USS Morris ( DD - 417 ) USS " Morris " ( DD - 417 ) , a World War II - era " Sims " - class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy , was named after Commodore Charles Morris . " Morris " was laid down at the Norfolk Navy Yard , Portsmouth , Virginia , on 7 June 1938 ; launched on 1 June 1939 , sponsored by Mrs . Charles R . Nutter , great - granddaughter of Commodore Morris ; and commissioned on 5 March 1940 , with Commander H . B . Jarrett in command . Service history . " Morris " , flagship of Destroyer Squadron 2 ( DesRon 2 ) , followed her shakedown with routine training schedules until the summer of 1941 when she joined the North Atlantic Patrol . With the entry of the United States into World War II , she entered Charleston Navy Yard , where she was equipped with the first fire control radar for a destroyer . By 3 January 1942 , she was underway for Pearl Harbor , rejoining her squadron there at the end of February . Attached to Task Force 17 ( TF 17 ) , the destroyer sailed on 16 March for Noumea , and into her first major enemy engagement , the Battle of the Coral Sea . Prior to the battle , she guarded the carriers of the task force as their planes struck at enemy shipping in Tulagi Harbor and in the Louisiade Archipelago . From 4 – 8 May , she splashed one enemy plane and damaged two while screening and , and when the latter was heavily damaged , pulled alongside to rescue some 500 survivors . Damage received during the rescue forced her back to Pearl Harbor where hurried repairs put her back into condition for the Battle of Midway a month later . In that action she again pulled alongside " Yorktown " to rescue over 500 survivors . " Morris " s next action came in late August , when she joined TF 61 in support of the Guadalcanal Campaign . For the next 2 months , she screened carriers and patrolled among the Solomon Islands . On 25 October , following a 3 - day independent sweep through the Gilbert Islands , she rejoined TF 17 and took part in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands . During the action , she destroyed six aircraft and once more came to the rescue of , from which she took on 550 survivors . As in other rescue operations her superstructure was damaged , but , after repairs at Espiritu Santo , she was back in the Guadalcanal area , first operating with and then as supply unit escort to . In May 1943 , " Morris " departed the southern Pacific and sailed north to support the capture and occupation of Attu Island and Kiska , the Aleutian end of the Japan ese ribbon defense . Then she returned to San Francisco , California for a 7 - week overhaul . In November , she again joined an air support group escorting , , and in the Gilberts offensive , during which she went to aid " Liscome Bay " . As the task forces pressed further into the central Pacific , " Morris " sailed with them into the Marshall Islands . On 30 January 1944 , she led a column of warships in a shore bombardment mission against Wotje Atoll . Thence she steamed to Kwajalein Atoll , where , while providing close fire support off Namur , she wiped out a Japanese counterattack force from an adjacent island . In mid - February she departed Kwajalein and moved with TG 51 . 11 to support the seizure and occupation of Eniwetok . Arriving on 17 February , she continued carrier operations until 24 February , when she sailed for Pearl Harbor . " Morris " returned to combat in April 1944 , when as a unit of the 7th Fleet she took part in all the western New Guinea landings , beginning with Hollandia . In May and June she give fire support in the Toem - Wakde - Sarmi areas and then during the Biak Island operation . In July , she went against enemy guns on Noemfoor Island and then at Cape Sansapor . In August , she participated in operations against Halmahera and Morotai and then began preparations for the initial invasion of the Philippines . On 16 October , with TG 8 . 6 , she got underway for Leyte Gulf . Safely delivering her charges , transports with the first reinforcement groups aboard , on the 21st , she took up anti - aircraft station and , for several days , experienced meetings with the newest Japanese tactics : the " kamikaze " . Throughout the next month she continued to escort troops and supplies to Leyte . With the dawn of the new year , 1945 , she was en route north for the Luzon operations . Arriving within the week she participated in pre - invasion bombardment and then provided fire support during the landings on 9 January . For 18 days she patrolled , bombarded shore positions , and fought off " kamikaze s " . Detached from the 7th Fleet after Luzon , " Morris " rejoined the 5th Fleet and prepared for Okinawa . On 1 April , she arrived off Kerama Retto with TG 51 . 11 . For the next 5 days , she escorted transports and oilers and cruised in various assigned sectors on antiaircraft and antisubmarine patrols . On 6 April , while patrolling station A - 11 , a Nakajima B5N " Kate " , carrying either a heavy bomb or torpedo , closed in on her . " Morris " s guns scored hits and set the plane afire , but could not stop it . Shortly after 1815 , it crashed into the ship on the portside , between the Nos . 1 and 2 guns . Fires caused by the explosions spread quickly . Two hours were needed to bring them under control with another 30 minutes to extinguish them . " Morris " then returned to Kerama Retto where temporary repairs somewhat corrected her demolished bow and subsequent draft of 18 feet 3 inches , her large protrusion of plating on the starboard side , and her damaged steering . On 22 May , she started out across the Pacific , and on 18 June entered the San Francisco Naval Shipyard . Declared neither seaworthy nor habitable , she was decommissioned on 9 November . Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 November , she was stripped of gear and sold to Franklin Shipwrecking on 2 August 1947 , then resold to the National Metal and Steel Corporation in Los Angeles , California on 17 July 1949 , where she was scrapped . Awards . " Morris " received 15 battle star s for her action in World War II , placing her among the highest decorated US ships of the Second World War .