USS Paul Jones ( DD - 230 ) USS " Paul Jones " ( DD - 230 / AG – 120 ) was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II . She was the third ship named for John Paul Jones . " Paul Jones " was laid down 23 December 1919 and launched 30 September 1920 from William Cramp & Sons ; sponsored by Miss Ethel Bagley ; and commissioned 19 April 1921 . Service history . After shakedown , " Paul Jones " joined the Atlantic Fleet for maneuvers , training , and coastal operations until transferred to the Pacific in 1923 . She crossed the Pacific and joined the Asiatic Fleet in protecting American interest in the troubled Far East . " Paul Jones " participated in the Yangtze River Patrol and was assigned other patrol duties along the China coast , while making occasional voyages to and from Manila . As flagship of Destroyer Squadron 29 , Asiatic Fleet , she received the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor 8 December 1941 , at Tarakan , Borneo , and immediately prepared for action . She got underway with , , , and for Makassar Strait and for the remainder of December acted as picket boat in the vicinity of Lombok Strait and Soerabaja Harbor , Java . Her first war orders were to contact Dutch ] Naval Units for instructions pertaining to the search for a submarine in the Java Sea , which was reported to have sunk the Dutch vessel " Langkoems " , contact her survivors on Bawean Island and check the waters for additional survivors . " Paul Jones " was unable to make contact with the submarine , but rescued Dutch crewmen . On 9 January 1942 , after a Japanese submarine had sunk a second Dutch merchantman , " Paul Jones " saved 101 men from drifting life - boats . With , she salvaged the abandoned U . S . Army cargo vessel , 12 January , and towed it safely to Bali . She joined a raiding group consisting of three other destroyers : , , and " Parrott " , along with cruiser s " Marblehead " and , hoping to intercept a large enemy convoy heading southward toward Balikpapan . " Boise " retired early from the group because of a grounding mishap and " Marblehead " developed a faulty turbine forcing her to reduce speed and remain behind the destroyers to act as cover for withdrawal . The destroyers engaged the Japanese convoy and its screening warships the night of 23 / 24 January . Despite overwhelming odds , they came out of the fracas with only minor damage to " John D . Ford " . The enemy suffered losses from the torpedo attacks launched by the destroyers as they raced back and forth through the transport formation . On 5 February " Paul Jones " rendezvoused with off Sumbawa Island to escort her to Timor . Shortly after they joined up , they were attacked by three separate groups of Japanese bombers . " Paul Jones " successfully dodged approximately 20 bombs , but Tidore was aground and a total loss . Fifteen crew members were picked up from a life boat , five were taken off the stricken vessel , and six more were gathered from the beaches . " Paul Jones " then steamed on to Java . The American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDA ) commenced sweeps 24 February in search of enemy surface forces which might be attempting to make landings in the Java area , and to give what opposition they could to the Japanese advance . They encountered a Japanese covering force in the afternoon of 27 February and the Allies opened fire , beginning the Battle of the Java Sea . By 1821 , " Paul Jones " had expended her torpedoes . Dangerously low on fuel , she retreated to Soerabaja . The next morning " Paul Jones " and three other U . S . destroyers escaped encirclement by Japanese forces closing on all sides of Java , by hugging close to the shore line and laying smoke at high speed when sighted in the Bali Strait . " Paul Jones " and " John D . Ford " later escorted on to Fremantle , Australia , arriving 4 March . Following repairs at Fremantle and Melbourne , " Paul Jones " sailed 12 May for San Francisco . She reached San Francisco 29 June and was assigned convoy escort duty between California and Pearl Harbor which continued until the end of March 1943 . Sailing in company with " Parrott " and " Barker " , " Paul Jones " departed San Francisco 30 March , transited the Panama Canal 6 May and reported to New York where she commenced convoy escort duty 28 May between North African ports and the U . S . Convoy assignments were carried out until April 1944 , when " Paul Jones " was assigned temporarily to antisubmarine ( ASW ) patrol seaward of Chesapeake Bay . She then made convoy runs to several United Kingdom ports before being assigned as training ship for newly commissioned submarines at Balboa , Panama Canal Zone , which commenced 9 November and terminated 6 April 1945 , when she sailed for New York . She was next assigned to a task group consisting of oilers and destroyers serving as an at - sea terminus tanker group , for the purpose of refueling escorts of east and west bound convoys between Horta , Azores and Casablanca , French Morocco . " Paul Jones " moored at Norfolk , Virginia 11 June , and was assigned as a plane guard destroyer for , in which capacity she served until 4 August , when she sailed independently from Guantanamo Bay to return to Norfolk in preparation for inactivation . She was reclassified as a miscellaneous auxiliary ( AG – 120 ) as of 30 June 1945 . In October , she was stripped and assigned to the Commandant 5th Naval District for administrative purposes . She decommissioned 5 November 1945 , was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 28 November 1945 , and sold 5 October 1947 to the Northern Metal Company , Norfolk , which scrapped her in April 1948 . Awards . " Paul Jones " earned two battle star s for Pacific service in World War II . See also . USS " Paul Jones " for other ships of this other name .