USS Fox ( DD - 234 ) USS " Fox " ( DD - 234 / AG - 85 ) was a in the United States Navy during World War II . She was the fourth ship named for Gustavus Vasa Fox , Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the Civil War . " Fox " was launched 12 June 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Company ; sponsored by Miss Virginia Blair , the grandniece of Gustavus V . Fox ; and commissioned 17 May 1920 , Commander A . D . Turnbull in command . Service history . The ship was assigned to foreign service and , after fitting out , departed Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 20 August 1920 for Newport , Rhode Island , where she took on torpedoes and fuel , and on the 28th got underway for the Mediterranean area . She arrived at Constantinople , Turkey , 21 September reporting for duty with U . S . Naval Detachment Operating in Turkish waters . " Fox " cruised in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea until July 1922 , visiting various ports of Turkey , Greece , Palestine , Syria , Asia Minor , Romania , Russia and Egypt . At a time of disturbed conditions throughout the Near East and southern Russia she rendered aid to American commercial men , relief and Red Cross workers , and Food Administration officials ; transported mail , dispatches , and passengers ; served as station ship at various ports ; and assisted in the evacuation of refugees from Crimea . Departing Constantinople for the United States on 8 July 1922 , " Fox " arrived at Philadelphia on the 27th . After undergoing overhaul and engaging in exercises , the ship arrived at Norfolk , Virginia 28 September and was again fitted for duty in the Near East . She departed Norfolk 2 October 1922 and arrived at Constantinople on the 22nd . Here she engaged in communication and intelligence duty with the U . S . Naval Detachment in Turkish waters until 18 July 1923 , when she sailed for the United States via Naples and Gibraltar , arriving New York 11 August . During September and October 1923 , " Fox " attached to the Scouting Fleet , engaged in fleet maneuvers in the Newport area . In November the ship was assigned to the 3d Naval District and throughout the following 7 years was utilized in training Naval Reservist s . She arrived at Philadelphia on 24 October 1930 , and was placed out of commission at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 2 February 1931 . " Fox " was placed in commission in rotating reserve at Philadelphia on 1 April 1932 . On 18 June she was placed in full commission and assigned to Destroyer Division 1 , Squadron 1 , Scouting Force . Departing Philadelphia 29 June , " Fox " proceeded to Hampton Roads and on 2 July was underway with Division 1 for the west coast , via the Panama Canal , arriving San Diego , California on the 22d . From 1932 to 1938 " Fox " operated almost continuously in the Pacific with destroyer squadrons of the Scouting Force and Battle Fleet , engaging in fleet tactical and strategical exercises along the coast and cruising to the Canal Zone or Hawaiian area to participate in fleet maneuvers ( " problems " ) . During this period she made two cruises to the Atlantic and Caribbean area ; one from April to October 1934 , and the other from April to October 1936 . On 14 May 1938 , " Fox " departed San Diego for the east coast for decommissioning . She arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 2 June and was placed out of commission 16 September 1938 . World War II . Recommissioned 25 September 1939 , " Fox " was assigned to the Atlantic Squadron and from 25 October performed escort and patrol duty along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean area until August 1940 . Arriving Balboa , Canal Zone , 25 August she performed inshore patrol duty from this port until sailing for San Francisco , California , 25 October . " Fox " patrolled with the Local Defense Forces , 12th Naval District until departure 2 January 1941 for Seattle , Washington . She patrolled off the coast of Washington and Oregon with Local Defense Forces , 13th Naval District , until December 1941 , except while under overhaul from March to June , and while assigned to temporary duty in the 12th Naval District from 20 August to 9 October . On 12 December 1941 , " Fox " departed Bremerton , Washington , en route to Alaska as escort of . She arrived at Dutch Harbor on 18 December , and proceeded as escort for merchant ships to Sitka , Kodiak , and Dutch Harbor , returning to Seattle on 12 February 1942 . Following repairs at the Puget Sound Navy Yard , she performed screening duties out of Seattle , acted as ready duty ship at Port Angeles ( 14 – 18 March ) , and made three escort voyages to San Pedro until 10 May 1942 . From 21 May 1942 to 20 May 1943 , " Fox " sailed as escort with 12 merchant ship convoys bound for various ports of Alaska , and was modernized at Seattle ( 3 July - 8 September ) . On her fourth cruise of this duty , she departed Seattle 22 September 1942 for Dutch Harbor and after screening a transport to Chernofski Bay , departed Dutch Harbor 28 October to escort a convoy of four Soviet submarine s to San Francisco . On 25 May 1943 , " Fox " departed Seattle for extended duty as patrol and escort vessel among the ports of Alaska , operating under orders of Commander , Northwest Sea Frontier until 25 March 1944 . In addition to conducting scheduled exercises and operations off the coast , she made numerous trips to Alaskan waters , transporting men of the Navy , Marine Corps , and Coast Guard between Seattle and bases at Kodiak and Adak . On 15 April , the ship departed Seattle for San Diego , where she joined Western Sea Frontier Forces , Southern California Sector . She operated in the San Diego area until September , conducting antisubmarine exercises , training men from the sound school , transporting passengers , performing escort duty , and cruising for the purpose of making moving pictures . " Fox " departed San Diego 22 September 1944 , and arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard for conversion to a miscellaneous auxiliary on 26 September . She was re - classified AG - 85 on 1 October . On 4 November , the ship proceeded to Seattle and , after engaging in scheduled exercises , on the 8th got underway for San Francisco . She arrived at Naval Air Station Alameda on the 11th , and reported for duty to Commander Fleet Air . From November through September 1945 , " Fox " was based on Alameda , engaging in plane exercises and serving as target vessel in aerial torpedo exercises in the Monterey area . She departed San Francisco Bay on 18 October 1945 for the east coast , arriving Norfolk , Virginia , on 7 November . " Fox " was decommissioned 29 November 1945 at the Norfolk Navy Yard , Portsmouth , Virginia . She was sold for scrapping 12 November 1946 .