USS Willmarth ( DE - 638 ) USS " Willmarth " ( DE - 638 ) , a of the United States Navy , was named in honor of Ensign Kenneth Willmarth ( 1914 - 1942 ) , who was killed in action when the cruiser was sunk during the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942 . " Willmarth " was laid down on 25 June 1943 at San Francisco , California , by the Bethlehem Steel Company ' s Shipbuilding Division ; launched on 21 November 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Eva Willmarth , the mother of Ens . Willmarth ; and commissioned on 13 March 1944 , Lieutenant Commander James G . Thorburn , Jr . , USNR , in command . Service history . To the Solomon Islands . Following shakedown out of San Diego and post - shakedown availability at her builder ' s yard , " Willmarth " was assigned to Escort Division 40 . She stood out of San Francisco Bay on 31 May , as screen for the four - ship Convoy 2410 bound for Hawaii , and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 9 June . On 12 June , together with and , " Willmarth " screened the sortie of the Marshall Islands - bound Convoy 4212 - A . After delivering the convoy safely at Eniwetok nine days later , " Willmarth " proceeded on to the Treasury Islands , anchoring in Blanche Harbor at 11 : 30 on the 26th . Shifting successively to Tulagi and Purvis Bay , " Willmarth " operated on local escort and patrol missions in the Solomon and Treasury Islands groups for the remainder of July . She escorted a small convoy to Dreger Harbor , New Guinea , between 1 and 5 August and then shifted to Milne Bay for repairs on her port propeller . Challenging an unknown ship . Underway for the Treasury Islands on 24 August , " Willmarth " made radar contact with an unidentified ship at 02 : 00 on the 25th . " Willmarth " tracked the stranger and challenged her at 03 : 35 , when about two miles ( 3 km ) distant . The latter did not reply , but instead altered course away from the destroyer escort and increased speed . " Willmarth " in turn churned up and went to general quarters at 03 : 40 . " Willmarth " repeated the challenge at 04 : 06 but again received no reply . On the port beam of her target , the escort vessel illuminated the stranger with her searchlight and discovered her to be a freighter of some 8 , 000 to 10 , 000 tons . Only away , " Willmarth ' s " men could see the freighter ' s crew manning their guns to challenge the destroyer escort . " Willmarth " opened the range to as the freighter responded with two different call signs , perhaps seeking to confuse the escort vessel . Just as " Willmarth " began to flash a call for recognition signals , the freighter commenced fire with guns . The destroyer escort rang down for and opened the range to , refraining from firing because of the stranger ' s appearance and location , " indicating that it was friendly . " With respect to the freighter ' s fierce — but fortunately ineffective — fire , " Willmarth ' s " war diarist noted charitably that the ship ' s " range was excellent , but deflection was off . " No shells landed closer than away . Escort ship . " Willmarth " subsequently anchored at Blanche Harbor later on the 25th . Late the next day , she got underway on an escort assignment and convoyed to Green Island , Bougainville , arriving on the 29th to screen the transport as she unloaded . She eventually escorted the troopship to Emirau Island and Torokina , Bougainville , before proceeding independently to the Treasury Islands . She conducted training exercises over the balance of September before she performed local escort missions and the like out of her Treasury Islands ' base into October . " Willmarth " departed Blanche Harbor on 6 October in company with , bound for Dutch New Guinea . She arrived three days later and sortied on the 12th with Task Unit ( TU ) 77 . 7 . 1 which included , , , , , and merchant ship . Other escorts were , , and " Whitehurst " . " Willmarth " operated with TU 77 . 7 . 1 until she was released late on the 13th to escort " Chepachet " and SS " Pueblo " to Kossol Passage , in the Palaus . Arriving there at 18 : 21 on the 14th , she remained anchored for two days before beginning to patrol the harbor entrance on the 17th . Relieved of this duty by , " Willmarth " got underway during the forenoon on 20 October to screen the sortie of " Ashtabula " , " Saranac " , " Chepachet " , " Salamonie " , " Mazama " , and for the Philippines . Philippines campaign . " Willmarth " proceeded north with her convoy , while American troops splashed ashore on the beaches of Leyte to commence the liberation of the Philippines . On the 23rd , three days after the main landing began , the destroyer escort anchored off Leyte midway between the northern and southern transport areas while her oilers refueled the ships from Task Group ( TG ) 77 . 