USS Shea ( DM - 30 ) USS " Shea " ( DD - 750 / DM - 30 / MMD - 30 ) was a " Robert H . Smith " - class destroyer minelayer in the United States Navy . She was named for Lieutenant Commander John Joseph Shea . History . " Shea " was laid down on 23 December 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Company yard at Staten Island , New York , as DD - 750 , an " Allen M . Sumner " - class destroyer ; launched on 20 May 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . John J . Shea ; modified to be a destroyer minelayer and redesignated DM - 30 in late 1944 ; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 30 September 1944 , Commander Charles C . Kirkpatrick in command . " Shea " spent 15 more days completing her fitting - out . She then loaded ammunition at Earle and Bayonne , New Jersey , returned briefly to New York and departed for her shakedown cruise on 21 October 1944 . She completed shakedown training at and around Great Sound Bay , Bermuda , and was underway for Norfolk , Virginia , on 16 November . " Shea ' s " crew underwent a month of further training in the Norfolk area before embarking , 13 December , for Brooklyn , New York , arriving the next day . From Brooklyn , " Shea " moved on to San Francisco . Sailing with Task Group 27 . 3 ( TG 27 . 3 ) , she transited the Panama Canal , 20 – 22 December , and made San Francisco on the last day of 1944 . Four days later , she was underway for Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , and 13 more days of training exercises . Another round of training complete , she steamed out of Pearl Harbor bound for Eniwetok Atoll in the western Pacific , arriving on 2 March . After 17 days in the vicinity of Eniwetok , her crew engaged in still more of the perennial training exercises . " Shea " departed for Ulithi Atoll on the first leg of her cruise into the real war at Okinawa . On 19 March 1945 , she sailed from Ulithi and joined TG 52 . 3 . By 24 March , " Shea " was off Okinawa helping prepare the way for the 1 April invasion . While her primary mission was to protect and assist the minesweepers clearing the area of mines , she also stood radar picket duty all around Okinawa . During the period 24 March – 4 May , she was constantly fending off Japanese air attacks and guarding against enemy submarines . Moreover , she probably sank or severely damaged at least one submarine and , on 16 April , in the space of 10 minutes , downed 7 planes . On the morning of 4 May 1945 , " Shea " was en route to radar picket duty 20 miles NE of Zampa Misaki , Okinawa . She arrived just after 06 : 00 , having encountered two Japanese aircraft along the way , firing on both and possibly downing one . Upon receipt of reports indicating the approach of large Japanese air formations , " Shea ' s " crew went to General Quarters . Soon thereafter , a “ considerable smoke haze blew over the ship from the Hagushi beaches ” and “ visibility was at a maximum 5 . 000 yards . ” At 08 : 54 a single Betty was sighted six miles distant ; and , four minutes later , one was shot down by " Shea " - directed CAP . At 08 : 59 , five minutes after the initial sighting , a lookout spotted a Japanese Yokosuka MXY - 7 Ohka on " Shea ' s " starboard beam , closing the ship at better than 450 knots ( 830 km / h ) . Almost instantaneously , the Ohka crashed " Shea " " on the starboard side of her bridge structure , entering the sonar room , traversing the chart house , passageway and batch , and exploding beyond the port side on the surface of the water . Fire broke out on the mess deck , and in CIC , the chart house , division commander ' s stateroom , No . 2 upper handling room , and compartment A - 304 - L . " " Shea " lost all ship ' s communications , 5 " gun mounts numbers 1 and 2 were inoperative ; and the forward port 20 millimeter guns were damaged . The main director was jammed and the gyro and computer rendered unserviceable . One officer and 34 men were killed , and 91 others were wounded to varying degrees . With repair parties and survivors from damaged areas scurrying about , helping the wounded and fighting fires , " Shea " , listing 5 degrees to port , began limping off to Haeushi and medical assistance . She arrived there at 10 : 52 ; her most seriously wounded crew members were transferred to " Crescent City " ( APA - 21 ) ; and the bodies of the 35 dead were removed for burial on Okinawa . " Shea " then resumed her limping , this time to Kerama Retto anchorage . At Kerama Retto , she underwent repairs and disgorged all but 10 percent of her ammunition . In addition , much of her gear , particularly radar and fighter direction equipment , was transferred to DesRon 2 for distribution to less severely damaged ships . After a memorial service on 11 May for her dead crewmen and the removal of some armament , " Shea " was underway on 15 May to join convoy OKU No . 4 ( TU 51 . 29 . 9 ) , heading for Ulithi Atoll . " Shea " got underway from Ulithi on 27 May 1945 and , after a three - day layover at Pearl Harbor , departed for Philadelphia on 9 June . She arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 2 July , visiting San Diego and transiting the Panama Canal en route . " Shea " underwent extensive repairs and post - repair trials before leaving Philadelphia on 11 October for shakedown at Casco Bay , Maine . While in the area , " Shea " celebrated her first peacetime Navy Day at Bath , Maine . From 1946 to late 1953 , " Shea " was engaged in normal operations with the Atlantic Fleet . Assigned to Min - Div 2 and based at Charleston , South Carolina , she ranged the Atlantic seaboard and Caribbean Sea . This employment was interrupted late in 1950 by a Mediterranean cruise , during which she visited Trieste on a liaison mission with the British armed forces in the area . " Shea " returned to Charleston and the Atlantic Fleet on 1 February 1951 and remained so engaged until September 1953 when she reentered the Pacific . " Shea " spent the remainder of her active service in the Pacific , based at Long Beach , California . She participated in numerous minelaying and antisubmarine exercises off the west coast , covering the area from Mexico north to British Columbia and west to Hawaii . In the spring of 1954 , she made her only excursion out of that area when she took part in the atomic tests conducted at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands . This was her first and only return to any of her old World War II haunts . She arrived back in Long Beach on 28 May and remained in the area until 9 April 1958 when she was placed out of commission in reserve . " Shea " continued in this reserve status until 1 September 1973 at which time , after being surveyed and deemed not to be up to fleet standards , she was stricken from the Navy list . She was sold for scrap on 1 September 1974 . " Shea " earned one battle star for her part in the Okinawa campaign during World War II . As of 2009 , no other ship has been named " Shea " . Citation . The Secretary of the Navy issued the following statement : / s / John L . Sullivan , Secretary of the Navy References . http : / / destroyerhistory . org / sumner - gearingclass / ussshea _ nuc / USS " Shea " Navy Unit Commendation ] at Destroyer History Foundation