USS Coolbaugh ( DE - 217 ) USS " Coolbaugh " ( DE - 217 ) , a of the United States Navy , was named in honor of Lieutenant ( junior grade ) Walter W . Coolbaugh ( 1914 - 1942 ) , who was killed in an aircraft accident on 19 December 1942 . He was a recipient of the Navy Cross . " Coolbaugh " was launched 29 May 1943 by Philadelphia Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs . A . Coolbaugh ; and commissioned 15 October 1943 , Lieutenant Commander L . S . Kintberger in command . Service history . World War II , 1943 – 1945 . After escorting merchantmen across the Pacific , " Coolbaugh " reached Efate 8 February 1944 , and at once began to serve on patrol and as escort in the Solomons . She joined in the invasion of Emirau Island from 9 to 16 April , and on several occasions voyaged to Manus , Emirau , and Eniwetok on escort duty . " Coolbaugh " arrived at Manus 10 October 1944 to join the 7th Fleet , and put to sea two days later for pre - invasion air strikes on Leyte which began on 18 October . She guarded the escort carrier s as they covered the landings and as they gallantly defied the efforts of a strong Japan ese surface force to break up the landings in the Battle off Samar , phase of the decisive Battle of Leyte Gulf on 25 October , and next day saved 91 men thrown overboard when was damaged by kamikaze . " Coolbaugh " escorted " Suwanee " to safety at Manus . Between 19 and 27 November 1944 , " Coolbaugh " screened escort carriers as they provided air cover for convoys supplying forces in Leyte Gulf , and then sailed to New Guinea to prepare for the Lingayen assault . Through January and February 1945 , she screened transports carrying reinforcements to Lingayen Gulf , serving on patrol within the gulf during each such voyage . Between 28 February and 4 March , she sailed from Ulithi to Iwo Jima to carry away men who had made the original landings , upon their relief by other forces . She returned to Iwo Jima to patrol off the island until 27 March , when she cleared for Pearl Harbor . " Coolbaugh " provided escort and other services to ships training in the Hawaiian Islands until 4 September 1945 , when she arrived at San Francisco for overhaul and training on the west coast . Post - war operations , 1946 – 1960 . Early in January 1946 , she arrived at Newport , Rhode Island , her assigned homeport , and began local operations in submarine training and other exercises . On 25 January she aided in providing electric power for Block Island , where the powerhouse had been damaged in a fire . Continuing her coastwise and Caribbean operations , she acted as plane guard during anti - submarine exercises , was schoolship for the Fleet Sonar School at Key West , Florida , and during the summer of 1954 called at ports in Ireland and England on a midshipman training cruise . Summer 1956 found her again on this duty . Assigned permanently to the Fleet Sonar School at Key West on 22 August 1957 , " Coolbaugh " thereafter operated primarily in Florida waters , often cruising with members of the Naval Reserve on board for training . She was decommissioned 21 February 1960 at Saint Petersburg , Florida , and placed in service until 26 May , when she was placed out of service in reserve . Awards . " Coolbaugh " received three battle star s for World War II service .