USS Porterfield ( DD - 682 ) USS " Porterfield " ( DD - 682 ) was a " Fletcher " - class destroyer of the United States Navy , named for Rear Admiral Lewis B . Porterfield ( 1879 – 1942 ) . " Porterfield " was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Co . , San Pedro , California 12 December 1942 ; launched 13 June 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Louis B . Porterfield ; and commissioned 30 October 1943 , Commander J . C . Woefel in command . World War II . 1944 . Following her shakedown , " Porterfield " joined Task Force 53 ( TF 53 ) , getting underway 12 January 1944 and arriving off the Marshalls on the 31st . " Porterfield " ' s first job was shore bombardment on Ennomennet and Ennubirr Islands , followed by harassing and neutalizing fire on Roi and Namur . By 4 February the situation was well in hand , and " Porterfield " left to convoy several cargo and transport ships to Funafuti . Here she joined three merchantmen and another destroyer , " Fletcher " ( DD - 445 ) , en route to Majuro . On 20 February " Porterfield " got underway from Majuro in company with a division of battleship s for shore bombardment in the Marshalls . The destroyers screened as the battleships ’ guns worked over enemy installations thoroughly for two days . After a quick voyage to Pearl Harbor , " Porterfield " joined the replenishment group for the fast carrier task force , screening the oiler s which refueled the striking forces during the raids on Yap , Palau and Satawan . This duty continued until the end of April , when " Porterfield " again set course for Pearl Harbor . " Porterfield " ' s next assignment was screening escort carrier s during the Marianas invasion . The group sortied from Pearl Harbor 30 June , with " Porterfield " ' s group of jeep carriers furnishing air coverage for the advance . The group arrived off Saipan 15 June and enemy air attacks began shortly thereafter . " Porterfield " stayed with the force , rescuing two pilots , before being sent to Eniwetok 1 July for dry - docking . After her repairs , the ship reached Saipan again 11 July and operated with the carrier screen until sent to Guam early in August . On 3 August , " Porterfield " was detached from the carrier group to join the Fast Carrier Task Force ( then 5th Fleet ' s TF 58 ) . She rendezvoused with Task Group 58 . 4 ( TG 58 . 4 ) east of Guam 6 August and operated with that group during the rest of the Guam campaign , returning to Eniwetok for upkeep 10 August . The group put to sea again 29 August and launched raids against Palau and Mindanao in support of the landings in the Palaus . The ships remained in the general area between the Philippines and the Palaus during all of September , striking at islands within the Philippines . The carrier force left Ulithi 6 October , with Okinawa and Formosa as their objectives . Air raids were heavier this time , and " Porterfield " splashed three planes , also rescuing the crew of a torpedo bomber from " Hornet " ( CV - 12 ) . Following the attacks on Okinawa and Formosa , the group was sent to the Philippines , lying in wait for units of the Japanese Fleet , which were supposed to be planning an attack . At dawn 25 October the carrier planes from the formation began their strikes against the Japanese forces , crippling the entire group and sending it scurrying back toward Japan . " Porterfield " was ordered to join four cruiser s to finish off the damaged ships . The group engaged one Japanese cruiser which sank just as the destroyers were pressing a torpedo attack . The group sortied again 1 November for an operating area east of Samar . On the morning of the 5th , the carriers launched a strike against Luzon , amid gathering stormy weather . One pilot from " Langley " ( CVL - 27 ) crashed , and had to be hauled aboard " Porterfield " by a life boat . The Japanese struck back in the early afternoon , and " Lexington " ( CV - 16 ) took a kamikaze crash . Again " Porterfield " was undamaged . On 22 November she again sortied from Ulithi for more raids on Luzon , returning to Ulithi for logistics and upkeep 3 December . A week later she was again underway for Luzon , and recovered another " Langley " pilot on the 13th . On the group ' s next raid , it was decided to enter the South China Sea via the Bashi Channel between Formosa and Luzon . Once inside , the group conducted a shipping raid along the China coast which cost the Japanese a heavy toll of their remaining shipping strength . 