USS Loeser ( DE - 680 ) USS " Loeser " ( DE - 680 ) was a " Buckley " - class destroyer escort of the United States Navy , named in honor of Lieutenant Commander Arthur E . Loeser ( 1903 – 1942 ) . " Loeser " was laid down on 27 July 1943 by Bethlehem Steel ' s Fore River Shipyard , Quincy , Massachusetts ; on launched on 11 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Marion Loeser , widow of Lt . Cmdr . Loeser ; and commissioned on 10 October 1943 ; Lt . Cmdr . Chester A . Kunz in command . World War II . Following shakedown off Bermuda the new destroyer escort departed Norfolk , Va . on 11 December 1943 for Pearl Harbor en route to escort duty in the South Pacific war zone . Arriving Funafuti , Ellice Islands , on 16 January 1944 , " Loeser " departed the 18th , escorting a transport to Guadalcanal . Returning to Funafuti on 27 January , she sailed the next day for Efate , New Hebrides , and arrived 31 January . She steamed north 6 February for gunnery exercises off Espírito Santo , then departed later that month for Guadalcanal and four months of transport - escort duty in the Solomon Islands . " Loeser " departed Guadalcanal for Espiritu Santo on 28 June en route to Australia , arrived Sydney on 18 July for repairs , and sailed nine days later for Purvis Bay , Florida Islands . After three weeks in drydock , " Loeser " departed for Guam on 21 August escorting " Celeno " ( AK - 76 ) . " LST - 120 " joined the convoy off Eniwetok Atoll , Marshall Islands , and they arrived Guam on 5 September . Following five days of antisubmarine patrol off Guam , " Loeser " escorted three submarine s back to Eniwetok , then departed 21 September for a roundabout passage via Guadalcanal to Hawaii . Reaching Pearl Harbor 8 October , the ship underwent extensive engineering alteration during October and early November . Getting underway 6 November , " Loeser " made Guadalcanal the 18th , and arrived Manus Island , Admiralty Islands , 25 November for duty with Amphibious Group 3 . She spent December in gunnery exercises off New Guinea , before departing Hollandia on the 30th for the invasion of Lingayen Gulf . " Loeser " arrived off the Lingayen beachhead 11 January 1945 , two days after D - Day , and during the following week escorted inbound transports through the treacherous swept channels leading into Lingayen Gulf . From 18 January to 7 February , the versatile destroyer escort went on the offensive to hunt the ubiquitous Japanese submarines lurking off Lingayen and endangering vital American supply lines . With the liberation of northern Luzon virtually completed , " Loeser " sailed for Subic Bay en route to Leyte and points east , reaching Ulithi , Caroline Islands , on 19 February . " Loeser " left Ulithi 5 March for the invasion of Iwo Jima . She arrived the 19th , and began nine long days of antisubmarine patrol . She then steamed eastward , touching Eniwetok 2 April and arriving Pearl Harbor the 13th . During the final months of the Pacific war , the battle - tested destroyer escort remained in Hawaiian waters and contributed her invaluable experience to the already rigorous submarine training program . " Loeser " departed Hawaii for the west coast on 26 August and arrived San Francisco on 3 September . After overhaul and a five - month tour with the San Diego Underway Training Unit , the ship joined the Atlantic Fleet at New London , Conn . , 3 April 1946 for continued submarine training duty . She decommissioned on 28 March 1947 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Charleston , South Carolina 1951 – 1968 . When Communist aggression in Korea required the Navy to strengthen its active fleet , " Loeser " recommissioned at Charleston 9 March 1951 , Lt . Cmdr . Frederick L . Edwards , in command . After refresher training in the Caribbean , she rejoined the Atlantic Fleet at Norfolk . During the next 7½ years of active service , the destroyer escort served each spring with the Naval Operational Development Station - at Key West , underwent a major overhaul , and made two cruises to Europe . In 1952 , the ship departed Norfolk on 25 August , called at Edinburgh , Scotland , and Kristiansand , Norway , then returned home 12 October . During the 1954 European cruise , " Loeser " operated with the battleship " Wisconsin " ( BB - 64 ) and visited Dublin , Ireland , and Portsmouth , England . Designated a Naval Reserve ship for the Little Creek , Va . , area June 1958 , " Loeser " decommissioned on 1 December 1958 and was placed in an in - service status under Commandant 5th Naval District . With this new concept of Reserve training , " Loeser " maintained a Regular Navy nucleus crew that was augmented by reservists during the monthly weekend cruises or during time of national emergency . This system provided the closest possible coordination and communication between Regulars and reservists , preparing the reservists , as no shore - based activity could , to augment the Regular Navy in any situation . The Selected Reserve Ship Program paid off handsomely when President John F . Kennedy called up the reserves during the 1961 Berlin crisis . Taking up the challenge , " Loeser " recommissioned 2 October 1961 , embarked her Reserve crew , and arrived Guantanamo Bay 19 October for refresher training . She departed for Newport , R . I . on 24 November but returned to the Caribbean on 12 January 1962 for patrol duty along the eastern coast of Cuba . She remained on station until 24 March 1962 ; each vessel sighted was checked and identified to guard against any subversive elements in the Caribbean area . After returning to Newport 28 March , the ship decommissioned 1 August 1962 and became the Naval Reserve ship for the Williamsburg , Va . , area . " Loeser " shifted home port to the Washington Navy Yard on 20 October 1964 , where she served as Naval Reserve ship for the Washington , D . C . , area until struck from the Navy List on 23 August 1968 . " Loeser " was sunk as a target , date unknown . " Loeser " received two battle stars for World War II service .