USS Austin ( DE - 15 ) USS " Austin " ( DE - 15 ) , was an of the United States Navy during World War II . The ship was named for Chief Carpenter John Arnold Austin ( 1905 - 1941 ) who was killed in action on board during the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941 , and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross . The second " Austin " ( DE - 15 ) was laid down on 14 March 1942 at the Mare Island Navy Yard as HMS " Blackwood " ( BDE - 15 ) for the United Kingdom under the terms of the Lend - Lease Agreement ; launched on 25 September 1942 : sponsored by Mrs . W . C . Springer ; taken over by the United States Navy on 25 January 1943 and redesignated DE - 15 ; and commissioned on 13 February 1943 , Lt . Comdr . H . G . Claudius , USNR , in command . The destroyer escort was apparently commissioned as simply " DE - 15 " for the name " Austin " was not assigned to her until 19 February 1943 , six days after she went into commission . Service history . Assigned to Escort Division ( CortDiv ) 14 , the ship conducted shakedown training out of San Diego between 23 March and 23 April . On the latter day , she put to sea to escort a convoy to Cold Bay , Alaska . She returned to San Diego on 11 May and began convoy escort missions between the West Coast and the Hawaiian Islands . Between mid - May and early September , " Austin " made two round - trip voyages between San Diego and Oahu and then a single , one - way run from the West Coast back to Pearl Harbor . On 2 September , she stood out of that base ; shaped a course for the Aleutian Islands ; and , on 14 September , joined the Alaskan Sea Frontier . For just over one year , " Austin " plied the cold waters of the North Pacific escorting ships between Alaskan ports , conducting patrols , performing weather ship duties , and serving as a homing point for aircraft . The warship departed Alaska on 23 September 1944 ; arrived in San Francisco , California , a week later , and received a regular overhaul which lasted until 17 November . On 3 December , she once more weighed anchor for Hawaii . " Austin " operated out of Pearl Harbor as a training ship with the Pacific Fleet Submarine Training Command until 20 March 1945 , when she set out for the Central Pacific . On 1 April , the destroyer escort reported for duty with forces assigned to the Commander , Forward Areas , and , for a little more than two months , conducted anti - submarine patrols and air - sea rescue missions out of Ulithi Atoll in the Western Caroline Islands . She finished that assignment on 10 June when she shaped a course for the Mariana Islands . For the next four months , " Austin " operated out of Guam and Saipan . In addition to anti - submarine patrols and air / sea rescue missions , she escorted convoys to such places as Iwo Jima , Eniwetok , and Okinawa . Following the cessation of hostilities in mid - August , she conducted search missions in the northern Marianas for enemy holdouts and for survivors of downed B - 29 ' s . The warship also patrolled Truk Atoll briefly before occupation forces arrived there in strength . On 12 October , she departed Guam in company with the other ships of CortDiv 14 , bound for San Pedro , California , and inactivation . On 17 November , she reported to the Commander , Western Sea Frontier , to prepare for decommissioning and , on 21 December 1945 , was placed out of commission at Terminal Island Naval Shipyard . " Austin " was berthed with the Pacific Reserve Fleet until scrapped . On 8 January 1946 , her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register . The Terminal Island Naval Shipyard completed scrapping her on 9 January 1947 .