1945 . The group cleared the China Sea 19 January 1945 , and again sent planes against Formosa . The Japanese defense was more effective this time , however , as two suicide planes crashed into " Ticonderoga " ( CV - 14 ) and one bomb hit " Langley " ' s flight deck . Further strikes were launched against Okinawa Gunto before the group returned to Ulithi 27 January . On 10 February the ships sortied again , bound for Tokyo and subsequent support of the Iwo Jima landings . On the second day out , " Porterfield " rescued two pilots from the carrier " Cowpens " ( CVL - 25 ) . The Fast Carrier Task Force penetrated to within 60 miles ( 110 km ) of Tokyo without being attacked , and then retired toward Iwo Jima to provide direct support for the landings there . The carrier planes flew direct support missions until 23 February , when the group refueled and set course for Tokyo . During the Iwo Jima campaign " Porterfield " added another plane to her credit . The group prowled off the Japan ese home islands for several days , striking almost at will . Early on the morning of 26 February , " Porterfield " picked up a Japanese picket boat on her radar screen , and promptly engaged her . The boat put up a stiff fight , aided by rough seas which made fire control difficult , but " Porterfield " sank her within fifteen minutes . The following day , with the weather steadily improving , the task group refueled and " Porterfield " departed for Ulithi , arriving 1 March . She stayed in Ulithi for three weeks before leaving for Okinawa Jima , where she was to lend fire support for the landings on Kerama Retto and Okinawa . On 6 April , just as the ships were forming for night retirement , kamikaze suicide planes swarmed over the formation , diving at any ship which presented a good target . " Porterfield " shot down one , and was then sent to the aid of destroyers " Leutze " ( DD - 481 ) and " Newcomb " ( DD - 586 ) . The attack was still in full swing when " Porterfield " maneuvered close to the two burning ships , putting over boats to rescue survivors . She then screened the damaged ships to Kerama Retto and transferred the wounded to a hospital ship . Later that day , " Porterfield " was ordered out with Task Force 54 , to intercept units of the Japanese fleet , including the giant battleship " Yamato " , which were steaming toward Okinawa . The two forces never met , however , as planes of Task Force 58 destroyed the Japanese units . " Porterfield " then returned to Okinawa , continuing on screening and bombardment duty during which she downed two Japanese planes 10 April . On the 12th , another heavy air attack materialized . " Porterfield " , in the leading screen position in her formation , met the attackers , which included about 10 bombers and torpedo plane s . With one of her five - inch ( 127 mm ) guns out of commission , she nevertheless threw up a tremendous amount of highly accurate fire , downing four planes before they could get past her . Four more were brought down as they proceeded over " Porterfield " to the heavy units . Two managed to crash into ships , one hitting a destroyer and another smashing into a battleship . " Porterfield " continued her fine fire support , shooting down another enemy plane before being forced to return to the rear area because of damage to one engine . Upon arriving in Saipan , however , the ship was immediately ordered back to Okinawa as a convoy escort . Early in May , however , the ship was ordered back to Ulithi where she remained until 20 June , when she got underway for Okinawa , only to find that the engine previously damaged was still inoperative . On 4 July " Porterfield " was ordered back to the Puget Sound Navy Yard for an availability . The ship arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard 24 July , and was still undergoing repairs when the end of the war was announced . On 27 September she reported to the Pacific Fleet and 3 October got underway for San Diego for decommissioning . 1951 – 1969 . " Porterfield " recommissioned 27 April 1951 and arrived Pearl Harbor 28 July , steaming for Yokosuka , Japan 7 August . Her first Korean assignment was in support of United Nations policies as a part of Task Force 77 off the Korean East Coast where she performed screening and destroyer duties . On 12 December " Porterfield " joined Task Group 95 . 11 in the Yellow Sea off the Korean West Coast , and until late December acted as a screening unit and plane guard as well as participating in numerous close support patrols . " Porterfield " returned to San Diego 8 March 1952 , commencing her second far eastern tour 4 October . With Task Force 77 off the Korean East Coast , the ship ' s duties consisted mainly of screening and plane guarding for the fast carriers , with occasional shore bombardments . This was followed by Taiwan patrol duty . She returned to San Diego 6 May 1953 . " Porterfield " continued to alternate periods of underway training and operations off the California coast with deployments to the western Pacific which took place in 1954 , 1955 , 1956 , 1957 , and 1958 . On the last of these deployments " Porterfield " participated in the Taiwan patrol for several weeks commencing with the intensification of military action from the Chinese mainland against the off - shore islands . On her eighth western Pacific cruise in 1959 " Porterfield " operated extensively as a member of a Hunter Killer AntiSubmarine Task Group . She deployed again from November 1960 to April 1961 , and from November 1962 to June 1963 . Further western Pacific deployments were made in 1964 and 1966 , when she worked with amphibious groups off the coast of Vietnam . " Porterfield " was decommissioned 7 November 1969 . She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1 March 1975 . Designated as a target in 1976 , she was sunk 18 July 1982 . Awards . " Porterfield " received ten battle star s for World War II service and four battle stars for Korean War service .