USS Neuendorf ( DE - 200 ) USS " Neuendorf " ( DE - 200 ) , a of the United States Navy , was named in honor of Seaman First Class William Frederick Neuendorf ( 1916 – 1941 ) , who was killed in action during the Japan ese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 . " Neuendorf " was laid down at the Charleston Navy Yard on 15 February 1943 ; launched on 1 June 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Edna Rose Morton , sister of W . F . Neuendorf , Jr . , SN1 ; and commissioned on 18 October 1943 , Lieutenant Commander Jasper N . McDonald in command . Service history . Following shakedown off Bermuda and availability at the Charleston Navy Yard , " Neuendorf " , a unit of CortDiv 37 , proceeded to New Orleans where she joined troop transport s en route to Panama . Transiting the Canal , the destroyer escort headed west , arriving at Nouméa on 28 January 1944 . Through March she escorted supply and transport vessels in the Solomons and the New Hebrides and guarded fleet oilers as they rendezvoused with ships operating against Truk and the Palaus . Next assigned to the 7th Fleet , she reported for duty at Milne Bay , New Guinea , on 7 April . From there , she completed an escort run to Lae and then shepherded resupply echelons to the newly seized beaches at Hollandia , Aitape , and Tanahmerah Bay . By 18 May , she stood off Wakde Island with an LST echelon which unloaded quickly and sailed for Hollandia the same day . Escort assignments to Aitape , Hollandia and Wakde followed until June when Saidor , Manus and Biak were added to her destinations . Between 25 June and 7 July , she conducted ASW patrol off the latter , then off Aitape and at the end of the month resumed escort work . In mid - August , she returned to Purvis Bay to resume escort work in the Solomons until 13 October when she sailed for Manus and another tour with the 7th Fleet . After escorting an ammunition supply group to Kossol Roads and an oiler group to Hollandia , she bombarded enemy shore installations in the Maffin Bay area and then departed Wakde to guard an LST echelon to Leyte , arriving on 15 November . Getting under way for Hollandia again the same day , she underwent intensive training in preparation for the upcoming Luzon offensive . On 2 January 1945 , she headed for the Philippines with a small oiler group . Rendezvousing with the Lingayen Minesweeping Group , the force headed through Surigao Strait and into Leyte Gulf . Enemy aircraft plagued the force as it steamed north toward Mindoro where the oilers anchored in Mangarin Bay under the protective watch of " Neuendorf " and sister ship . Between 5 January and 21 February , " Neuendorf " conducted ASW and HUK patrols , served radar picket duty , and escorted the tankers on refueling missions . On the 22nd , the destroyer escort returned to Leyte for tender availability , after which she resumed escort work between New Guinea and the Philippines . On 15 April , she was designated flagship for Commander , Local Naval Defense Forces , Iloilo , Panay . There for the next four months , she returned to Leyte after the cessation of hostilities , made an escort run to Okinawa and on 1 October departed the Philippines and headed home . Arriving at San Diego on 23 October , " Neuendorf " underwent inactivation overhaul and on 14 May 1946 decommissioned and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet . She remained a unit of that fleet until authorized for use as a target and struck from the Navy List on 1 July 1967 . Awards . " Neuendorf " earned three battle star s during World War II .