USS Maurice J . Manuel ( DE - 351 ) USS Maurice J . Manuel ( DE - 351 ) was a John C . Butler - class destroyer escort acquired by the U . S . Navy during World War II . The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy , in addition to other tasks as assigned , such as patrol or radar picket . She was named after Maurice Joseph Manuel who was killed in action at Guadalcanal and received the Silver Star posthumously . She was laid down by Consolidated Steel Corp . , Orange , Texas , 22 December 1943 ; launched 19 February 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Leona Manuel ; and commissioned at Orange 30 June 1944 , Lt . Comdr . William M . Lowry in command . World War II North Atlantic operations . After shakedown off Bermuda , " Maurice J . Manuel " served as a training ship out of Norfolk , Virginia , until steaming to New York for convoy escort duty 3 October . Sailing in convoy the 6th , she battled heavy weather in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and safely escorted the first American convoy to Marseilles , France , 20 October . After returning to the United States 7 November , between 25 November and 24 December , she escorted another convoy to southern France , steamed to the coast of north Africa , and returned to New York . Transferred to the Pacific Fleet . On 16 January 1945 " Maurice J . Manuel " sailed for duty in the Pacific She escorted to the Panama Canal Zone ; thence , as part of Escort Division 78 , she steamed to the Admiralties , arriving Manus 19 February . Assigned to task force TF 75 , she began convoy escort duty to the Philippine Islands 3 March and arrived Leyte Gulf the 8th . She sailed for Melanesia 13 March , reaching Hollandia , New Guinea , the 19th , and between 21 and 28 March again returned to Leyte . Convoy duty in the Pacific . " Maurice J . Manuel " maintained her busy pace . Convoy runs sent her between Leyte and New Guinea , the Palaus , and Ulithi , as well as among the Philippines to Manila Bay , Subic Bay , and Lingayen Gulf . Late in July she made a run to Okinawa out of Subic Bay ; and as the war ended 15 August , she patrolled the coast of Luzon out of Lingayen Gulf . On 26 August she departed Manila Bay for Tokyo Bay , Japan , escorting SS " Winthrop Victory " and . The latter ship carried high - ranking military and naval officers from the United States , Australia , Canada , China , and the Netherlands East Indies to Japanese surrender ceremonies on board . The convoy entered Tokyo Bay 31 August ; thence , " Maurice J . Manuel " sailed 1 September via Okinawa to Leyte Gulf where she arrived the 8th . End - of - war activity . For more than 2 months the escort ship conducted periodic patrols east of the Philippines out of San Pedro Bay . Departing the Philippines 27 November , she steamed via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor to the U . S . West Coast , arriving Long Beach , California , 17 December and sailing to San Diego , California , 15 March 1946 . " Maurice J . Manuel " decommissioned there 20 May 1946 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet . Recommissioned as a training ship . " Maurice J . Manuel " recommissioned at San Diego 27 April 1951 , Lt . Comdr . G . A . Sullivan in command . After shakedown , she proceeded to the east coast for duty with the Atlantic Fleet , arriving Newport , Rhode Island , 11 August . During the next several months she participated in type - training and squadron exercises along the Atlantic coast , in the Caribbean , and in the Gulf of Mexico . From July to September 1952 she served as training ship for the Fleet Sonar School at Key West , Florida . She continued a busy pattern of training and readiness operations between New England waters and the Caribbean during next 9 months ; thence , she departed Newport 16 July 1953 for deployment to northern Europe . With midshipmen embarked , she cruised the North Atlantic , the North Sea , and the Baltic Sea , visiting Bergen , Norway , and Copenhagen , Denmark . Steaming via Guantánamo Bay , she returned to Norfolk , Virginia , 3 September . During the next 4 years " Maurice J . Manuel " continued to take part in vital preparedness exercises , thus helping U . S . sea power keep prepared to meet overt threats to peace while guarding the free world against Communist Cold War subversion . Her duties carried her from Argentia , Newfoundland , to Colón , Panama . In addition , she provided continued support to the Fleet Sonar School , and she conducted another midshipman cruise during July and August 1955 . Final decommissioning . After completing convoy training exercises off the east coast in May 1956 , " Maurice J . Manuel " sailed to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , 24 June for inactivation overhaul , decommissioned there 30 October 1957 , and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . Her name was struck from the Navy List 1 May 1966 , and in August 1966 she was used as a target to destruction .