2 . That evening , " Willmarth " steamed eastward toward a night anchorage and , at 18 : 25 , observed anti - aircraft fire over the northern transport area . Underway again off Homonhon Island early the next morning , the destroyer escort received a report of enemy aircraft orbiting over the northern transport area . As she steamed along the convoy ' s flank , she commenced making black smoke at 08 : 44 to lay a protective screen in anticipation of the enemy ' s arrival . While the radio crackled with reports of ships under attack , " Willmarth " spotted no enemy planes nearby , only many puffs of " flak " splattering the skies to the westward of her screening position in the refueling group . With the receipt of a " flash white " at 13 : 43 , the oilers resumed refueling TG 77 . 2 . " Willmarth " shifted to Samar Island shortly before 17 : 00 before going to general quarters at 17 : 06 upon receipt of a " flash red . " After waiting for well over an hour for the enemy to make an appearance , the convoy stopped and prepared to anchor for the night . At 18 : 43 , however , three " Jills " roared in low from the east , torpedo es slung menacingly beneath their bellies . " Willmarth ' s " guns opened fire on two just before they released their " fish . " One torpedo holed " Ashtabula " and forced her to a halt , dead in the water . While the oiler ' s repair parties controlled the flooding and patched the hole , the convoy passed out of Leyte Gulf and reformed in the wake of the attack . Eventually , " Ashtabula " , repairs effected , rejoined at 22 : 30 . " Willmarth " and the convoy remained underway throughout the evening , maneuvering on various courses and speeds in Leyte Gulf until the first rays of sunlight streaked the eastern skies . After going to general quarters at 04 : 58 , the destroyer escort remained at battle stations throughout the day . Less than an hour after her crew first closed up at action stations , two " Jills " attacked the convoy from the westward . " Willmarth " immediately opened fire with her and batteries . As one " Jill " roared across the stern of the convoy , it was caught by gunfire from " Willmarth " and other ships of the convoy and crashed in flames far astern . While maneuvering and making smoke to mask the convoy , the destroyer escort spotted a floating mine which she sank with gunfire . Soon thereafter , another " Jill " passed through the area and drew fire from " Willmarth " . Unfortunately , the shells were not observed to hit ; and the plane escaped . The convoy anchored in the fueling area at 11 : 52 , three hours after the last attack . " Willmarth " and the other escorts screened the convoy and provided an anti - submarine screen patrol around the valuable auxiliaries . Later that afternoon , " Willmarth " repulsed an attack made by a lone plane which came out of the sun in a glide - bombing attack at 14 : 20 . The destroyer escort ' s gunfire damaged the plane and caused it to spin into the water about five miles ( 8 km ) away . The convoy departed the fueling area at 16 : 46 . Frequent alerts and enemy planes enlivened the evening hours as the group maneuvered throughout the night in a retirement formation . " Willmarth ' s " war diarist noted that the Japan ese planes seemed loathe to attack ships in the fueling area during daylight , probably because of the heavy concentration of anti - aircraft fire that could be directed at an attacker . The next day , 26 October , saw a repetition of the same routine that had kept the destroyer escort active since her arrival in Leyte Gulf three days earlier . After maneuvering on screening duties through the night , the warship spotted a lone " Val " dive bomber making an attack at 05 : 50 ; " Willmarth " opened fire from but failed to score any hits . Within minutes , she and her sister escorts were laying smoke screens to cover the convoy for the next hour . Thereafter , they provided anti - submarine screening protection while the oilers conducted fueling operations . Further escort duty . After following the same routine on the 27th , " Willmarth " departed Leyte Gulf and headed for the Palaus . At 08 : 00 on 28 October , " Willmarth " — escorting the oilers earmarked to refuel the 7th Fleet ships — rendezvoused with the carriers of Task Group 77 . 4 and screened the refuelling operations for the balance of the day . Detached that afternoon , " Willmarth " screened " Ashtabula " and " Chepachet " as they voyaged to Kossol Roads , in the Palaus . Arriving on 31 October , " Willmarth " refueled from and anchored , her job done . The respite afforded the destroyer escort was a brief one , however , for she got underway on 1 November for Hollandia and Seeadler Harbor , escorting a convoy . Entering $ 3 on the 4th , " Willmarth " anchored there over the next two days before proceeding to sea to screen the sortie of TG 78 . 