Evans " came under severe attack , as the Japanese mounted their sixth attack against American forces at Okinawa . Both ships maneuvered at high speed , downing many suicide planes and directing air attacks on formations of Japanese . The attackers numbered some 150 planes . After " Evans " took several serious hits and went dead in the water about 0900 , " Hugh W . Hadley " fought on alone . At 0920 , she was attacked by 10 planes simultaneously , from both ahead and astern . The ship destroyed all 10 , but not without damage to herself . One bomb hit aft , a Yokosuka MXY - 7 Ohka hit , and two kamikaze crashes were inflicted on the ship as her gunners ran low on ammunition . Finally , as the attack ended , all but 50 of the crew were ordered over the side in life rafts , the remaining men fighting fires and working to control the damage . Though her engineering spaces were flooded and she was badly holed , " Hugh W . Hadley " was kept afloat by the determination and skill of her damage control parties and eventually arrived at Ie Shima . The attack took the lives of 30 crew members . During this remarkable battle . " Hugh W . Hadley " had succeeded in downing some 23 enemy aircraft and aided in splashing countless others . After temporary repairs , the ship was taken to Kerama Retto 14 May , where men from repair ship Za - niah worked on her battered hull . " Hugh W . Hadley " subsequently was taken to Buckner Bay , Okinawa , in a floating drydock towed by " Avoyel " ( ATF - 150 ) , 15 July 1945 , and after 20 days there began the long voyage under tow of the US Navy tug ATA 199 ( still in service on the Great Lakes as the M / T Undaunted ) to the United States . After encountering heavy weather during the passage the ship arrived at Hunter ' s Point , Calif . , via Pearl Harbor , 26 September 1945 . Decommissioned 15 December 1945 , she was sold 2 September 1947 to Walter W . Johnson Co . , San Francisco , and scrapped . In addition to one battle star for her World War II Service , " Hugh W . Hadley " received the Presidential Unit Citation ( US ) for her performance in the action off Okinawa 11 May 1945 . Also several crew men received fame for their actions during the war .