USS Wickes ( DD - 578 ) USS " Wickes " ( DD - 578 ) , a " Fletcher " - class destroyer , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Captain Lambert Wickes ( 1735 – 1777 ) , who served in the Continental Navy . " Wickes " was laid down on 15 April 1942 at Orange , Tex . , by the Consolidated Steel Corporation ; launched on 13 September 1942 , sponsored by Miss Catherine Young Wickes , the great - great - grandniece of Capt . Wickes ; and commissioned on 16 June 1943 , Lieutenant Commander William Y . Allen , Jr . , in command . Departing New Orleans . La . on 13 July , " Wickes " sailed for Cuban waters and reached Guantanamo Bay three days later . She conducted shakedown training until 11 August , when she set sail for Charleston , S . C . , where she commenced her post - shakedown availability . " Wickes " then trained into the autumn , ranging from Trinidad , in the British West Indies to Casco Bay , Maine ; and from Norfolk , Virginia , to NS Argentia , Newfoundland , from 1 September to 6 November . Between drills at sea , the ship underwent brief periods of repair in the navy yards at Boston and Norfolk . On 6 November , " Wickes " departed the Boston Navy Yard in company with the small aircraft carrier " Cabot " ( CVL - 28 ) and sister destroyer " Bell " ( DD - 587 ) — their destination : the Canal Zone . Transiting the Panama Canal between 12 and 15 November , the destroyer reached San Diego , California , on the 22d , but pushed on for the Hawaiian Islands and reached Pearl Harbor on the 27th . Over the ensuing days , the destroyer exercised in those local waters , conducting anti submarine and antiaircraft drills . On several occasions during this training , her routine was interrupted by orders to rendezvous with and augment the screens of various task groups returning from the operations which wrested the Gilbert Islands from Japan . North Pacific campaign December 1943 – August 1944 . " Wickes " — in company with sister - ships " Charles J . Badger " ( DD - 657 ) and " Isherwood " ( DD - 520 ) — departed Pearl Harbor on 10 December 1943 and set a course for the Aleutian Islands . Over the next few months , " Wickes " operated in the Aleutians . To her commanding officer and crew , the duties performed seemed " uneventful " , their " greatest battles " , he recalled were fought against the elements and the " dreary monotony of Aleutian duty " . Such an enervating routine was interrupted by three bombardments conducted by Task Force 94 ( TF 94 ) against the Kuril Islands , Paramushiro and Matsuwa . The first raid hit Paramushiro on 4 February 1944 and marked the first time that " Wickes " made contact with the enemy . She bombarded Japanese targets in the town of Kurabuzaki on the southern tip of the island . Early in March , " Wickes " — in company with other units of TF 94 — made another sweep into Japan ' s backyard . On the lookout for Japanese shipping as they steamed through the Sea of Okhotsk , the task force found slim pickings before again shelling targets on Paramushiro on 4 March . Another bombardment was slated to take place there , but unfavorable weather made it impossible . Two months later , " Wickes " ' guns once more joined in a cannonade against Japanese facilities on Paramushiro and at Matsuwa , on 26 May and 13 June , respectively . Darkness and fog presented difficulties for the American forces but did not constitute insurmountable difficulties . On 2 August , while TF 94 was again steaming to shell Matsuwa , " Wickes " made visual contact with a " snooper " , a Mitsubishi G4M " Betty " bomber . On van picket station , the destroyer opened fire on the intruder — the ship ' s first antiaircraft action . Unfortunately , the plane managed to escape and , together with the worsening weather , nullified TF 94 ' s chances of making an undetected approach to Matsuwa . The bombardment was accordingly canceled . " Wickes " ' tour in one of the most difficult operating areas on the globe finally ended when she " very happily " departed Adak , Alaska , on 7 August , headed south in company with other units of Destroyer Squadron 49 ( DesRon 49 ) . Reaching San Francisco on 16 August , " Wickes " moored at Pier 36 . There , she received minor repairs from the facilities and workmen of the Matson Navigation Company , under the eye of the Assistant Industrial Manager , Mare Island Navy Yard . During the refit , the ship received a " dazzle " camouflage pattern , designed to confuse observers as to the ship ' s heading and speed . Philippines