4 — , 12 LSM ' s , 4 LCI ' s , 8 LCI ( G ) ' s , and — on the 7th . Western New Guinea campaign . For the next three days , " Willmarth " screened the convoy to its destination — Mapia and Asia Islands , near Morotai — before arriving in the invasion area on the 11th . As the convoy neared Morotai , " Willmarth ' s " lookouts observed anti - aircraft fire between 04 : 15 and 05 : 30 . Two " bogies " passed within four miles ( 6 km ) of the convoy ; but , as " Wilmarth ' s " war diarist recorded , " evidently they either did not sight us or were not interested , as they proceeded directly toward the area from which flak appeared . " There was a reason why " Willmarth " did not open fire on the two planes that seemed so close — she carried the only reliable air - warning radar in the entire convoy and to open fire prematurely would have disclosed the position of the little convoy and exposed it to possible air attacks . At 08 : 32 , the destroyer escort anchored just off the southern coast of Morotai , near " Ariadne " , while the remainder of the convoy ( save the LCM ' s ) proceeded to another part of the island to load for the impending invasion of Mapia and Asia Islands . The mission of the assault group was to establish weather station and LORAN — long range radio aid to navigation — facilities . On 13 November , with the assault ships having embarked their troops , " Willmarth " got underway in company with TG 78 . 14 , bound for Pegun Island . At 05 : 00 , two days later — she was joined by and . " Willmarth " , the two destroyers , and " PC - 1122 " bombarded the southern part of the island prior to the landings and provoked no return fire from the beach . After a half - hour of firing , " Ariadne " signalled that " H " hour was 06 : 30 , meaning that the first wave of LVT ( A ) s would hit the reef at that time . " Willmarth " remained at her bombardment station for the rest of the morning , ceasing fire as the first assault wave splashed toward the beachhead . The accompanying LCI ( G ) ' s laid their own barrage , thus obviating the need for the destroyers ' gunfire . By noon , the island was in American hands . When surrounded , the remaining garrison — only 12 to 14 Japanese soldiers — committed suicide . Meanwhile , since she was not needed for bombardment , " Willmarth " patrolled to the northward of the invasion beach and came across canoes full of natives to the north . One native , speaking good English , told " Willmarth " that the remainder of the Japanese garrison , about 170 men , had waded across the reef to Bras Island the previous night — thus accounting for the sparse reception given the invasion forces . While plans were being laid to go after this remnant on Bras Island , " Willmarth " conducted anti - submarine patrol around the unloading assault craft and made abortive attempts to pull several LCI ' s that had been stranded by low tides off the reefs . At 17 : 30 on the 15th , the destroyer escort succeeded in towing one off after about an hour ' s time and began operations to free another one of the infantry assault craft . However , the destroyer escort ' s efforts were frustrated by the line ' s parting and the near approach of darkness . Four LCI ( G ) ' s had to be left on the reef — as was one LCI — when the task group headed for Morotai . Arriving on 17 November , " Willmarth " fueled from Salamonie before anchoring . Underway again on the 18th , with the Asia Island occupation force , " Willmarth " and two PC ' s served as escort for " Ariadne " , four LCM ' s , four LCI ' s , and four LCI ( G ) ' s . Embarked in the assault craft were 400 troops . Three - fourths of a mile off Igi Island , " Willmarth " , " Ariadne " , and " PC - 1122 " conducted shore bombardment from 05 : 42 to 06 : 19 on the 19th . Troops splashed ashore from landing craft eight minutes after the bombardment ceased and met no opposition . An unfortunate result of the shore bombardment was that two natives were wounded and one killed — the Japanese had evacuated the island in the face of imminent invasion the previous evening . " Willmarth " subsequently screened the movement of the convoy to the Mapia Islands , where the landing craft loaded troops and unloaded shore personnel and supplies . When the loading was completed at 18 : 00 on the 20th , the convoy shifted to Asia Island , where the destroyer escort screened the landing craft as they embarked more troops on the 21st . " Willmarth " continued her screening duties until arriving in the southernanchorage near the naval base at Morotai Island at 12 : 38 on 22 November . While there , the escort vessel witnessed an enemy night air raid on the airfield installations on Morotai . The Japanese boldly conducted their attacks despite anti - aircraft fire and searchlights . Local port restrictions forbade the use of any anti - aircraft batteries larger than 40 millimeter . " Willmarth ' s " war diary sadly noted this restriction , recommending that 3 - inch gunfire could do very little damage to shore installations in the area . While the rest of TG 78 . 