USS Hudson ( DD - 475 ) USS " Hudson " ( DD - 475 ) , a " Fletcher " - class destroyer , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Captain William L . Hudson ( 1794 – 1862 ) . " Hudson " ( DD - 175 ) was launched 3 June 1942 by the Boston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs . Henry H . Hough , wife of Admiral Henry H . Hough ( Ret . ) ; and commissioned 13 April 1943 , Commander Richard R . Pratt in command . History . After shakedown and escort duty along the Atlantic coast , " Hudson " sailed for Efate , New Hebrides , where she was just in time to provide fire support for the initial landings on Bougainville 1 November . As the Japanese staged a heavy air attack 8 November , " Hudson " helped repel them by splashing two " bogies " and assisting on a third . She then made antishipping sweeps in the Truk area and participated in operations against the Green Islands 1 February 1944 . En route to the invasion , " Hudson " attacked and sank a Japanese submarine on 31 January . Following a brief respite in Australia , " Hudson " steamed to Kwajalein to join the armada readying for the invasion of the Marianas . After delivering shore bombardment to clear the way for landings on Saipan , Guam , and Tinian , the destroyer took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 June . She contributed two kills to the massive destruction of Japanese planes later known as " The Marianas Turkey Shoot " . In mid - July , as the invasion of Guam was launched , " Hudson " steamed off the island to screen transports and shot down another enemy aircraft , as well as rescuing three downed Navy pilots and a Japanese flier . From the Marianas , " Hudson " steamed to Palau to support landings on Peleliu and Angaur from 12 – 25 September . Departing Manus in the Admiralty Islands on 4 October , she reached San Francisco 2 weeks later for overhaul . After refresher training at Pearl Harbor , " Hudson " returned to action , arriving off Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945 . she provided vital radar picket protection during the initial invasion of the enemy stronghold . While returning from Iwo Jima after the island was secured , " Hudson " rescued eight survivors of a B - 29 Superfortress which had crashed at sea on 8 March . Her next action came as a radar picket ship off Okinawa on 1 April , when American troops stormed the last Japanese stronghold before the home islands . On 5 April the " Hudson " gained credit for her second Japanese submarine , when a 6 - hour attack with six barrages of depth charge s resulted in the sinking of the " RO - 49 " off Okinawa . Although under almost constant attack by kamikaze aircraft , " Hudson " suffered only one injury to a crewman , inflicted when a kamikaze crashed nearby on 22 April 1945 , a wingtip clipping a chief on the head . Also off Okinawa , " Hudson " became known as the " destroyer that saved a carrier " . On 4 May a kamikaze pilot crashed into the escort carrier " Sangamon " ( CVE - 26 ) . " Hudson " steered for the fiercely blazing carrier . Despite the exploding ammunition on the drifting carrier , the destroyer was able to go alongside three times , getting a total of 16 hoses over the side . The overhanging flight deck of the carrier caused extensive damage to " Hudson " ' s superstructure as burning debris and a flaming plane jettisoned by " Sangamon " s crew crashed into " Hudson " s depth charges on the fantail , causing some damage . When the fires were finally under control , " Hudson " had suffered damage equal to that of the kamikaze plane ' s victim , though the carrier had been saved with only a small loss of life and was ordered to Guam for repairs on 10 May . Fate . Promptly repaired , " Hudson " joined the 3rd Fleet off Okinawa 22 June and then proceeded to Eniwetok for convoy duty in the Marshalls . After escorting a convoy to the Aleutians , she returned to Northern Japan to take part in the occupation and control of the enemy home islands 8 September , 6 days after the signing of unconditional surrender in Tokyo Bay . From Japan , " Hudson " sailed to Alaska where she began carrying veterans back to the States in Operation Magic Carpet . She then put in at the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Bremerton , Wash . , to prepare to decommission . Sailing to San Diego 15 March 1946 , " Hudson " decommissioned and went into reserve there 31 May . In January 1947 " Hudson " was moved to Mare Island Naval Shipyard , Calif , where she was put into mothballs . " Hudson " was stricken 1 December 1972 , sold 27 November 1973 and broken up for scrap . Honors . " Hudson " received nine battle star s for World War II service .