USS New ( DD - 818 ) USS " New " ( DD / DDE - 818 ) was a of the United States Navy , named for USMC Private First Class John D . New ( 1924 – 1944 ) , who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for " selfless conduct " in the Battle of Peleliu . " New " was laid down on 14 April 1945 by the Consolidated Steel Corp . , Orange , Texas ; launched on 18 August 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . Barbara Julien , sister of PFC John New ; and commissioned on 5 April 1946 , Commander M . S . Schmidling in command . Service history . 1946 – 1958 . Following a Caribbean shakedown and type training off the East Coast , " New " got underway for the Mediterranean on 8 August 1946 . During the first week of September she cruised off the coast of Greece with the aircraft carrier , providing weight to American diplomatic efforts to assure Greek citizens the right of self - determination in the 1 September plebiscite which returned King George II to the throne and reinforced their previously recorded ( 31 March 1946 ) repudiation of the Communist Party and its supporters , who were then engaged in guerrilla activities . Her mission , a precursor to the Truman Doctrine , completed , " New " joined Task Group 125 . 4 ( TG 125 . 4 ) , then operating with British warships in the Adriatic to prevent any outbreak of hostilities between Italy and Yugoslavia over Trieste . On 8 February 1947 , " New " got underway for the United States , where , after overhaul , she commenced three years of employment in type training and anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) exercises from Key West to the Davis Strait . In 1949 and 1950 she added midshipman training cruises to that schedule . On 9 September 1950 , " New " , now DDE - 818 ( effective 4 March 1950 ) , departed her homeport of Norfolk , Virginia , for a month - long NATO exercise in the Mediterranean . On her return she resumed local operations with her squadron which on 1 January 1951 became Escort Destroyer Squadron 4 ( CortDesRon 4 ) . For the next six years " New " , a unit of the Atlantic Fleet ' s Destroyer Force , continued to rotate tours in the Mediterranean with duty in the Western Atlantic . Assigned to the same fleet ' s antisubmarine force in April 1956 , she conducted her third midshipman training cruise the following summer and , in July , became flagship of DesRon 36 . On 8 May 1958 , " New " departed Hampton Roads for her eighth tour with the 6th Fleet . During this extended Mediterranean deployment she participated in 6th Fleet operations in response to Lebanese President Camille Chamoun ' s request for aid in countering a coup against his regime . One of the first ships on the spot , she patrolled Beirut Straits awaiting word to evacuate American nationals if it became necessary . 1962 – 1968 . 1962 brought another break in " New " s regular schedule of operations . Reclassified DD – 818 once again , on 30 June , she trained midshipmen during the summer and in the fall was called on to participate in the Cuban quarantine . Departing Norfolk on 26 October she was engaged in ASW screening and surface vessel surveillance as a unit of Task Group Bravo until 20 November . Then , quitting the Caribbean , " New " returned to Norfolk where she underwent availability and upkeep prior to entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM ) Mark I conversion , during which she received the ASROC system . On 7 December 1963 , the modernized " New " returned to active duty with a new squadron , DesRon 22 . With that squadron she participated in further ASW activities throughout most of 1964 , taking time out during the summer to conduct a midshipman training cruise to Europe . On 5 March 1965 she resumed her regular 6th Fleet deployment , adding , on that tour , a new dimension by taking on patrol duties in the vital and volatile Red Sea and Persian Gulf areas to bolster units of the Royal Navy ' s forces East of Suez . In 1967 , " New " s overseas deployment was again shifted to a new area and on 20 June she departed Norfolk for WestPac to support operations in Southeast Asia . On 29 July she arrived at Subic Bay and by 8 August she was at Da Nang , South Vietnam , whence she steamed north to take up duties on the Northern Search and Rescue Station in Tonkin Gulf as a unit of Task Force 77 ( TF 77 ) . On 29 September she took up fire support duties off Quang Ngai . There she supported elements of the ROK 2nd Marine Brigade and the 1st Marine Division during " Operation Dragon Fire " , after which she retired from the combat area for a brief R & R period . On 19 November she returned to Vietnam for further fire support missions south of the DMZ , continuing that role until sailing for home on 1 December to arrive in Hampton Roads on 16 January 1968 . Into the summer of 1968 , " New " took part in the search for the ill - fated submarine , after which she prepared for another MidEast deployment . Departing the East Coast on 30 October , the destroyer set a course , necessitated by the closure of the Suez Canal , for Recife , thence around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean . By the end of the year she had called at Lourenço Marques , Diego Suarez , and Mombasa , and with the arrival of 1969 , she added Djibouti and Bombay to her good - will visits prior to commencing her assigned operations along the coast of the Eurasian heartland . 1969 – 1976 . In July 1969 , " New " was part of the support fleet for the Apollo 11 moon landing , on station in the launch abort area in the Atlantic Ocean . " New " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1976 . ROKS " Taejon " . The ship was transferred to South Korea on 23 February 1977 . She served in the Republic of Korea Navy as ROKS " Taejon " . She was decommissioned by Korea on February 2001 .