USS Halford ( DD - 480 ) USS " Halford " ( DD - 480 ) , a , was a ship of the United States Navy named for Lieutenant William Halford ( 1841 – 1919 ) , a recipient of the Medal of Honor . " Halford " was laid down on 3 June 1941 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Bremerton , Washington ; launched on 29 October 1942 , sponsored by Miss Eunice Halford , daughter of Lieutenant Halford ; and commissioned on 10 April 1943 , with Lieutenant Commander G . N . Johansen in command . " Halford " was one of the three " Fletcher " - class destroyers to be completed ( out of six planned ) with a catapult for a float plane , the others being and . The catapult and an aircraft crane were located just aft of the number 2 smokestack , in place of the after torpedo tube mount , 5 inch mount number 3 , and the 2nd deck of the after deck house which normally carried a twin 40 mm anti - aircraft gun on most ships of the class . ( The twin 40 mm mount was moved to the fantail , just forward of the depth charge racks , where most ships of the class carried 20 mm mounts . ) It was intended that the float plane be used for scouting for the destroyer flotilla which the ship was attached to . It would be launched by the catapult , land on the water next to the ship , and be recovered by the aircraft crane . It turned out to be not operationally suitable for the intended purpose , and the three ships were ultimately converted to the standard " Fletcher " - class configuration . 1943 . In 1943 when the struggle in Pacific was raging , the Pacific Fleet prepared for its mighty sweep across Micronesia . In an effort to strengthen the " seeing eyes " of the fleet , " Halford " was constructed with a cruiser catapult and scout observation plane . She departed San Diego 5 July en route Pearl Harbor arriving five days later . For the next 3½ months " Halford " was to test the feasibility of carrying scout planes on small vessels . Because of tactical changes and the Navy ' s growing strength in aircraft carrier s , " Halford " returned to Mare Island Naval Shipyard 27 October 1943 for alterations which replaced the catapult and scout plane with a second set of torpedo tubes and the number 3 5 inch mount . By 6 December , with increased fighting power and a new profile , " Halford " again departed for the South Pacific . She called at Pearl Harbor , Funafuti , Espiritu Santo , and Tutuila , Samoa ; then took up convoy duties which included a Christmastime assignment of protecting the troopship " Lurline " with Marine reinforcements embarked for Guadalcanal . Arriving at Guadalcanal , she assumed command of the anti - submarine screen and took up station off Lunga Point . In addition to Guadalcanal , " Halford " supported the beachhead at Bougainville , screening supply trains and participating in coastal bombardments . 1944 . Anti - shipping sweeps on New Ireland ' s east coast , punctuated by counter - battery fire off East Buka Passage made tense and exciting days for " Halford " , and during January 1944 , a month which also saw the destruction by this three - ship task force , of the strategic Japanese facilities on Choiseul Island . " Halford " next became the flagship for Admiral T . S . " Ping " Wilkinson ' s Green Islands Attack Force . Carrying Major General Harold E . Barrowclough ' s 3rd New Zealand Division Admiral Wilkinson ' s destroyer - transport group sortied from Vella Lavella and the Treasuries , 12 – 13 February , arrived off Barahun Island at 06 : 20 , 15 February and lowered their landing craft fully manned . " Halford " took up station off Green Island and began patrolling while unloading operations proceeded . At 09 : 40 General Barrowclough , RNZA , and staff disembarked to land on Green Island . Within two hours after the initial landing , all New Zealand forces were ashore ; 5 , 800 men were landed during D - Day , 15 February . The fact that such a force could put thousands of troops ashore virtually without opposition 115 miles ( 210 km ) from Rabaul demonstrated the might and mobility of the Allied fleets in the Pacific . " Halford " next joined a destroyer squadron to make shipping sweeps off the west coast of New Ireland . On the night of 24 – 25 February 1944 , " Halford " and sank two small coastal ships and severely damaged a patrol vessel . For the next three days , " Halford " carried out her sweeps south of the strong Japanese naval base of Truk then returned to Purvis Bay for supplies . The Spring of 1944 found " Halford " busily escorting supply units to the northern Solomon Islands . " Halford " then prepared for the longest cruise of her career — commencing early in June with the campaign for the Marianas . The initial phase of Operation Forager which kept " Halford " at sea for seventy five days was the bombardment of Tinian ' s west coast defenses , followed by night harassing fire and the screening of heavy shore bombardment units . On 17 June " Halford " joined the battle line of Admiral Marc A . Mitscher ' s famed Task Force 58 ( TF 58 ) for the greatest carrier action of all time : the Battle of the Philippine Sea . 