campaign , September 1944 – March 1945 . Underway from the west coast upon completion of repairs and alterations , " Wickes " set a course for Pearl Harbor once more , in company with " Kimberly " ( DD - 521 ) , " Young " ( DD - 580 ) , and " William D . Porter " ( DD - 579 ) — other units of DesRon 49 . Reaching Hawaiian waters , " Wickes " spent the first two weeks of September engaged in supporting landing rehearsals at Lahaina Roads , Maui , " in preparation for forthcoming operations . " While in port between exercises at sea , " Wickes " received additional radar gear while alongside " Yosemite " ( AD - 19 ) , in preparation for the ship ' s slated role as a fighter - director ship . Thus newly outfitted , " Wickes " left Pearl Harbor on 15 September , as part of Task Group 33 . 2 ( TG 33 . 2 ) , the group slated to hit the island of Yap . Reaching Eniwetok , in the Marshalls , on the 25th , the destroyer spent the next two days replenishing fuel and provisions . Resuming her voyage on the 28th , " Wickes " reached Manus , in the Admiralties , on 3 October . En route , the ship crossed the equator for the first time . However , changing operational requirements resulted in the cancellation of the Yap invasion . " Wickes " was thus reassigned to the 7th Fleet and earmarked for participation in the assault on the island of Leyte . She remained at Manus until 14 October , conducting general upkeep and engaging in gunnery and antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) training . " Wickes " — with a fighter - director team embarked — departed the Admiralties on 14 October . As a screening unit of task group " Baker " — TG 79 . 4 — a transport group , the destroyer reached Leyte Gulf according to plan , on D day , 20 October . She then proceeded to her assigned radar picket station near the center of the gulf and assumed duties as picket and fighter - director ship . Over the next four days , " Wickes " remained on that station as the invasion of Leyte — the first step in the liberation of the Philippines — unfolded . She frequently saw Japanese aircraft — particularly in the area where the transports were congregated — but none came within range of her guns . She even made one good sound contact , on the 22d , and dropped an 11 - depth - charge pattern but observed no positive results . " Wickes " witnessed the Battle of Surigao Strait from a faraway vantage point in the pre - dawn darkness of 25 October . " It is no exaggeration " , recorded her historian , " to state that this engagement was exciting even from a distance . " During the rest of her time on station , " Wickes " ' fighter - director team evaluated the air situation , controlling the protecting combat air patrol ( CAP ) overhead on the first two days of the landings , 20 and 21 October . During the first afternoon , the " Wickes " - directed CAP splashed a Mitsubishi A6M " Zero " carrier - borne fighter . Subsequently clearing Leyte Gulf , " Wickes " served as screen commander for a 12 - ship group of LST s headed for New Guinea . The group , Task Unit 79 . 14 . 9 ( TU 79 . 14 . 9 ) , reached Hollandia , arriving without incident on 1 November . " Wickes " dropped anchor soon after her arrival and remained there through the 4th . " Wickes " subsequently spent most of November in screening operations , escorting a transport group during all phases of its replenishment run to Leyte . Transports and cargo ships , TG 79 . 15 , were screened to Noemfoor Island and during the loading operations that ensued . She then escorted them to Leyte , where they were unloaded on the 18th . She then escorted the auxiliaries back to Seeadler Harbor , Manus , where she arrived on the 25th . " Wickes " departed Manus on the 28th , bound for Torokina , Bougainville , in the Solomons , escorting the troopships of Transport Division 38 . En route , she touched at Finschhafen on the 29th during the division ' s stopover to embark troops and reached Torokina on 1 December . " Wickes " remained at Torokina , Empress Augusta Bay , until the 15th , patrolling the outskirts of that body of water in company with her sister - ships of DesRon 49 . The next day , she began the return trip to the Admiralty Islands but stopped in the Huon Gulf for a landing exercise to prepare for her next slated operation . She finally reached Manus on the 21st . The destroyer spent Christmas in port and replenished her logistics requirements until the 27th . Underway on that day , " Wickes " proceeded to Luzon for the assault at Lingayen . On the approach run , the ship — screening tractor groups " Able and Baker " of TF 79 — steamed with TU 79 . 