USS Reeves ( DE - 156 ) USS " Reeves " ( DE - 156 / APD - 52 ) was a of the United States Navy , named in honor of Warrant Officer Thomas J . Reeves ( 1895 – 1941 ) , who was killed in action , while serving aboard the battleship during the attack on Pearl Harbor . For his distinguished conduct to bring ammunition to anti - aircraft guns , he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . The first " Reeves " was laid down by the Norfolk Navy Yard , Portsmouth , Virginia , on 7 February 1943 ; launched on 23 April 1943 ; sponsored by Miss Mary Anne Reeves , niece of Chief Radioman Reeves ; and commissioned on 9 June 1943 , Lieutenant Commander Mathias S . Clark in command . Service history . Following shakedown , " Reeves " returned to Norfolk and on 16 August got underway on her first transatlantic escort run , a slow convoy to Casablanca . Arriving at New York six weeks later , she underwent availability and further training , at Casco Bay , then returned to escort duty and for the next 12 months shepherded fast tanker convoys between New York and the United Kingdom . On 18 March 1944 , after SS " Seakay " had been sunk , " Reeves " rescued 83 of the merchantman ' s 84 man crew . For heroism during that rescue , one of the escort ' s coxswain s , E . E . Angus , was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal . The following day , " Reeves " took in tow after she had been torpedo ed , stood by until relieved by tugs , then continued on carrying the damaged escort ' s more seriously wounded men . Through D - Day and the summer of 1944 , " Reeves " continued to escort fast convoys . On 23 September she completed her last Atlantic escort mission and entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for conversion to a " Charles Lawrence " - class high speed transport . Redesignated APD - 52 on 25 September , " Reeves " emerged from the shipyard on 23 December and after amphibious training , headed for the Panama Canal and duty in the Pacific . Arriving at Ulithi on 26 February 1945 , she continued on to the Philippines in early March to rehearse for Operation Iceberg , the invasion of the Ryukyus . On 26 March " Reeves " arrived off the Kerama Retto invasion area and , after initial duties as a standby ship for Underwater Demolition Team operations , shifted to anti - submarine and anti - aircraft screening duties . She served on that harrowing duty for 109 days interrupted only for a fast convoy to Ulithi and a brief availability in the Philippines . Detached 18 August , the APD delivered men , mail , and provisions to ships of the fleet , then sailed north to Japan . There , into October , she assisted in the repatriation of former POW s , then supported the United States Strategic Bombing Survey mission assigned to the Nagasaki area . " Reeves " sailed for the United States on 26 November and , after stops in the Volcano , Marshall , and Hawaiian islands , arrived at San Diego on 23 December . Three days later she continued on , and , on 10 January 1946 , she arrived at Boston to begin inactivation . Assigned to the Florida Group , Atlantic Reserve Fleet , she decommissioned on 30 July at Green Cove Springs , Florida where she remained until struck from the Navy List on 1 June 1960 and transferred to the Government of Ecuador for use as an electric generator plant . Awards . " Reeves " earned one battle star during World War II .