USS Willis A . Lee ( DL - 4 ) USS " Willis A . Lee " ( DD - 929 ) was a " Mitscher " - class destroyer in the United States Navy . She was named for Vice Admiral Willis A . “ Ching ” Lee USN ( 1888 – 1945 ) . " Willis A . Lee " was laid down by the Shipbuilding Division of the Bethlehem Steel Company at Quincy in Massachusetts on 1 November 1949 , reclassified as a destroyer leader and designated DL - 4 on 9 February 1951 , launched on 26 January 1952 by Mrs . Fitzhugh L . Palmer , Jr . , niece of Vice Admiral Lee and commissioned at the Boston Naval Shipyard on 5 October 1954 , Comdr . F . H . Schneider in command . " Willis A . Lee " participated in quarantine operations during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 . " Willis A . Lee " was decommissioned on 19 December 1969 , stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 May 1972 and sold for scrap to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation of New York City on 18 May 1973 . History . Following her shakedown at Guantanamo Bay , " Willis A . Lee " returned to her homeport , Newport , R . I . , and began a career of operations with the U . S . Atlantic Fleet . She was deployed to the Mediterranean for the first time in July 1955 , cruising with the 6th Fleet — the first ship of her type to operate with that force . Upon the conclusion of her first tour with the 6th Fleet later that year , " Willis A . Lee " returned to the east coast and operated off the eastern seaboard in air defense exercises . In February 1956 , " Willis A . Lee " — reclassified as a frigate in 1955 — sailed southward to the Dominican Republic , where she represented the United States in American Day festivities at Ciudad Trujillo , the capital city of that West Indian nation . The frigate then spent considerable time at the Boston Naval Shipyard before resuming active operations . In November , while participating in antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) exercises , " Willis A . Lee " assisted the distressed fishing vessel , " Agda " , off Montauk Point , Long Island , fighting and extinguishing a blazing oil fire and thus saving several lives . In February 1957 , the ship carried King Ibn Saud , of Saudi Arabia , to New York City during his official visit to the United States . Later that month , she sailed to Washington , D . C . , to participate in ceremonies honoring the birthday of George Washington . That spring , " Willis A . Lee " played " movie star , " when she was filmed by the Louis de Rochemont studios for a part in the cinerama production , " Windjammer , " while she operated on ASW exercises in the North Atlantic . She subsequently participated in the International Naval Review held that summer at Hampton Roads , Va . , before becoming part of a large combined NATO fleet that conducted intensive ASW and air defense exercises in the North Atlantic that autumn . During those maneuvers , " Willis A . Lee " crossed the Arctic Circle for the first time on 20 September . Over the next two years , " Willis A . Lee " was twice deployed to the Mediterranean for operations with the 6th Fleet , separating those tours with local operations out of Newport and in the Caribbean and off the coast of Florida , primarily on ASW and air defense exercises . In the summer of 1959 , she participated in Operation " Inland Sea " as flagship for Rear Admiral E . B . Taylor , Commander , Task Force 47 , on a cruise on the Great Lakes . During that historic voyage , she transited the newly opened St . Lawrence Seaway and visited the ports of Chicago , 111 . ; Milwaukee , Wis . ; Detroit , Mich . ; Erie , Pa . ; and Cleveland , Ohio . That autumn , " Willis A . Lee " returned to her schedule of maneuvers and exercises in the North Atlantic . " Willis A . Lee " , with Commander , Destroyer Force , Atlantic Fleet , embarked , conducted an inspection cruise — commencing in February 1960 — of Atlantic Fleet ports and installations that took the ship to San Juan , Puerto Rico ; St . Thomas , Virgin Islands ; and Ciudad Trujillo . Upon the conclusion of that cruise , the warship took part in Operation " Springboard " — an annual exercise in the Caribbean . In the summer of 1960 , " Willis A . Lee " conducted a midshipmen ' s training cruise while participating in more fleet exercises . She subsequently visited Montreal , Canada , and New York City before she took part in various refueling - at - sea and replenishment exercises as part of LANTFLEX ( Atlantic Fleet Exercise ) 2 - 60 . After a brief trip to Charleston , S . C . , in August , " Willis A . Lee " participated in Operation " Sword Thrust , " a NATO fleet exercise in the North Atlantic which combined the efforts of more than 60 British , French , Norwegian , Canadian , and American warships . While carrying out simulated attacks on