USS Marsh ( DE - 699 ) USS " Marsh " ( DE - 699 ) was a of the United States Navy , named after Ensign Benjamin R . Marsh , Jr . , USNR , who was killed on board the battleship during the attack on Pearl Harbor . " Marsh " was laid down on 23 June 1943 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City , Michigan . She was launched on 25 September 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . Ben R . Marsh , mother of Ensign Marsh ; and commissioned on 12 January 1944 , with Lieutenant Commander P . M . Fenton in command . World War II . Following a Bermuda shakedown cruise , " Marsh " conducted training exercises and escorted convoys along the northeast coast . On 25 March , she steamed from New York , heading for Plymouth , England , on her first trans - Atlantic convoy . She returned to the East Coast on 1 May , and on 23 May , sailed for the coast of North Africa . The destroyer escort accompanied two more convoys between those coasts before being assigned to the Mediterranean Theater . Entering the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar on 9 July , " Marsh " escorted convoys between North Africa , Malta , and southern Italy until mid - August . On 14 August , she sailed from Naples with the assault forces for " Operation Dragoon " , the invasion of Southern France . She remained in the Mediterranean for the next month providing gunfire support and convoying supplies in the area . With the successful establishment of another major crack in the crumbling front of the Third Reich , " Marsh " was reassigned to the Pacific . She departed Mers El Kébir , Algeria , on 28 September , transited the Panama Canal in mid - October , and arrived at Eniwetok on 20 December . For the next five months , she escorted convoys to Guam , Saipan , Ulithi , and Iwo Jima . In May 1945 , " Marsh " joined in the active pacification of bypassed islands in the Marianas . Broadcasting propaganda messages in Japanese and Okinawan , she sailed among the various islands of that group , including Asuncion , Anatahan , Alamagan , Sarigan , Maug , and Agrihan , taking on prisoners as they surrendered . Where the broadcasts were not successful , she escorted landing parties and provided gunfire support for the completion of their missions . By mid - July , resistance on some islands remained stiff . " Marsh " , flagship of the Northern Marianas Expeditionary Force , continued to lead her small force against the holdouts in order to provide safe - ditch areas for pilots returning to Allied bases from raids on the enemy ' s home islands . With the securing of the islands , weather station s and aircraft beacon s were set up to further aid the pilots . On 11 August , " Marsh " detached from the Expeditionary Force , and sailed for Okinawa . Resuming escort duties , she steamed back to the Marianas and then on to Tokyo . Departing Tokyo on 31 August , she sailed for Pearl Harbor , arriving there on 24 September . Then she took on equipment which transformed her into a mobile power unit . In this conversion , an electric generator and power cables replaced her torpedo tubes . With this new asset , she returned to Guam on 26 October to provide ship - to - shore power services until the end of the year . 1946 – 1952 . The destroyer - escort returned to the United States in early 1946 for shipyard overhaul at San Pedro , California . On 16 May , she once again departed for the South Pacific . Arriving at Kwajalein on 31 May , she provided power to that island until September . During her tenure there , a slight mishap occurred . A group of sailors while on leave left the ship and proceeded to burglarize a large liquor storehouse that was on the island . They were discovered by Marine MP ' s that were stationed on the island . None of them were apprehended but it is known that those who committed the robbery were from the " Marsh " because a small dinghy belonging to the Marine detachment was stolen that night as well and tied up alongside the destroyer . The officer in charge of the division claimed that it was theirs and that the liquor had been stolen by sailors on board the " Marsh " . The captain of the vessel staunchly denied the claims . No arrests were made and the small dinghy remained with the " Marsh " at least until 1947 . She then sailed for Guam where she received orders for Tsingtao and Fusan , Korea where the 7th Fleet lent support to the aims of American policy in China and in the United States occupation zone of Korea . " Marsh " returned to her home port , Pearl Harbor , on 31 March 1947 , and for the next three years , operated in the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of California , deploying in 1948 for two months duty at Eniwetok . Her next Pacific deployment came after the invasion of South Korea by the Communists in June 1950 . " Marsh " arrived at Yokosuka , Japan on 7 September , and departed on the 14th for Pusan , where she supplied power to the city for two weeks . On 9 October , she entered Inchon Harbor , and remained as support for that area ' s defense until the end of the month . She supplied power at Masan , a seaport on Chosen Strait , for a month starting on 9 November , then returned to Pusan where she remained as a ship - to - shore power unit for the remainder of her tour . On 8 February 1951 , at Pusan , several of her crew were credited with heroic actions in fighting fires which had broken out in the Army gasoline dump adjacent to the pier where the ship lay . Returning to the West Coast on 26 March , " Marsh " remained at San Francisco for three months before reporting to the Fleet Sonar School at San Diego . Until April 1952 , she conducted training exercises for the school and with other units of the fleet off the southern coast of California . On 15 May 1952 , " Marsh " once again joined the battle line off the Korean coast . She patrolled the west coast , operating primarily in the Sochon - Do area , until the end of May . She then steamed to Okinawa for hunter - killer exercises , returning to Korea on 21 June . Taking up aircraft carrier screen duties , she operated with and in the Yellow Sea . In July , she again headed south , this time to serve with the Formosa Patrol , then on 22 August , returned to the battle line . She patrolled off the west Korean coast initially , but was moved to the east coast in late September to blockade . She participated periodically in the shelling of troop and transportation centers in the Songin and Wonsan areas . On 22 October , she sailed again to the Korean coast where she conducted patrols until steaming for Yokosuka and the United States on 14 November . 1952 – 1961 . For the next five years , " Marsh " operated out of San Diego primarily with the Fleet Sonar School for six months , and served in the western Pacific for the remainder of each year . During these WestPac cruises , she conducted oceanographic survey tests concerned with the temperature and content of the waters of the Marianas , and the Marshalls in addition to her regular duties . On 10 September 1957 , " Marsh " entered the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for overhaul , then went in reserve . Before decommissioning , she conducted two cruises , one to Mexico and one to Hawaii . On 16 August 1958 , she decommissioned at San Diego , but remained in service as an anti - submarine training ship of the Selected Reserve Forces . Based at Long Beach , California , she conducted training cruises for selected reserve crews and when they were not embarked served as a training ship for other Naval Reserve units in the Long Beach - Los Angeles area . During the summer of 1961 , " Marsh " and her reserve crew were ordered activated for a one - year period . She was recommissioned on 15 December , and on 6 January 1962 , she sailed for her new home port , Pearl Harbor . On 10 February , she departed Hawaii for deployment in the western Pacific . Operating out of Subic Bay , " Marsh " conducted training exercises for and patrolled with units of the South Vietnamese Navy , from 18 March to 21 May . She returned to Long Beach on 17 July , and on 1 August , she was again placed in service , in reserve . Reassigned as a Naval Reserve training ship at the same time , she continued this duty into 1969 .