USS Stringham ( DD - 83 ) USS " Stringham " ( DD – 83 ) was a " Wickes " class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I . Later she served in World War II as APD - 6 . She was the second ship named for Silas Horton Stringham . " Stringham " was laid down on 19 September 1917 at Quincy , Massachusetts , by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company ; launched on 30 March 1918 ; sponsored by Mrs . Edward B . Hill ; and commissioned on 2 July 1918 , Commander N . E . Nichols in command . Service history . World War I . Following commissioning , " Stringham " was assigned to convoy escort and antisubmarine duty through the end of World War I . Upon her return to the United States in 1919 , she was assigned to Destroyer Division ( DesDiv ) 6 of the Atlantic Fleet Destroyer Force . Except for a six - month period from December 1919 to June 1920 when she was in reduced commission , " Stringham " remained fully active with the Atlantic Fleet until the middle of 1922 . During that time , alpha - numeric hull numbers were adopted by the Navy ; and " Stringham " was redesignated DD - 83 effective 17 July 1920 . On 2 June 1922 , she was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard . World War II . She remained inactive until 1940 , when she was apparently moved to the Norfolk Navy Yard for conversion to a high - speed transport . On 2 August 1940 , " Stringham " was redesignated APD - 6 . 1940 - 1942 . On 11 December 1940 , she was recommissioned at Norfolk , whence she operated until mid - 1942 . Her duties consisted primarily of escorting coastal convoys from point to point along the eastern seaboard and to various bases in the Caribbean . On 18 April 1942 , " Stringham " attacked an enemy submarine , but could not confirm a kill , even though heavy black oil surfaced soon after her attack . On the following day , she put into Norfolk and participated in amphibious exercises in Chesapeake Bay through the first week in July . On 6 July , she got underway from Norfolk in company with a convoy bound for the Panama Canal . She transited the canal on 13 July , reported to the Commander , Southeastern Pacific , and continued west . After stops in the Society and Fiji Islands , she reached Espiritu Santo , in the New Hebrides , on 14 August . Two days later , she put to sea on the first of many resupply voyages to help bolster the marines clinging precariously to the beachhead on Guadalcanal . The Guadalcanal campaign was unique among the amphibious operations conducted in the Pacific during World War II . Neither the United States nor Japan enjoyed the overwhelming naval superiority which in almost every other case ensured victory for the greater force . Relative equality made the naval forces of each side a constant threat to the supply lines of the other . Consequently , both sides relied upon the high - speed transport , converted destroyers like " Stringham " , which were well armed for transports and fast enough to evade more powerfully armed warships . While the contribution of the larger elements of the American Fleet cannot be overlooked , the struggle for Guadalcanal was to a great extent the battle of the high - speed transport . " Stringham " and her sister APDs succeeded where their Japanese counterparts failed . They kept the marines supplied . On 23 August , during " Stringham " s second run to Guadalcanal , a torpedo passed her close astern ; and she immediately charged to the attack . She dropped 11 depth charges ; forced the submarine to broach ; and then lost contact . Although her crew thought at the time they had sunk the submarine , subsequent checking failed to verify their victory . Not long after her scrape with the sub , " Stringham " was ordered out to join the group of ships attempting to tow , torpedoed the previous evening , into Tulagi . The imminence of the Battle of the Eastern Solomons , however , forced that weak formation to abandon " Blue " and seek shelter . Accordingly , she went to the bottom at 2223 on the 23rd . " Stringham " resumed her supply runs in the Solomons until 5 October , when she got underway from New Caledonia to return to the California coast . 1943 . After six weeks in the Mare Island Navy Yard , she got underway for the South Pacific . Her return to action , however , was short - lived for — while operating in Pepasala Bay in the Russell Islands on 26 February 1943 — a heavy squall forced her aground on a reef . In maneuvering clear of the reef , she was forced to back down to avoid a collision with and damaged her starboard propeller . After emergency repairs at Tulagi , she was routed back to Mare Island , where she arrived on 16 April . Over the next six months , " Stringham " advanced up the Solomons staircase with the American forces . In mid - August , she participated in the landings at Vella Lavella in the central Solomons . That operation cut the Japanese supply lines to Kolombangara and delivered vital air bases to the Americans . On 27 October , she and six other APDs , along with various smaller ships , put a force of New Zealanders ashore at Mono and Stirling islands in the Treasury Islands sub - group . November found her supporting the assault on Bougainville at Empress Augusta Bay . On the day after Christmas , " Stringham " joined the American forces which outflanked the Bismarck Barrier at Cape Gloucester , near the western terminus of New Britain . From that position , they could move in two directions — west to pounce upon the back of the New Guinea hen or north to the Admiralties to isolate Kavieng and Rabaul . " Stringham " participated in one operation in each direction . 