USS Soley ( DD - 707 ) USS " Soley " ( DD - 707 ) , an " Allen M . Sumner " – class destroyer , was named for James R . Soley , who became Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1899 . Soley was responsible for the collection and publication of Union and Confederate Naval records . He is considered to be a naval historian . The " Soley " was laid down on 18 April 1944 at Kearny , New Jersey , by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co . ; launched on 8 September 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . C . M . Cornfelt , Mrs . Howard C . Dickinson , and Mrs . Howard C . Dickinson , Jr . ; and commissioned on 7 December 1944 , Comdr . John S . Lewis in command . World War II . " Soley " sailed on 29 December 1944 for a shakedown cruise in Bermuda waters . On 1 February 1945 , she headed back toward the Brooklyn Navy Yard for post - shakedown availability before joining the Atlantic Fleet at Norfolk , Virginia , on 18 February . After serving in the Virginia Capes area as a training ship , she was ordered to the west coast . " Soley " arrived at San Diego on 17 August . She reached Pearl Harbor 10 days later and was routed onward to the Marshall Islands , arriving at Kwajalein on 5 September . Soley joined Task Unit ( TU ) 96 . 15 . 1 , a Military Government Unit , which sortied for Kusaie Island , on 7 September , to take part in the acceptance of the surrender of Japanese forces . The surrender articles were signed on the 8th , and Soley remained at Kusaie as station ship until mid - October . From 14 October to 17 December , the destroyer operated directly under the Commander of the Marshall - Gilbert Islands Area . On two occasions , she was called upon to transport Japanese prisoners from outlying islands to Kwajalein for possible trial before the War Crimes Commission . The most prominent among them was Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara , the commander at Wake Island . On 18 December , " Soley " departed the Marshall Islands for Japan and duty with the occupation forces , arriving at Yokosuka on 27 December 1945 . In February 1946 , the destroyer was ordered to return to Casco Bay , Maine , via Hawaii , Long Beach , and the Panama Canal . In December 1946 , the ship sailed to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , for training exercises and next reported to Charleston , South Carolina , for inactivation with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . The destroyer was placed in reserve , out of commission , on 15 April 1947 . " Soley " was placed in commission again on 29 January 1949 . After pre - shakedown training , the ship entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard for an overhaul from March through May . Following shakedown in Guantanamo Bay , " Soley " joined Destroyer Squadron ( DesRon ) 20 , with its home port at Norfolk . She operated with her squadron along the east coast until 4 August 1950 when she sailed to the Mediterranean Sea for duty with the 6th Fleet . The destroyer represented the United States at the funeral of King Gustaf V of Sweden . She was in Stockholm on 9 November , with Rear Admiral Walter F . Boone , the Commander in Chief , Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Naval Forces , on board . She rejoined the 6th Fleet in December and , in January 1951 , returned to Norfolk for an overhaul . Yard work was completed on 15 May , and the ship proceeded to Guantanamo Bay for refresher training . Soley resumed her routine east coast operations which she continued until May 1952 . On 15 May , she got underway , with three other destroyers , for Japan , via the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor , arriving at Yokosuka on 18 June . Korea . " Soley " steamed north to the Korean war zone and , from 22 June to 1 July , operated in the antisubmarine screen of Task Force ( TF ) 77 , the fast carrier task force . During this period , the carriers conducted raids against the North Korean hydroelectric power stations on the Yalu River . " Soley " and " Helena " ( CA - 75 ) were detached from the task force to go to the " bomb - line " to provide shore bombardment in support of ground troops . " Soley " and " Helena " joined " Iowa " ( BB - 61 ) , and the trio conducted shore bombardment at Wonsan , Kojo , and Kosong through 9 July . From 21 July to 22 August , the destroyer operated with the United Nations Blockade and Escort Force ( TF 95 ) in the Wonsan - Hung - nam area and north to Ch ' aho . She bombarded railroad and highway bridges and tunnels . She took on board more than 60 prisoners and refugees from sampans in the bombardment area . During the first half of September , the destroyer operated with an antisubmarine hunter - killer group . She returned to TF 77 on 15 September ( one day before Alex Soley ' s birthday ) and operated with it until proceeding to Sasebo on 9 October . " Soley " then departed the Far East on 19 October for Norfolk , but not on a direct route . She returned via Malaya , Ceylon , and Arabia ; proceeded through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal ; and made stops at ports in Italy and France , and Gibraltar ; and finally arrived at Norfolk on 12 December 1952 . On 25 January 1953 , Soley sailed for operations in the Caribbean . Upon her return to Norfolk , she commenced an overhaul and was there from 30 April to 21 August . Refresher training was held from 3 September to 2 November , followed by preparations for her second world cruise . On 4 January 1954 , " Soley " , " Strong " ( DD - 758 ) , and " Barton " ( DD - 722 ) stood out of Norfolk en route to the west coast . They transited the Panama Canal on 9 January and anchored briefly at San Diego where " Stickell " ( DDR - 888 ) joined the group before continuing west . The destroyers called at Pearl Harbor and Midway before arriving at Yokosuka on 7 February . She completed a patrol off Korea , made port calls from Hong Kong to South Africa , and returned to Norfolk on 10 August 1954 . 1955 – 1970 . " Soley " operated along the east coast until being deployed to the Mediterranean from July 1956 to February 1957 and again from July to December 1957 . She was participating in " Springboard 58 " , the annual Caribbean exercise , during January 1958 when she and " Barton " ( DD - 722 ) rescued the crew of SS " St . Eleftiero " which later sank . " Soley " was deployed to the Mediterranean from October 1958 to April 1959 ; While in the Eastern Mediterranean in December 1958 , " Soley " responded to a distress message reporting a fire on board the Panamanian tanker " Mirador " in Iskenderun Bay , Turkey . During this incident , on 30 December , " John L . King , DC2 " , lost his life while fighting the fire . After proceeding to Beirut on 12 January , " Soley " was called upon to respond to another fire in Mirador . During this deployment , port calls were made in Gibraltar , Golf Juan , Malta , Cartagena , Athens , Beirut , Genoa , San Remo , Marseilles , Barcelona , and Rota , Spain . A royal welcome awaited Destroyer Squadron TWO when they returned to Norfolk , VA on 9 April , with Commander Destroyer Flotilla FOUR embarked . The remainder of April and early May 1959 were spent alongside the piers in Norfolk , VA . On 8 May " Soley " began a two - week operation with " USS Essex " and " USS Saratoga " off the Florida Coast returning to Norfolk , VA in mid - May . " Soley " then participated in INTEX exercises in the South Atlantic with a visit to " Mayport , Florida " for the Memorial Day weekend . The ship returned to the Norfolk , VA area in early June to participate in TRAMIDLEX , an amphibious exercise involving midshipmen . During this period " Soley " was involved in a collision with a whale which severely damaged her sonar dome , requiring replacement at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard beginning on 1 July . On 15 August CDR Richard Flournoy , Jr . assumed duties as Commanding Officer of " Soley " . CDR Flournoy entered the Navy through the V - S program in January 1942 and received his Navy " Wings " in 1943 . In addition to flight duties he served on cruisers , destroyers , and staff assignments . On 11 September Commander Destroyer Flotilla FOUR presented " Soley " with the Battle Efficiency " E " for 1959 . This was the second consecutive year that " Soley " received this award . At the same time the ship received the DESLANT Operations Department " E " and the Communications " C " for excellence . The remainder of 1959 was devoted to Hunter - Killer ASW operations along the Atlantic Coast until December when the ship returned to Norfolk , VA for the holiday period . " Soley " was again deployed from September 1961 to March 1962 ; and from 29 March to 4 September 1963 . In 1962 , during the Cuban missile crisis , she served with the quarantine forces off Cuba from October to December . On 1 March 1964 , " Soley " s homeport was changed from Norfolk , VA to Charleston , South Carolina ; and , on 1 April , she was assigned duty as a Naval Reserve Training ship . She served in this capacity until being decommissioned on 13 February 1970 . " Soley " was struck from the Navy list on 1 July 1970 and sunk as a training target off of South Carolina ' s coast , concluding " Soley " s long career with military honors . " Soley " received one battle star for service in Korea .