USS Samuel B . Roberts ( DD - 823 ) USS " Samuel B . Roberts " ( DD - 823 ) , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Samuel B . Roberts , a Navy coxswain who was killed evacuating Marines during the battle of Guadalcanal in 1942 . The crew nicknamed the ship the " Steamin ' Sammy B . " for its busy schedule . The second " Samuel B . Roberts " was laid down on 27 June 1945 by the Consolidated Steel Corporation , Orange , Texas ; launched on 30 November 1945 ; sponsored by the namesake coxswain ' s mother ; and commissioned on 22 December 1946 , Cmdr . C . T . Doss in command . 1947 – 1953 . Following shakedown training off Guantanamo Bay in February 1947 , " Samuel B . Roberts " joined the Atlantic Fleet . The ship participated in Atlantic Fleet maneuvers before proceeding to the Mediterranean in January 1948 . Returning to the United States in June , the destroyer began another year of operations along the East Coast of the United States . A second tour of foreign duty took the ship to northern Europe from May to September 1949 . " Roberts " participated in western Atlantic operations until March 1950 , when the ship sailed to the Mediterranean to join the 6th Fleet until October . Following operations in the western Atlantic and the Caribbean , the " Roberts " got underway for Scotland on 10 September 1952 to join NATO forces in " Operation Mainbrace " , before proceeding to the Mediterranean to join the 6th Fleet . Two months later , in November , the ship returned for duty off northern Europe , and finally sailed for the United States , arriving at Newport on 29 January 1953 . 1953 – 1957 . " Samuel B . Roberts " operated in the Atlantic and Caribbean from early 1953 until 3 August 1954 , when the ship headed for the western Pacific , via the Panama Canal , to begin an around - the - world cruise . The destroyer spent five months in the waters around Japan and the Philippines , then sailed across the Indian Ocean and through the Suez Canal , arriving home on 14 March 1955 . The remainder of 1955 was spent in local operations with the exception of a hastily ordered voyage in July to a lifeguard station off Greenland during President Eisenhower ' s flight to Geneva . Western Atlantic operations in early 1956 gave way to foreign duty when " Roberts " again joined the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean on 27 September . On 25 October , " Roberts " weighed anchor for the Persian Gulf and duty with the Middle East Force . The destroyer transited the Suez Canal on the night of 27 / 28 October , the last warship to transit the canal southbound before it was closed during the invasion of Egypt . The ship was then on duty with the Middle East Force until sailing for home by way of Pakistan , India , East Africa , the Cape of Good Hope , and Brazil . " Roberts " arrived in Newport on 14 March 1957 . With the exception of a Midshipman Cruise to Rio de Janeiro , " Samuel B . Roberts " remained near Newport until mid - September . The ship then participated in NATO exercises off northern Europe and returned to the United States on 22 October 1957 . 1958 . In March 1958 , after a three - month overhaul , the destroyer moved into the Caribbean for refresher training . In May , the exercises were interrupted . " Roberts " deployed hastily to Venezuela and prepared to evacuate United States nationals following the violence during Vice President Nixon ' s visit to South America . By the 15th , however , the situation was under control . " Roberts " was relieved and returned to Newport . Two months later , the ship was ordered to Morehead City , North Carolina , to rendezvous with amphibious units carrying Marine reinforcements to the Mediterranean during the Lebanon crisis . By 25 July , the reinforcements were no longer needed . " Roberts , " as part of Destroyer Squadron 10 , escorted the amphibious units to Puerto Rico , whence the destroyers continued on to the Mediterranean . Arriving on 10 August , " Roberts " cruised off the coast of Lebanon from 17 August to 25 August and again from 2 to 20 September to furnish gunfire support to the troops on the beach if it proved necessary . On 17 September , the ship transited the Suez Canal on the way to the Persian Gulf for a few weeks . On the trip home , " Roberts " returned through the canal on 19 October , passed Gibraltar on 4 November , and arrived at the United States on 13 November . 1959 – 1960 . " Roberts " operated continuously in the western Atlantic until 15 June 1959 , when the destroyer sailed from Newport for the St . Lawrence River to participate in Operation " Inland Seas " , the opening of the St . Lawrence Seaway . After official ceremonies attended by Queen Elizabeth and President Eisenhower , " Roberts " transited the Seaway and crossed Lake Ontario and Lake Erie to arrive at Detroit , Michigan , on 3 July . On 20 July , " Roberts " moved into Lake Michigan with the first destroyer division to traverse all five Great Lakes . On 27 July , " Roberts " headed for the Atlantic again and arrived at Newport on 12 September . After further U . S . East Coast activities , " Roberts " joined the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean on 31 March 1960 . On 29 May , the ship headed through the Suez Canal to join the Middle East Force ; on 30 June , the destroyer rejoined the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . On 15 October , " Roberts " returned to Newport . 1962 – 1966 . " Roberts " spent most of 1961 undergoing a FRAM ( Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ) overhaul in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard . The refurbished destroyer returned to Newport on 26 February 1962 and remained in the western Atlantic for the rest of 1962 and most of 1963 . During April and June of the latter year , the ship operated off the northern New England coast in search of the missing submarine , . In October 1963 , " Roberts " resumed overseas operations ; and , for the next two years , rotated between duty in the western Atlantic and tours with the 6th Fleet . In the fall of 1965 , however , the ship headed south ; transited the Panama Canal ; and moved to the western Pacific to join the 7th Fleet . The destroyer operated primarily in Vietnamese and Philippine waters until 19 February 1966 , then steamed for home via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean . Returning to Newport , R . I . , on 8 April , " Roberts " cruised in the Atlantic and Caribbean until deploying to the Mediterranean again on 8 December . 1967 – 1971 . " Samuel B . Roberts " returned to Newport on 20 March , and remained in Atlantic and Caribbean waters until 10 January 1968 , when the ship sailed on another tour of Mediterranean duty , returning to Newport on 17 May . The remainder of the year was spent in Atlantic operations , then Atlantic and Caribbean duty until deploying to the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean on 22 November 1969 . The ship steamed in the Black Sea from 9 to 12 December and returned to Newport on 22 May 1970 . In August 1970 , the Inspection and Survey team ruled the ship unfit for further service . The crew stripped her for decommissioning , and the ship was struck from the Navy List on 2 November . " Roberts " joined the Inactive Fleet at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , until the hulk was sunk as a target 195 nautical miles off Puerto Rico on 14 November 1971 . The ship ' s final resting place is , 3000 fathoms below the surface .