USS Rich ( DE - 695 ) USS " Rich " ( DE - 695 ) was a , the first United States Navy ship named in honor of Lieutenant ( j . g . ) Ralph M . Rich ( 1916 – 1942 ) who was awarded the Navy Cross for his leadership as a fighter pilot off during the Battle of Midway . Building and commissioning . " Rich " was laid down on 27 March 1943 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company , Bay City , Michigan , the third destroyer escort to be built at that yard . She was launched on 22 June 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . Ralph McMaster Rich , widow of Lt . Rich . Builder ' s trials before her pre - commissioning cruise were done in Lake Huron . After completion , " Rich " sailed from the builder ' s yard at Bay City to Chicago , Illinois , where they arrived on 24 September . From there , they went through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and down the Chicago River to Joliet , Illinois , where pontoons were attached to the ship so it could be pushed down the Des Plaines River , Illinois River , and Mississippi River as part of a barge train . After arriving at the Todd Johnson Shipyard in Algiers , Louisiana , on the west bank of the Mississippi at New Orleans , the rest of the crew reported aboard , and " Rich " was commissioned on 1 October 1943 , Lieutenant Commander E . A . Michel , Jr . , USNR , in command . World War II . Following shakedown off Bermuda , " Rich " was primarily engaged in coastal escort and patrol duty with Escort Division 19 ( CortDiv 19 ) until the end of February 1944 . At this time , CortDiv 19 consisted of the destroyer escorts " Rich " , , , , , and . Then assigned to trans - Atlantic escort work , she completed three round - trip crossings by May . On 10 May 1944 , " Rich " departed New York City in escort of a convoy to Britain in what would be her last transit of the North Atlantic . On 23 May , she arrived at Derry , Northern Ireland , and awaited a convoy to escort back to the United States . Instead , " Rich " was assigned to the Normandy Invasion force , and commenced preparations for " Operation Neptune " , the naval phase of the invasion of Normandy . She arrived at Plymouth , England on 4 June , and was assigned as an escort to the battleship . Delayed by weather for 24 hours , the " U " force sailed for France on 5 June , with " Rich " and her sister ship " Bates " in the screen of the bombardment group of Task Force 125 ( TF 125 ) , which consisted of the battleship " Nevada " and the heavy cruiser s , , and . From 6 – 8 June , she screened the heavier units as they supplied gunfire support for the troops landed on Utah Beach to the northwest of the Carentan Estuary . On 6 June , " Rich " laid down a smoke screen which foiled an attack by German E - Boat . Soon after 08 : 45 on 8 June , she was ordered by the Commander of Task Group 125 . 8 ( TG 125 . 8 ) aboard " Tuscaloosa " to Fire Support Area 3 to assist the destroyer which had struck a mine northwest of the Saint - Marcouf Islands . " Rich " proceeded at full speed to the area , and then followed in the wake of two minesweeper s to the immediate area of the " Glennon " . Closing " Glennon " , " Rich " dispatched a whaleboat , only to learn that her assistance was not needed at that point . " Rich " then started to round the disabled ship and take up station ahead of the minesweeper which had taken " Glennon " in tow . She moved at slow speed , with extra hands on the lookout for enemy planes and mines . Sinking . At approximately 09 : 20 , when " Rich " was about from the minesweeper , which was in the process of taking " Glennon " in tow , a mine exploded off " Rich " s starboard beam . This tripped circuit breakers , knocked out the ship ' s lighting , shook up the ship hard , and knocked sailors off their feet , but caused no structural damage . Within a minute , the engine room reported that they were " ready to answer all bells " . Three minutes later , a second mine went off directly under the ship . Approximately of her stern was blown off , from frame 130 aft , just aft of the mount in ' X ' position . Even though the blown - off stern section caught fire , survivors clung to her wreckage , and it sank shortly afterward . There was a sag in the main deck , and two torpedoes ran hot in their tubes . A third mine — another influence mine — exploded below the ice machine room forward , delivering the final blow two minutes later . The forward section was totally wrecked , the flying bridge demolished , and forward fire room severely damaged , and the mast came crashing down . Life rafts were ordered cut loose , and " Rich " was ordered abandoned . Several PT boat s in a squadron commanded by Lt . Cdr . John D . Bulkeley came alongside " Rich " to take off personnel . All this time , they were being shelled by German shore batteries . A few minutes later , she sank in about of water at . Of her crew , 27 were killed , 73 were wounded , and 64 were missing ; in all , 91 were killed outright or died of wounds following their rescue . " Rich " was the only American destroyer escort lost in the invasion force . Lt . Cdr . Michel — who suffered a broken leg — was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in the incident . After the Normandy beachhead was no longer being actively used , machinery , guns , ammunition , and other equipment was salvaged from the wreck . After the war , the wreck was thoroughly stripped by scavengers . A few of her artifacts are on display at the Normandy D - Day Museum . One of her propellers is also on display in front of the museum . Awards . " Rich " earned one battle star for service during World War II .