14 departed Morotai on the 23rd , " Willmarth " remained behind as " LSM - 205 " and " LSM - 314 " loaded equipment for the Asia and Mapia Island forces . She then escorted those craft to Hollandia where they delivered their cargo . Over the next three days , " Willmarth " escorted the two landing craft on their appointed rounds , dropping off supplies at Asia and Mapia Islands . At one point , the arrival of the little convoy at Mapia on the 26th almost went unnoticed . " Willmarth " experienced great difficulty contacting anyone on shore : " We finally succeeded in rousing someone by blowing our siren and whistle together . " A jeep soon appeared on the beach , its occupants using the headlights to signal . Heavier swells than at Asia Island made unloading through the surf difficult . One of the LSM ' s was holed several times by scraping on the jagged coral heads of the reef . When unloading was completed at 11 : 30 , the diminutive convoy headed for Hollandia . Service Squadron 4 . On 1 December 1944 , " Willmarth " and the other ships from Escort Division 40 set sail for Manus , in the Admiralties , for assignment to Service Squadron 4 . Arriving at Seeadler Harbor the following day , Willmarth spent the next three months operating on local escort missions between Manus , Ulithi , Hollandia , and the Palaus . On 4 March 1945 , " Willmarth " reported to the Commander , 5th Fleet , for duty . Between the 5th and 18th , she conducted anti - submarine patrols in the Palaus before being sent to Ulithi to refuel and replenish . She got underway again on the 21st to screen the sortie of TP 54 — the pre - invasion bombardment group — as it got underway for Okinawa . Okinawa campaign . Assigned to screen TF 54 , " Willmarth " operated with Fire Support Unit 2 ( TU 54 . 1 . 2 ) built around the battleship , in Fire Support ( FS ) areas 4 and 5 , off Okinawa . The destroyer escort screened " Colorado " for the entire day on 26 March as the battleship delivered gunfire support for the troops ashore . Over the next two days , the warship screened fire support units and escorted them to night retirement areas . She was refuelled at Kerama Retto on the 30th before returning to screening duties with heavy units off the island . On 1 April , she was steaming on station 16 of a circular screen around TU 54 . 3 . 2 , a night retirement group built around the battleship , when several enemy planes flew near the convoy . Screening destroyers fired upon the intruders who probably did not come to attack the Allied force but merely to keep it awake and permit it little rest . Detached from this duty to provide a screen for , one of the oldest battleships on active service in the Navy , " Willmarth " operated to seaward as the battleship worked inshore to open fire on Japanese positions holding up the American advance near Naha Airport . After commencing this duty at 06 : 30 , " Willmarth " had been serving on anti - submarine patrol for over six hours when Japanese shore battery guns boomed out salvoes at " Arkansas " . " Arkansas " main battery trained ' round to reply and quickly commenced counter - battery fire . At the time of the initial firing , " Willmarth " was located about one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) southwestward of the battleship , maintaining her screening position to seaward . At 13 : 23 , a Japanese shell hurtled over " Willmarth ' s " bridge " plainly heard " by all men there . It splashed beyond the ship , away . With only one boiler operating ( the other had been secured to repair a leaking gasket ) the destroyer escort was hampered in getting away , but she headed seaward at her best speed . Soon another shell landed only beyond the destroyer escort ' s starboard quarter . While increasing the range , " Willmarth " turned toward each splash , thus avoiding getting hit by the Japanese guns . " Arkansas " , by this time beyond gun range of the Nipponese guns , did not conduct any further counter - battery fire ; Willmarth soon emerged from the enemy battery ' s zone of fire and proceeded to sea unscathed . Attacked by Kamikaze . After retiring to Kerama Retto soon thereafter for fueling , " Willmarth " operated on screening station A - 27 until 6 April , when she returned to Kerama Retto with an appendicitis patient on board for medical treatment . Several bogies flew near the ship while she steamed to the fleet anchorage , and one was downed by a nearby ship at 02 : 00 . At 15 : 25 , while still three miles ( 5 km ) north of Kerama Retto , " Willmarth " spotted three " Val " dive bombers . One peeled off and maneuvered to make an attack . Ten minutes later , it attempted to crash into the ship . Bracketed by flak , the " Val " bore in , apparently intent on crashing into the destroyer escort . Heavy and fire bracketed the plane when she became visible , dodging in and out of the broken clouds overhead . Seven bursts rocked the plane as she made her deadly approach . Lookouts on the destroyer escort noted a thin line of smoke tracking from the suicider ' s port wing as he went into his dive . The 20 - millimeter battery on " Wilmarth " opened fire when the plane ' s range lessened to ; and , at , the Oerlikons seemed to have their effect . Pieces of the " Val ' s " wing began flying off in the slipstream , indicating that the shells were beginning to hit . Six feet of the port wing soon broke away , shot off by the flak , and the " Val " spun into the sea off the ship ' s port side , slightly abaft her beam . " Willmarth " entered Kerama Retto at 16 : 10 ; and , while preparing to anchor , saw hit by a suicide plane south of the harbor entrance . Flames had engulfed the entire amidships section of the stricken landing ship , and explosions tore holes in the stricken ship ' s side . The jagged edges in turn ripped gashes in " Willmarth ' s " hull at the waterline . One hole , unfortunately , opened up one of the destroyer escort ' s fuel tanks , and the oil leaking out made further close operations hazardous . " Willmarth " stood clear while dense smoke from the burning LST further complicated firefighting . Eventually , the destroyer escort picked up the ship ' s survivors and later transferred them to . While steaming to the ship ' s anchorage in the harbor , she took an enemy plane under fire as it approached from the south ; and multiple gunfire from all ships present in the habor knocked it down . " Willmarth " anchored , transferred her appendicitis patient ashore , and patched the hole in her side caused by the damaged " LST - 447 " before proceeding on the 7th to screening station " Able - 60 " near the transport area off the west coast of Okinawa . Following her shift to another screening station on the morning of the 8th , " Willmarth " escorted to Kerama Retto on the 9th . On 10 April , the destroyer escort departed the Okinawa area , bound for Guam in the screen for 12 transports . Screening 3rd Fleet logistics force . Arriving at Guam on the 14th , " Willmarth " developed boiler trouble while there and spent the entire month of May and most of June undergoing repairs . On 28 June , the destroyer escort got underway for Ulithi . En route , she picked up a sonar contact , and in company with , over the ensuing two days , conducted an unsuccessful hunt . " Willmarth " then proceeded on to Ulithi where she arrived on the last day of June . Underway again on 3 July , " Willmarth " stood out of Ulithi lagoon screening the logistics force of the 3rd Fleet which would provide the needed supplies for Admiral William F . Halsey ' s fast carrier task force s as it pounded the Japanese homeland . During the passage north , the destroyer escort planeguarded for and conducted anti - submarine screening operations . She picked up the crew of a downed TBF Avenger on 20 July . On that occasion , two swimmers from " Willmarth " helped to get the downed airmen on board . However , one of the crewmen died . The two survivors and the body of the dead man were transferred to " Steamer Bay " later that day . " Willmarth " subsequently planeguarded for in early August , continuing her screening and escort duties with TG - 30 — the replenishment group for the 3rd Fleet . She was at sea when the atomic bombs were dropped upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August , respectively , and when Japan surrendered on the 15th . Post - war activities . " Willmarth " remained on escort duty off the coast of Japan into September . In mid - September , the ship underwent an availability in Tokyo Bay and rode out a storm there on 18 September . Departing Tokyo Bay on 24 September to return to the United States , " Willmarth " touched at Pearl Harbor , San Diego , and the Panama Canal before undergoing an overhaul at Norfolk , Virginia which lasted until late in October . Decommissioning and disposal . Shifting to the St . Johns River , Florida , soon thereafter , " Willmarth " prepared for inactivation with the Florida group of the 16th ( Reserve ) Fleet . Berthed in the Green Cove Springs facility , " Willmarth " was decommissioned on 26 April 1946 and placed in reserve . She remained there until struck from the Navy List on 1 December 1966 . Sold on 1 July 1968 to the North American Smelting Company , of Wilmington , Delaware , the ship was broken up for scrap soon thereafter . Awards . " Willmarth " received four battle star s for her participation in World War II .