11 . 3 . Embarked was a new fighter - director team taken on at Manus . The northbound run proved largely uneventful , except for what the ship ' s historian called " a moderate amount of heckling " by enemy aircraft day and night . Again , " Wickes " proved exceptionally adept at fighter - direction duties . Her team vectored CAP planes to oncoming enemy planes , and they accordingly splashed four Nakajima Ki - 44 " Tojo " fighters into the waters off Luzon on the morning of 8 January 1945 . The ship herself did not fire upon any enemy planes until reaching Lingayen Gulf itself the following day , 9 January , when she fired at a pair of attacking planes , driving them off but not splashing them . That same evening , " Wickes " departed the coast of Luzon with her charges , screening the unloaded ships as they headed out of the battle area . About one - half hour before sunrise on the morning of 10 January , a Japanese plane — a single - engined fighter — pushed over in a dive and dropped a bomb which exploded off the destroyer ' s starboard side , close aboard . Fragments , scything through the air , wounded 15 sailors topside and punctured the ship with a few small holes . That brush with the enemy , and the light damage inflicted by the attacker , did not keep the ship off the " front lines " , for she was soon back in action again , operating on antisubmarine patrols in Leyte Gulf during most of the time between 13 and 25 January . On 26 January , she sortied as part of TG 78 . 3 and took station as escort and fighter - director ship for the passage of the task group through the Mindanao and Sulu Seas , en route to Luzon , for landings on the west coast in the vicinity of San Felipe , Zambales Province . The landings themselves took place two days later , meeting no opposition and calling for no bombardment . Friendly natives , happy to see their liberators , came out in bancas and other craft to greet the Americans warmly . On the 30th , " Wickes " stood in readiness during another unopposed landing — the one made at Grande Island , in Subic Bay . For the next two weeks , the destroyer was based on Subic Bay , operating in the waters off southwestern Luzon . During that period , she made a short run to Mindoro and back , escorting for convoys of landing craft each way . Meanwhile , preparations were being made for assaults on Bataan and Corregidor — the scene of the humiliating disasters for the United States and her Filipino allies three years before . Mine sweeping operations commenced on 13 February . At sunset that day , " Wickes " joined her sister - ship " Young " in supporting the thinly armored " sweepers " off Manila Bay , retired with them that night , and returned with them the next morning . As the ships worked their way into an area between Corregidor and Carabao Island s , Japanese shore batteries emplaced on those islands and on Caballo began to lob shells at the minecraft and their escorts . " Wickes " teamed with " Young " to deliver vigorous counter - battery fire , knocking out the pugnacious guns . Other destroyers and cruisers also participated in the silencing of the enemy emplacements , but " Wickes " ' historian modestly recorded , " No claim is made by " Wickes " to have done the job single - handed , but it is certain that this ship ' s gunfire was accurate and effective , and contributed materially toward the successful result and protection of the minesweeper s who were able to proceed with their task unmolested for the remainder of the day . " Nevertheless , both " Wickes " and Young had some close shaves , as the enemy landed some shells close aboard but fortunately did not hit either ship . On the morning of the 15th , " Wickes " shelled Japanese positions in Mariveles Harbor , just prior to the landings there . She then stood by to render gunfire support for the troops as they went ashore . However , when no opposition developed , the destroyer took up a patrol station , on watch for submarines . Meanwhile , throughout the day , 7th - Fleet destroyers and cruiser s — assisted by planes — continued giving Corregidor a pasting . Between 04 : 00 and daylight on the 16th , " Wickes " steamed in company with " Picking " and " Young " , to intercept " suicide boat s " that had penetrated Mariveles Harbor . Many drifting mines revealed themselves with the wash of dawn — but no suiciders . " Wickes " destroyed one mine with