USS John Paul Jones ( DD - 932 ) USS " John Paul Jones " ( DD - 932 / DDG - 32 ) , named for John Paul Jones , was a " Forrest Sherman " - class destroyer of the United States Navy . " John Paul Jones " was laid down by the Bath Iron Works Corporation at Bath in Maine on 18 January 1954 , launched on 7 May 1955 by Mrs . Carney , wife of Admiral Robert B . Carney and commissioned on 5 April 1956 , Comdr . R . W . Hayler , Jr . , in command . History . " John Paul Jones " , second of the initial class destroyer s of post - war design , conducted exhaustive shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , after which she departed for a cruise to Northern Europe and the British Isles . During this voyage Commander Hayler and members of the crew visited the birthplace of John Paul and presented the ship ' s emblem to the people of Kirkcudbright . She returned to her home port , Newport , 8 October 1956 . The new destroyer departed for her first cruise with Sixth Fleet 25 March 1957 . In May she took part in an operation in support of King Hussein of Jordan . After successfully averting his overthrow , " John Paul Jones " sailed for Newport once more , arriving 6 June 1957 . NATO maneuvers in the North Atlantic followed in October . After another brief cruise to the Mediterranean , she arrived Fall River 27 November and in January 1958 she took part in fleet exercises in the Caribbean . In the spring of 1958 " John Paul Jones " operated with Canadian ships on training maneuvers in the Atlantic . After further training off the East Coast and in the Caribbean , she sailed again for the Mediterranean 17 March 1959 . This tour with the 6th Fleet on its peace - keeping mission ended 24 July when the ship arrived Boston . The year 1960 began with 2nd Fleet operations out of Newport , and in June the destroyer embarked midshipmen for a training cruise . She then departed 22 August for a cruise to South America . As part of Operation Unitas , she circumnavigated the continent , visiting many of America ' s southern allies and taking part in joint exercises with their navies . After transiting the Straits of Magellan and the Panama Canal , " John Paul Jones " returned to Newport 13 December 1960 . During 1961 and 1962 the ship carried out antisubmarine exercises in the Caribbean and out of Newport . In April 1962 she took part in a fleet review and weapons demonstration for President John F . Kennedy , and in July she again embarked midshipmen for training . In October 1962 the ship was on station with the Atlantic Recovery Forces during the orbital flight of Commander Wally Schirra , and soon afterward moved off the coast of Cuba during the Cuban Crisis . The following year saw the veteran ship embark on another Mediterranean cruise 6 February to 1 July ; the remainder of 1963 was spent on antisubmarine exercises in the Atlantic . Operations along the Atlantic Coast continued until " John Paul Jones " began another 6th Fleet deployment 20 June 1964 . She operated primarily in the western Mediterranean , on ASW assignments until returning home 3 September 1964 . Early in 1965 she participated in Operation " Spring board " in the Caribbean . In March the destroyer received a Gemini - recovery crane and on the 19th sailed for her recovery station some 200 miles south of Bermuda . She was to pick up astronauts Major Virgil Grissom and Lt . Cmdr . John W . Young and their space craft in the event that they ended their flight after two rather than the three scheduled orbits . However , all went well so she returned to Norfolk 27 March without headlines . " John Paul Jones " headed back to the Mediterranean 18 June for NATO exercises with units of the French , Greek and British navies . " John Paul Jones " was converted to a guided missile destroyer at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard between 20 December 1965 and 15 March 1967 and designated DDG - 32 . Fate . " John Paul Jones " was a member of the U . S . Pacific Fleet when she was decommissioned on 15 December 1982 . She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 November 1985 and sunk as a target off the coast of California on 31 January 2001 .