USS Purdy ( DD - 734 ) USS " Purdy " ( DD - 734 ) , an " Allen M . Sumner " - class destroyer , is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Commander Frederick Warren Purdy , who was awarded the Silver Star for his rescue efforts while the " Strong " ( DD - 467 ) was sinking on 5 July 1942 . " Purdy " ( DD - 734 ) was laid down by the Bath Iron Works , Bath , Maine , 22 December 1943 ; launched 7 May 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . F . W . Purdy , widow of Lieutenant Commander Purdy ; and commissioned 18 July 1944 with Commander Frank L . Johnson in command . World War II . Following shakedown off Bermuda and operations in the Caribbean , " Purdy " departed Trinidad , 7 February 1945 for San Diego , whence she steamed west arriving at Leyte 17 March to rehearse the invasion of Okinawa . Ten days later she sailed with TU 51 . 13 . 2 for Okinawa . Screening the transports of the Southern Attack Force en route , she arrived 1 April and assumed radar picket station duty off that last Japanese bastion . Continuing that kamikaze imperiled duty after the initial landings , she fought fires on , and then returned injured survivors from , heavily damaged " Mullany " ( DD - 528 ) to Kerama Retto on the 6th . Six days later , with " Cassin Young " ( DD - 793 ) some 60 miles off Okinawa , she suffered a similar fate . Attacked by a formation of about 30 enemy planes , both ships opened fire and with the aid of carrier aircraft were able to turn away most of the attackers . Two , however , bent on suicide , broke through to score on " Cassin Young " . A third , closing " Purdy " , was splashed but momentum carried it to the destroyer where its bomb broke loose , pierced her plating and exploded to kill 15 , seriously wound 25 , and cause extensive damage . " Purdy " made it back to Kerama Retto , underwent temporary repairs there and at Guam , and arrived at San Francisco 28 May . Repairs and training completed she sailed to Hawaii , thence 20 October to Japan . In Japanese waters for the next four months , she served as harbor control vessel at Point Bungo , transported passengers and mail , and performed medical and guard duties . On 21 February 1946 , she sailed for San Diego , thence proceeded to Portland , Maine , arriving 16 April . In June , she entered the Boston Navy Yard for a six month overhaul ; then , in December , shifted to her homeport , Newport , Rhode Island . Spring maneuvers in the Caribbean preceded her first Mediterranean tour and in mid - August 1947 she returned to Newport . From September 1948 to January 1949 she again sailed in European waters and in June she reported to New Orleans , whence she conducted naval reserve training cruises until March 1951 . Then deployed to the Mediterranean , she resumed operations out of Newport in June . Korean War . Four months later " Purdy " , with DesDiv 122 , got underway for a return to a Pacific combat zone and on 31 October reported to TF 95 off the coast of Korea . Fire support for minesweeping operations at Hungnam preceded five weeks as flagship , Songjin - Chongjin unit of the Blockade and Escort Force . Christmas in Japan and antisubmarine training exercises off Okinawa interrupted combat operations , but in January 1952 she returned to Korean waters and for the next six weeks sailed with TF 77 , the fast carrier force . Relieved from Korean War duty 27 February , " Purdy " sailed for home via the Suez Canal and on 21 March completed her round - the - world cruise . Western Atlantic and Caribbean exercises carried her into 1953 and on 27 April she departed Newport for a second circumnavigation of the earth . Steaming via Suez , she arrived at Yokosuka 9 June and after availability again took up duties with TF 77 . Escort duty for " Bremerton " ( CA - 130 ) , bombardment and patrol operations from Chongjin to Wonsan , and duty with TF 96 preceded a reassignment to TF 77 and finally to TF 95 again for Pusan - Pohang patrol . Departing the Far East almost two months after the truce , she arrived at San Francisco 5 October and was back in the New England area by the end of the month . " Purdy ' s " unusual round - the - world cruises illustrate the wide ranging and diverse commitments of the Navy during the early years of the Cold War . Cold War . After Korea , " Purdy " regularly rotated east coast and Caribbean training operations with NATO exercises and 6th Fleet duty . In June 1955 she received the first Atomic - Biological - Chemical washdown system to be introduced to the fleet and - during the summers of 1956 , 1957 , and 1958 — she made midshipmen summer training cruises , to Chile in 1957 and to Europe in 1958 . Two years later while calling at Gythion , Greece , three of her crew were injured ashore assisting the local inhabitants contain a raging fire until fire fighting equipment could be brought from 25 miles ( 40 km ) away . On its arrival " Purdy ' s " " fire - fighters " continued to assist by manning hoses which replaced the bucket brigade . " Purdy " was employed with the recovery forces for Project Mercury in the spring of 1961 and in the fall she cruised off the Dominican Republic supporting U . S . efforts to maintain stability in the Caribbean . A year later she returned to that sea for the same reason , but off a different island , and during November operated with other vessels implementing the Cuban Quarantine during the Cuban Missile Crisis . On 1 April 1965 " Purdy " left DesRon 12 to commence operations with ResDesRon 30 . Homeported at Fall River , Massachusetts , into 1970 , she trained naval reservists , served as a school ship for Naval Destroyer School officer students , and tested and evaluated new equipment . She was stricken from the register on 1 July 1973 . The " Purdy " would be sold 11 June 1974 to Nathaniel Luke Purdy , the great , great Nephew of Lieutenant Commander Frederick Warren Purdy . " Purdy " earned one battle star during World War II and 3 during the Korean War .