the European continent during the course of the maneuvers , " Willis A . Lee " again crossed the Arctic Circle . After calling at Le Havre , France , " Willis A . Lee " returned to Newport . In November , she entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul , part of the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM ) program . During her FRAM overhaul , " Willis A . Lee " was altered significantly to enable her to perform her designed role more efficiently . When she finally left the yard almost a year later , she displayed a distinctly altered silhouette . She then had a helicopter hangar in place of the after 3 - inch twin gun mount to accommodate the DASH helicopter system . She had also received topside antisubmarine torpedo armament . Her two " Weapon Alfa " mounts had been removed . Chief among the new equipment installed in the ship was a bow - mounted sonar dome , utilizing revolutionary new concepts in underwater sound - ranging . Emerging from the shipyard in September 1961 , " Willis A . Lee " participated in a rescue operation soon thereafter , embarking the crew from the storm - endangered Texas Tower No . 2 , off the coast of Massachusetts . " Willis A . Lee " then stood guard over the early warning tower , fighting off Hurricane " Esther " as she remained in the vicinity of the abandoned " Texas Tower . " " Willis A . Lee " spent much of her ensuing career involved in sonar evaluations of her bow - mounted system . She ranged from the mid - Atlantic to the Caribbean , frequently operating with submarines , and upon occasion visited Bermuda . There were highlights , though , of that normally routine duty — such as in the autumn of 1962 when the United States and the Soviet Union stood at the brink of a possible nuclear confrontation over the issue of Soviet missiles in Cuba . " Willis A . Lee " operated on the Cuban " quarantine line " for 10 days , deploying in the Caribbean until President Kennedy called off the operation . She then resumed her sonar evaluations . After spending January and February 1963 at the Boston Naval Shipyard for more alterations and improvements on the experimental sonar system , " Willis A . Lee " operated in Haitian waters during March , conducting further sonar evaluations . She varied that duty with a brief in - port visit at Port - au - Prince during the troubled political situation there at that time . That summer , " Willis A . Lee " was attached to Destroyer Development Group ( DesDevGru ) 2 , a group of ships engaged in experimental work of various kinds , and finished out the year 1963 in the Boston Naval Shipyard undergoing extensive boiler repairs . With the exception of two brief trips to Newport , " Willis A . Lee " remained at the Boston Naval Shipyard until 29 April 1964 , when she returned to her home port to prepare for a southern cruise . Underway on 6 May for type training in Guantanamo Bay , the frigate conducted further sonar evaluations later that month en route back to Newport before returning to her home port on 26 May . " Willis A . Lee " subsequently conducted three more evaluation cruises before she participated in Exercise " Steel Pike , " the largest peacetime amphibious exercise in history . During those maneuvers , " Willis A . Lee " served as the flagship for Rear Admiral Mason Freeman , Commander , Cruiser - Destroyer Flotilla 2 . To then round out the year , the frigate conducted another sonar evaluation cruise , calling twice at Key West during the voyage . She returned north on 11 December and spent the remainder of the year under restricted availability at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard , East Boston , Mass . " Willis A . Lee " resumed sonar testing operations in 1965 and operated twice in the Bahamas area . She subsequently conducted type training off the Virginia capes and in the Narragansett Bay area before arriving at the Boston Naval Shipyard on 30 June to commence a lengthy overhaul to her engineering plant and modifications to her sonar system . For the remainder of her career , " Willis A . Lee " continued in her routine of sonar development and testing , home - ported out of Newport with occasional periods of yard repairs at Boston . During her final years , the frigate operated off the Virginia capes , in the Caribbean , and Narragansett Bay areas , and was deployed to the Mediterranean for the fourth and last time in November 1966 . She returned to Newport on 20 May1967 — thus completing her first extended deployment since 1961 . Fate . Placed out of commission in December 1969 , Willis A . Lee was struck from the Navy list on 15 May 1972 . She was sold to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corp . , of New York City , and taken under tow for her final voyage on 5 June 1973 . She was subsequently scrapped .