USS Roberts ( DE - 749 ) USS " Roberts " ( DE - 749 ) was a built for the United States Navy during World War II . She served in the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys . Post - war , she served as a training ship until finally decommissioned in 1968 . She was named in honor of Arthur John Roberts , Jr . who was killed in the Battle of Tassafaronga , Guadalcanal , 30 November - 1 December 1942 . The ship was laid down on 11 February 1943 by the Western Pipe and Steel Company , San Pedro , California ; launched on 14 November 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Ruth Marohn ; and commissioned on 2 September 1944 , Lt . Comdr . Robert M . Catharine , Jr . , USNR , in command . World War II Pacific Theatre operations . Following shakedown off southern California , " Roberts " sailed for Pearl Harbor on 30 November . On her arrival on 10 December , she joined a hunter - killer ( HUK ) group operating with ; and , for the next three weeks , patrolled to the north and east of Hawaii . During January and early February 1945 , her group operated to the west , primarily in the Marshalls , then returned to Pearl Harbor . From 1 to 18 March , the group searched , unsuccessfully , between Johnston Island and Kwajalein for an overdue Army Air Corps transport carrying Lt . Gen . M . F . Harmon , USA . Toward the end of the month the ships replenished at Majuro , then resumed HUK operations , this time in the Marshalls . Detached at the end of April , " Roberts " proceeded to Ulithi , whence she departed on 12 May for Okinawa . Screening en route , she arrived at mid - month . On the 16th she joined and screened her until the 31st . On the 31st she escorted , then , on 1 June , departed the Ryūkyūs to escort to Guam . " Roberts " arrived at Guam on the 5th , steamed to Eniwetok , and , on the 27th , resumed HUK operations with . Into July the group patrolled the shipping lanes of Micronesia , then , toward the end of the month , shifted to the Philippine Sea . End - of - War activity . In early August " Roberts " returned to Guam for repairs . On the 15th , hostilities ceased and " Roberts " was assigned to duty in the western Pacific . During September , she escorted landing craft of the U . S . 5th Fleet ' s amphibious force from Saipan to Nagasaki ; then , in October , screened transports from Luzon to Sasebo . On 18 October , she departed Japan for the United States . Return to Stateside . The destroyer escort arrived at San Diego , California , on 10 November , then continued on to the Atlantic coast for pre - inactivation overhaul . In January 1946 she moved from Norfolk , Virginia , to Green Cove Springs , Florida , where she joined other ships waiting to berth with the " mothball fleet . " In January 1947 , however , she was ordered to the 5th Naval District for reserve training duty . Reassigned as a training ship . On 2 March " Roberts " arrived at Norfolk and on the 3rd , she was decommissioned and placed " in service , in reserve " . For the remainder of the decade she served in that capacity and conducted reserve training cruises along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean . In June 1950 , war broke out in Korea . On 13 August , " Roberts " was recommissioned , in reserve , and 1 December she was placed in commission , active . Continuing her training duties , she expanded her operations , including fleet maneuvers on a large scale , in her cruises . In June 1952 she extended her training cruises to the Mediterranean , and , in 1953 , she participated in NATO exercises . In the summer of 1954 , an extended cruise took her to South American ports , while her two - week cruises ranged from Nova Scotia to Florida , and in the Caribbean . Until October 1961 , " Roberts " continued her reserve training duty . Then , with the Berlin Crisis , the Selected Reserve was called to active duty and " Roberts " was assigned to the newly formed escort squadron CortRon 12 , based at Norfolk . On 1 August 1962 , after the release of her reserve crew , she returned to Reserve Destroyer Squadron 34 and resumed Naval Reserve training . Final decommissioning . Decommissioned and placed in service once again on 1 October 1964 , " Roberts " continued her reserve training work , limiting her cruises to weekends and two weeks , until she was placed out of service on 21 September 1968 . Her name was struck from the Navy List two days later . Awards . " Roberts " earned one battle star during World War II .