USS Plunkett ( DD - 431 ) USS " Plunkett " ( DD - 431 ) , a " Gleaves " - class destroyer , is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral Charles Peshall Plunkett . " Plunkett " was laid down 1 March 1939 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co . , Kearny , New Jersey launched 7 March 1940 , sponsored by Mrs . Charles P . Plunkett , widow of Rear Admiral Plunkett ; and commissioned 17 July 1940 Lieutenant Commander P . G . Hale in command . World War II Atlantic Service . Prior to 7 December 1941 , " Plunkett " operated in the Western Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico – Caribbean area on Neutrality Patrol . Initially in the latter area , she joined other Neutrality Patrol vessels off Tampico to prevent the departure of several German steamers , then cruised off Martinique , French Antilles to prevent the dispatching of warships , equipment , and gold to the Vichy government . Patrol and convoy missions in the North Atlantic followed , and , on 7 December 1941 , she was en route from Reykjavík to Argentia . " Plunkett " continued such duty until joining Task Force 39 ( TF 39 ) on 20 March 1942 . Six days later she departed the east coast for Scapa Flow and arrived in Orkney on 4 April to commence operations with the British Home Fleet . Employed on North Sea patrols and escort work over the first leg of the Murmansk run , she was relieved , by , in mid - May and assigned to escort back to the United States . Coastwise and Caribbean escort duty followed and in August she returned to the North Atlantic to accompany UK - bound convoys . On 2 November , she departed New York On her first escort run to North Africa . Delayed en route to allow time for the clearance of wreckage from her port of destination , her group delivered its charges with their reinforcement troops and equipment to Casablanca on the 18th . Then , after patrolling off the Moroccan coast she returned to New York and local operations off southern New England . Another transatlantic convoy to Casablanca preceded shore bombardment exercises in Chesapeake Bay , after which she escorted coastal convoys until May , 1943 . On the 10th she sailed for Oran , Algeria , with TF 60 ; and , between the end of May and July , she was employed on hunter - killer ( HUK ) , antisubmarine ( ASW ) , and convoy escort assignments in North African waters . On 6 July , she cleared Mers - el - Kebir as a unit of the Western Task Force for the Allied invasion of Sicily . During the invasion , she screened the merchant ships and minelayers of Task Group 80 . 5 ( TG 80 . 5 ) , then patrolled off the Gela anchorage and covered minelaying operations . On the 12th , she departed the assault area , returning on the 17th , to Scoglitti , and on the 31st , to Palermo , with convoys . During August , she participated in numerous landings on the Sicilian coast and , in September , joined TG 81 . 6 to screen the transport s and landing craft for the assault on the Axis boot at Salerno . Early on the morning of 13 September , she aided bombed and burning British hospital ship HMHS " Newfoundland " . The struggle to save the ship continued for over 36 hours , but , in the evening of the 14th , " Plunkett " , on orders , fired on and sank the hulk . North Africa – Naples convoys , interspersed with fire support missions , continued until 21 January 1944 , when she sailed to escort the follow - up assault group to Cape Anzio . After delivering the craft , she remained in the area to screen the transports . On the 24th she fell victim to one of the numerous air attacks which , previously , she had helped to drive off . At 17 : 38 condition red was sounded . A few minutes later the attack was launched with two glider bomb s coming in on the port beam , and two Ju 88 ' s closing in from up ahead . Speed was increased ; maneuvering was radical . The glider bombs finally dropped , at 200 yards distance , but more planes had joined the foray to commence a sustained 17 minute battle . It ended at 17 : 57 as " Plunkett " took a 250 kg bomb and caught fire . The bomb killed 23 , left 28 missing , with as many , and more , wounded , and caused extensive damage to her fire control apparatus , armament , and port engine . By 18 : 21 , all fires were out and the destroyer proceeded , on one engine , to Palermo . Temporary repairs enabled her to reach Casablanca and , finally , New York , where repairs were completed . On 5 May 1944 , she again departed New York for European waters . Arriving at Belfast on the 14th , she remained until 3 June , then sailed toward the English Channel to join the armada staging for the invasion of France . On 6 June , she screened the transports off Omaha beach . Fire support and patrol duties followed until the 9th , when she sailed back to England . Returning to the French coast a few days later , she added shore bombardment to her duties at the Bombardment of Cherbourg in Task Force 129 . In July , " Plunkett " returned to the Mediterranean to prepare for another assault landing , and on 13 August , she sailed from Naples to support Operation Dragoon , the invasion of southern France . During that operation she carried officials to and from the beaches in addition to performing her screening duties . She next added fire support and shore bombardment off St . Tropez , Port de Bouc , and Marseilles to her mission , and continued those duties , particularly on the Italian - French border , until 23 November . She then sailed for Oran , whence she escorted a convoy back to the United States , arriving at New York , 16 January 1945 . Pacific Service . " Plunkett " engaged in training exercises , ASW patrols , and experimental testing until early May , when she resumed transatlantic escort work . The war in Europe ended before she reached the UK , but hostilities in the Pacific still raged . On 27 May she returned to the east coast , underwent extensive alterations and refresher training , and got underway for the Pacific 6 August . She transited the Panama Canal on 13 August and was en route to San Diego the day the war ended . In September she escorted occupation forces from the U . S . to Japan ; then , in October and November , assisted in ferrying more from the Philippines . Later in November , she sailed northeast to the Aleutians , where she operated until ordered back to the east coast for inactivation . " Plunkett " earned five battle star s during the Second World War . Transfer to ROC Navy . " Plunkett " decommissioned 3 May 1946 and was berthed at Charleston , S . C . as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . She remained there until reactivated and transferred , under the loan provisions of the Military Assistance Program , to the Nationalist Chinese government , 16 February 1959 . " Nan Yang " ( DD - 17 ) . Renamed ROCS " Nan Yang " ( DD - 17 ) , she served in the Republic of China Navy until 1975 , when she was stricken from the Navy list and scrapped . Her name and pennant number were reassigned to the former , an acquired in May 1974 .