USS John D . Henley ( DD - 553 ) USS " John D . Henley " ( DD - 553 ) , a " Fletcher " - class destroyer , was a ship of the United States Navy named for Captain John D . Henley ( 1781 – 1835 ) . " John D . Henley " was laid down on 21 July 1941 by Gulf Shipbuilding Co . , Chickasaw , Ala . ; launched on 15 November 1942 , sponsored by Miss Shelah Keith Kane , great - great - great - granddaughter of Captain Henley ; and commissioned on 2 February 1944 , Commander C . H . Smith in command . Service history . Following exhaustive shakedown training out of Bermuda , the new destroyer arrived Norfolk on 28 March 1944 . Sailing for the Pacific via the Panama Canal , she arrived Pearl Harbor on 23 April 1944 . After operational training , " John D . Henley " escorted fleet oiler s to Majuro and returned on 17 May . She departed on 27 May for Majuro once more and there became flagship of a refueling task group . Departing on 6 June 1944 , the ships moved to the Marianas to refuel the fleet during the capture and occupation of Saipan and Tinian . During this long at - sea period the ships came under air attack 17 – 18 June . They returned to Eniwetok 14 August . As the Navy ' s mobile amphibious forces prepared to move into the Palaus , " Henley " joined Task Group 30 . 8 ( TG 30 . 8 ) and departed Manus 1 September as flagship of the refueling group during strikes on Peleliu and its eventual capture . The oilers and their escorts continued to operate out of Ulithi well into November , supporting the vast aircraft carrier task force s striking the Philippines . This unit , headed by Captain J . T . Acuff , had much to do with the great success of the wide - ranging carrier forces . In December , the destroyer moved to Guam for independent operation as an escort and patrol ship in the Marshall and Mariana Islands . She then steamed to Ulithi , where she arrived 31 January 1945 to undergo operational training in covering Underwater Demolition Team s . She sailed 14 February for the next major landing on the island road to Japan , Iwo Jima . Arriving 2 days later , she took part in the pre - invasion bombardment and , after the assault on Iwo Jima 19 February , performed yeoman fire support , screening , and radar picket duties during the bitter fighting ashore . She returned to Ulithi on 5 March to prepare for the Okinawa invasion . " Henley " got underway on 21 March for the last and largest of the Pacific amphibious operations , Okinawa . Her assignment consisted of screening the light carriers as their planes provided vital air support to ground troops . Undergoing periodic air attacks , she continued to screen her carrier group , with occasional logistics stops at Kerama Retto until 24 June . She arrived Leyte Gulf 27 June 1945 . The veteran ship returned to waters north of Okinawa on 1 July to cover minesweeping operations . " Henley " returned to Buckner Bay on 7 August and was there at war ' s end on 15 August . She took air - sea rescue station off Japan on 24 August , then departed on 2 September , the day of Japan ' s formal surrender , for the long voyage to California , arriving in San Francisco on 24 September . She was overhauled , and decommissioned at San Diego on 30 April 1946 , then entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet , and was berthed at Bremerton , Wash . On 1 May 1968 , the ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register , and in May 1970 she was sold and broken up for scrap . Honors . " John D . Henley " received six battle star s for World War II service .