USS Keppler ( DD - 765 ) The third USS " Keppler " ( DD / DDE - 765 ) was a in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War . She was named for Boatswain ' s Mate First Class Reinhardt J . Keppler ( 1918 – 1942 ) , who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for " extraordinary heroism " during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal . " Keppler " was launched on 24 June 1946 by Bethlehem Steel Corporation , Shipbuilding Division , San Francisco , California sponsored by Mrs . Elizabeth L . Keppler , widow of BM1c Keppler ; and commissioned on 23 May 1947 , Commander Peter M . Gaviglio in command . Service history . 1947 – 1950 . After shakedown along the West Coast , " Keppler " cleared San Diego , California on 9 October 1947 for training exercises in Hawaiian waters . The destroyer then sailed to Australia and China before returning San Diego on 20 May 1948 . Early in 1949 " Keppler " entered San Francisco Navy Yard for conversion to antisubmarine destroyer . Resuming operations on the West Coast on 9 June , she departed San Diego on 5 October for duty in the Atlantic . Arriving Norfolk , Virginia 15 days later , she immediately commenced intensive anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) exercises along the Atlantic Coast . " Keppler " sailed to Newport , Rhode Island , her new homeport , for additional hunter - killer operations , arriving on 27 November . She was reclassified DDE - 765 on 4 March 1950 and cleared Newport on 5 July for the Mediterranean Sea . Arriving Greece on 27 July , the anti - submarine destroyer was ordered to the Far East on the eve of the Korean War . Korea , 1950 – 1951 . After transiting the Suez Canal and crossing the Indian Ocean , " Keppler " joined the 7th Fleet in mid - August . For the next two months she patrolled the Formosa Strait before joining on 17 November . For the next three months she screened her task group during continued carrier air strikes against Communist positions on the Korean mainland . " Keppler " then steamed for Yokosuka , Japan , arriving on 7 February 1951 . Three days later she cleared port for the United States , reaching Newport on 14 March . She was overhauled and for the rest of the year engaged in refresher training and ASW operations . 1952 – 1960 . " Keppler " cleared Newport once again on 9 January 1952 to participate in anti - submarine exercises with the 6th Fleet . This cruise culminated in NATO Exercise " Grandslam , " in which ships of several nations operated together in practice maneuvers . The anti - submarine destroyer returned to Newport on 26 March and resumed operations along the Atlantic Coast . From 1952 to 1957 " Keppler " continued her ASW exercises out of Newport and the Caribbean Sea in addition to NATO operations and Mediterranean cruises with the 6th Fleet . On 4 January 1957 she sailed toward South American waters for a training and good will cruise . Before returning Newport on 18 March , she visited ports in Colombia , Ecuador , Peru , Chile , Panama , and Cuba . After completing additional coastal exercises , " Keppler " was deployed to the Mediterranean on 12 August . During September she transited the Suez Canal to the Red Sea , during the United Arab Republic conflict with Jordan . " Keppler " returned to Newport on 21 December . From 1958 to 1961 the anti - submarine destroyer engaged in concentrated ASW operations along the Atlantic coast and Caribbean NATO exercises , a midshipmen cruise in 1959 , and a 6th Fleet deployment in the summer of 1960 . 1961 – 1972 . " Keppler " entered New York Naval Shipyard on 1 March 1961 for a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM ) II overhaul designed to increase her service and effectiveness . Following the overhaul she returned Newport on 25 October and resumed anti - submarine duty on 8 March 1962 . " Keppler " sailed on 4 June for a summer midshipmen cruise to Europe , returning to Newport on 30 August . She was reclassified DD - 765 during that period . " Keppler " cleared Newport on 22 October to take her station in the blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis . While patrolling her Caribbean sector , she sighted a surfaced Russian submarine on 2 November and observed her for the next seven days . On 9 November the submarine joined a Russian trawler , and " Keppler " continued her surveillance until the Russian ships turned back toward the Azores . The destroyer returned Newport on 21 November . During 1963 and 1964 " Keppler " continued hunter - killer exercises along the East Coast and Caribbean . She sailed on 8 September 1964 for Mediterranean deployment and engaged in NATO exercises en route . The destroyer returned home on 18 December . Following overhaul in Boston Naval Shipyard , " Keppler " operated out of Newport until sailing for the Far East on 4 October 1966 . Steaming via the Panama Canal she arrived Pearl Harbor on 24 October and pushed on toward Japan a week later . She departed Yokosuka on 14 November for plane guard duty in the Gulf of Tonkin . Early in December she was assigned naval gunfire support missions to assist allied troops fighting in South Vietnam , and she also served in " Operation Sea Dragon " helping to interrupt infiltration of men and weapons into South Vietnam from the North . On the night of 11 – 12 December she rescued a downed pilot . Early in 1967 she returned to " Yankee Station " for plane guard duty and on 28 January assisted in the rescue of another pilot . In January and February her guns damaged or destroyed 51 Communist junks . During this period " Keppler " frequently engaged batteries ashore , and 11 March a Communist gun scored a hit on one of the destroyer ' s gun mounts . She remained in the fight until returning to Subic Bay on the 23rd . Three days later she headed homeward via the Indian Ocean , the Suez Canal , and the Mediterranean . Upon arriving Newport on 8 May she resumed operations along the East Coast . TCG " Tınaztepe " ( D 355 ) . " Keppler " was decommissioned on 1 July 1972 and sold to Turkey . Renamed TCG " Tınaztepe " ( D 355 ) , she was subsequently stricken in 1982 and broken up . Awards . " Keppler " received two battle star s for Korean service .