19 June found " Halford " in the first phase of the battle : — the " Marianas Turkey Shoot " — as repeated enemy carrier strikes were shot down by surface fire . In the two day battle of the Philippine Sea , the Japanese Fleet lost 395 of its carrier planes , thirty one float planes , and three aircraft carriers . While Guam footholds were being secured , " Halford " covered beach demolition units giving close bombardment support to assault troops and rescuing a number of friendly natives who had escaped through Japanese lines . " Halford " then joined the Angaur Fire Support Group in the bombardment of Angaur Island ( 4 – 21 September 1944 ) . " Halford " turned next to the campaign for the recapture of the Philippines . Joining Admiral Jesse B . Oldendorf ' s Fire Group of the Southern Attack Force , " Halford " participated in the pre - invasion bombardments in Leyte Island . Then , on 24 October , when Admiral Thomas C . Kinkaid estimated that Admiral Shoji Nishimura ' s Southern Force would try to enter Leyte Gulf via Surigao Strait , " Halford " prepared for the Battle of Surigao Strait ( 24 – 25 October 1944 ) . That night and in the early morning hours of 25 October " Halford " , as a member of Destroyer Division 112 , witnessed virtually the complete destruction of the Japanese Southern Force except for destroyer . American casualties totaled 39 men killed and 114 wounded , most of them in destroyer . Admiral Oldendorf said after the battle , " My theory was that of the old - time gambler : ' Never give a sucker a chance . ' If my opponent is foolish enough to come at me with an inferior force , I ' m certainly not going to give him an even break . " After the epochal Battle of Leyte Gulf , which broke the back of Japanese sea power , " Halford " departed Leyte Gulf 1 November 1944 and took up operations with the 3rd Fleet out of Ulithi until 2 December when she returned to Leyte as part of the covering force for the landings . On 6 December she was dispatched to escort damaged SS " Antone Sautrain " into Leyte , but the ship was lost in air attack . Returning to Leyte " Halford " next escorted supply echelons to Ormoc Bay and troopships to Mindoro . 1945 . In the afternoon of 2 January 1945 " Halford " sortied from Hollandia to escort transports of Task Force 79 to Lingayen Gulf for the occupation of Luzon Island ; delivering the transports safely despite heavy air attack she commenced patrolling the entrance to the Gulf . Then on the afternoon of 11 January , " Halford " took part in the shipping strike on San Fernando Harbor in which three small cargo ships , a landing craft , and several barges were sunk . Next morning she took part in the bombardment which neutralized the town of Rosario . On 14 February , while patrolling Saipan Harbor , in a smoke screen , " Halford " rammed M . S . " Terry E . Stephenson " . Although there were no injuries , it necessitated " Halford " ' s return to Mare Island , where she arrived on 24 March 1945 . On 27 May 1945 " Halford " departed San Diego on her way west again . She proceeded to the Marshall Islands via Pearl Harbor where she escorted transports from Eniwetok to Ulithi . On 11 August " Halford " departed Eniwetok en route to Adak , Alaska as a unit of the Northern Pacific Fleet . With a task force composed of light carriers , cruiser s , and destroyers , " Halford " departed Adak on 31 August and steamed into Ominato , Northern Honshū , Japan 12 September . Under the direction of Vice - Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher , this force was responsible for the initial occupation of the Ominato Naval Base and surrounding areas . With Admiral Fletcher ' s Task Group , " Halford " cleared Ominato on 20 September returning to Adak five days later , thence on via Kodiak to Juneau for Navy Day . Fate . " Halford " departed Juneau , Alaska , on 1 November 1945 , and arrived at Bremerton , Washington , three days later to begin inactivation overhaul . She departed Bremerton on 23 January 1946 . She joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego on 28 January and decommissioned there on 15 May 1946 . " Halford " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 May 1968 ; she was sold on 2 April 1970 and broken up for scrap . Honors . " Halford " received thirteen battle star s for World War II service .