gunfire and was about to destroy others when minesweepers arrived on the scene and relieved the destroyer of that duty . " Wickes " then proceeded to conduct another shore bombardment mission — this time against the beaches on Corregidor over which the assault was to pass . Paratroop s drifted down and landed on the top of the island as part of the many - faceted attack designed to destroy the enemy units heavily entrenched there . When the troops commenced landing , Japanese guns opened up from caves on the rocky island . " Wickes " replied with counter - battery rounds against Corregidor and Caballo Islands , maneuvering to keep Caballo covered for the remainder of the day . Late on the afternoon of the 16th , " Wickes " — in company with " Picking " and " Young " — was detached from that duty . " By all standards " , recounted the ship ' s historian when reviewing the Philippine operations , " this operation was the most interesting one the " Wickes " ever took part in . " It had afforded the ship the opportunity to observe , closely , the activities of other units : paratroops , heavy bombers , minesweepers , and ground troops alike . " All hands felt that at last the " Wickes " had produced some results and definitely accomplished something after months of more or less routine duties " , " Fire from enemy shore batteries " , he went on , " added just the right amount of hazard and provided the first real test of the ship under fire . " However , there would be quite enough " hazard " , in the ship ' s future operations . Inexorably , the mighty American Navy bore down upon the shores of Nippon itself . Yet every step that the American armada took closer to the Japanese home islands increased the intensity of the enemy ' s resistance . For " Wickes " , upon conclusion of her support of the Corregidor assaults , there was a tender availability awaiting her in Leyte Gulf . After those repairs , " Wickes " — in company with " Luce " ( DD - 522 ) and " Charles J . Badger " — escorted the heavy cruiser s " Portland " ( CA - 33 ) and " Minneapolis " ( CA - 36 ) to Ulithi , in the Carolines , departing Philippine waters on 2 March and returning eight days later on the 10th . Battle of Okinawa , March – June 1945 . " Wickes " participated in the landing practices in Leyte Gulf for the next operation on the American timetable , the assault on Okinawa Gunto . From 13 to 16 March , the forces slated to take part in that thrust trained and rehearsed for the upcoming event . Activities during those days of training included duty in the tractor group " George " screen — TG 51 . 7 — fire support drills , and ASW patrols around the transport area — all skills that would be very much needed . After replenishing fuel , ammunition , and provisions and receiving additional fighter - director equipment , " Wickes " — with a new fighter - director team embarked — sortied for Okinawa on 19 March with TG 51 . 7 . Upon her arrival off Okinawa on the 26th , " Wickes " acted as a fire support vessel , supporting the landings by scheduled bombardments on Yakabi Shima , Kerama Retto ; but there was no opposition on that island that required additional naval gunfire . Commencing on 26 March and continuing through 4 May , " Wickes " conducted regular radar - picket and fighter - director duties on the various stations off Okinawa . During that period , the CAP , vectored to the enemy by Lt . ( jg . ) James R . Baumgartner , USNR , the senior fighter - director officer embarked , engaged 42 enemy aircraft , destroyed eight , and damaged four . Late on the afternoon of 22 April , the " Wickes " - directed CAP scored their most signal success . On Radar Picket Station 14 , about 70 miles northwest of Okinawa , " Wickes " vectored Marine fighter s from Yontan Field to a large raid approaching from the northward . The flying Leathernecks knocked down 26 Japanese planes , probably splashed another pair , and damaged four . After later turning over her fighter - director team to " Gainard " ( DD - 706 ) , on 4 May , " Wickes " alternated duty on the antiaircraft screen protecting the transports off Hagushi beach with antisubmarine patrols . She also supervised underway fueling operations for a day . She then underwent a period of needed upkeep to have her boilers cleaned . During the 51 days " Wickes " spent off Okinawa , she took enemy aircraft under fire no less than 14 times , and was four times , the object of attention from kamikaze s . Her gunners claimed five " kills " from the suiciders ' ranks , and one " probable " . Two of the downed enemy aircraft managed to crash close enough to send pieces of themselves onto the ship ' s fantail — fortunately doing no damage . On one occasion , one of the kamikazes attempted to torpedo the ship , but its " fish " also missed . In addition , " Wickes " may have saved the hospital ship " Relief " ( AH - 1 ) from serious damage when she deflected , with her gunfire , a suicider attempting to crash into the ship - of - mercy . Until 10 April , " Wickes " patrolled her picket stations alone , without support . After that time , a landing craft or another destroyer was always present . Other incidental occurrences that came up during the ship ' s time off the embattled isle of Okinawa included the rescue of five men from a raft from the fast transport " Dickerson " ( APD - 21 ) ; fishing out a crashed fighter pilot from the fleet carrier " Bennington " ( CV - 20 ) ; and exploding a drifting mine with gunfire . Remarkably , in contrast to some of her sister - ships that suffered grievous damage at the hands of the suicidal kamikaze , " Wickes " suffered only three casualties : all wounded when a plane strafed the ship . " Wickes " departed the Okinawa area on 15 May , bound for Ulithi , while the campaign continued on . She screened a convoy of auxiliaries and merchantmen to the Western Carolines , reaching her destination on the 21st . She then nested alongside the destroyer tender " Prairie " ( AD - 15 ) and received a 10 - day availability . The time spent there at the sprawling , busy , advance base was , truly , " a welcome rest " after the long hours of general quarters and alerts that were part and parcel of duty off Okinawa . " Although all hands had gained a great deal of confidence in our ability to handle air attacks " , wrote the ship ' s historian , " it was difficult , after more than a month of picket duty , not to feel like fugitives from the law of averages , as so many other ships had been hit . " " Wickes " — her availability alongside " Prairie " completed by early June — departed Ulithi on 7 June , escorting another slow convoy . Her destination was again Okinawa . She safely reached there with her charges on the 13th and took on board another fighter - director team . In company with two or three supporting destroyers , " Wickes " then returned to the picket lines . Most enemy air activity then took place nocturnally . Her second stay at Okinawa proved briefer than the first . The ship headed for Saipan on 23 June with a slow convoy but with onward routing approved to Pearl Harbor . Reaching Saipan on the 29th , " Wickes " departed that same day , bound for the Hawaiian Islands in company with " Picking " and " Hall " ( DD - 583 ) . Making port at Pearl Harbor on 7 July , " Wickes " ' time in Hawaiian waters proved brief ; for , on the 8th , she was bound " stateside " , her bow " very happily pointed " toward the Golden Gate . She made the last leg of the voyage in company with her old companion , " Picking " , and two other ships , " Sproston " ( DD - 577 ) and " Brackett " ( DE - 41 ) . All ships arrived on the morning of 14 July and proceeded to the Naval Ammunition Depot at Mare Island to unload ammunition . Upon completion of that task , " Wickes " got underway for Hunters Point , tying up at pier - side at sunset , with 47 days ' availability ahead of her . Within a day or two after arrival , DesRon 49 was dissolved ; and " Wickes " was reassigned to DesRon 58 . The war in the Pacific , though , ended before the destroyer completed her scheduled overhaul on 31 August 1945 . With the end of the war , however , it soon became evident that with the massive shipbuilding programs that had come along during hostilities there was a surplus of ships for anticipated postwar needs . Along with the decommissioning and scrapping of many of the older fleet units , some of the newer ships were decommissioned and placed in reserve . " Wickes " was among the latter . Completing her overhaul by early September 1945 , the ship conducted refresher training exercises into the autumn and winter . Her service career was growing short . She was placed out of commission , in reserve , on 20 December 1945 . She never returned to active duty , even during the Korean War when many of her sister - ships were pulled out of mothballs and recommissioned . Struck from the Navy list on 1 November 1972 , her hulk was later expended in ordnance tests . Honors . " Wickes " earned five battle star s for her World War II service .