1944 . On 2 January 1944 , she supported the forces which landed at Saidor , New Guinea ; and , in March , she assisted in the invasion of Emirau . Between these two operations , " Stringham " helped land troops in the Green Islands , the northernmost subgroup of the Solomons , located between Buka and New Ireland . During the spring of 1944 , American military thinking focused increasingly upon the Central Pacific invasion route to Japan . Accordingly , " Stringham " returned to Hawaii with marines embarked ; and both she and her passengers commenced preparations for the invasion of the Marianas . The initial waves of assault troops stormed the beaches at Saipan on 15 June . " Stringham " discharged her marines the following day and patrolled off Saipan throughout the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 and 20 June . On 22 June , Underwater Demolition Team ( UDT ) 7 shifted to her from for the Tinian phase of the Marianas operation . Until the landings , the high - speed transport conducted sporadic bombardment and harassment fire on Tinian . On 10 July , she sent her UDT men ashore to reconnoiter the two potential landing sites ; and , just before the actual assault began on 24 July , her frogmen participated in a daylight feint at Tinian Town to divert Japanese attention from the actual landing sites . On the 28th , she completed her work with UDT 7 in the Marianas and headed for Espiritu Santo , via Eniwetok Atoll . " Stringham " , was at Purvis Bay , Florida Island , in the midst of exercises preparatory to the invasion of the Palaus when UDT 7 rejoined her on 5 September . By the 12th , she and her frogmen were off the coast of Angaur with Task Group 32 . 5 . At 1035 , she disembarked the UDT men at Peleliu to clear a path through heavy minefields . That afternoon , she towed to Kossol Passage , and then returned to work with the UDT teams until 27 September , when she headed for Manus . There she was moored alongside . On the night of 3 October , a fire broke out on " Clemson " and swept across " Stringham " amidships and aft , igniting the UDT teams ' rubber boats and bags of explosives . " Stringham " drifted from her moorings after the lines were cut , and her crew finally got the fire under control . 1945 . " Stringham " returned to the United States for overhaul , repairs , and alterations . She did not return to the western Pacific until 17 March 1945 . She joined the southern defense group at Saipan and sortied with it for Okinawa on 26 March . The high - speed transport arrived off Okinawa on 2 April , the day following the initial assault , and screened the transport area until 7 April , when she headed for Guam . During that time , " Stringham " took two " kamikaze s " under fire , one on 3 April and one on 6 April . The former succeeded in crashing LST - 599 while the latter gave up his plunge in the face of " Stringham " s heavy antiaircraft fire , dove on a destroyer , but missed both American ships . " Stringham " screened another convoy from Guam to the Ryukyu s , reaching Okinawa on 22 April . She remained in the vicinity for five relatively uneventful days ; then headed back to Guam . On this voyage , she rendered assistance to the hospital ship , , which had been crashed by a Japanese " kamikaze " . " Comfort " was able to resume course without assistance , but " Stringham " shepherded her until relieved by . While at Guam , " Stringham " was rammed by , a battle casualty . The APD ' s starboard side was damaged , as was her bridge , her forward crew ' s compartment , and much of her electrical equipment . Because of this , " Stringham " was ordered back to San Diego for extensive repairs . On 19 June , she entered San Diego and began conversion back to a destroyer ; and , on 25 June , she resumed her former designation , DD - 83 . In August , the end of the war brought a halt to " Stringham " s conversion . Later that month , it was determined that she would be decommissioned at Philadelphia . In September , she sailed from San Diego , transited the Panama Canal , and preceded to Philadelphia , where she reported for duty to the Commandant , 4th Naval District , on 26 September . She was decommissioned on 9 November 1945 , and her name was struck from the Navy list on 5 December 1945 . " Stringham " was scrapped at Philadelphia in March 1946 . Awards . " Stringham " was awarded nine battle star s for World War II service .