USS Runels ( DE - 793 ) USS " Runels " ( DE - 793 / APD - 85 ) was a " Buckley " - class destroyer escort of the United States Navy , named in honor of Ensign Donald S . Runels ( 1904 – 1942 ) , who was killed when his ship , was torpedo ed and sunk during the Battle of Tassafaronga on 30 November 1942 . " Runels " was laid down on 7 June 1943 by the Consolidated Steel Corp . , Orange , Texas ; launched on 4 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . D . S . Runels , widow of Ensign Runels ; and commissioned on 3 January 1944 , Lieutenant Commander H . G . Claudius in command . " Runels " , assigned to Escort Division 47 ( CortDiv 47 ) , completed shakedown off Bermuda in April . In March [ sic ] she joined Task Force 67 ( TF 67 ) , at Brooklyn , for transoceanic convoy duty . Between 25 March and 11 May , she escorted a convoy to the United Kingdom and back ; then , toward the end of May , shifted to a more southerly route and convoyed ships to Casablanca . Returning in mid - June , she operated with escort carriers off the coast of southern New England until the 30th when she headed for North Africa again . On 10 July she arrived at Mers - el - Kebir ; reported to Task Group 80 . 6 ( TG 80 . 6 ) ; and commenced escort and patrol duty along the western North African coast . Within the week , however , her escort runs were extended to Naples where Allied forces were preparing for Operation Dragoon — the invasion of southern France . On 13 August " Runels " cleared Naples with others assigned to convoy control of Operation " Dragoon " forces . On the 15th , she arrived in the assault area and took up station in the transport screen . For the next 2 months , however , she continued to escort troops and supplies , from Mers - el - Kebir and from Naples , into the offloading areas along the southern coast of France . Then , in November and December , she protected LSTs shuttling supplies between Bastia , Corsica , and Marseilles . Ordered back to the United States for conversion to a destroyer transport , " Runels " departed the Mediterranean at the end of the year and arrived at New York on 18 January 1945 . Redesignated APD - 85 on 24 January , she completed conversion 8 April ; conducted training in Chesapeake Bay ; and departed for the Pacific on the 28th . In mid - May she arrived in Hawaii for further training and on 9 June cleared Pearl Harbor with an Eniwetok - bound convoy . From the Marshalls , " Runels " continued on to the Marianas , thence to Okinawa . Arriving on 4 July , she patrolled off the Hagushi Anchorage until the 13th ; escorted Leyte – Okinawa convoys between the 14th and 6 August ; then served as radar picket ship until the cessation of hostilities . Detached 16 August , " Runels " operated briefly with the fast carrier replenishment group , then joined Task Force 31 ( TF 31 ) , and on the 27th anchored in Sagami Wan to begin 7 months of occupation duty . During September she assisted in the evacuation of Allied POW s from Japanese camps and provided mail , passenger and freight service between Iwo Jima and Tokyo . In October and November , she participated in the demilitarization of islands in the Izu group ; and , in December , she served as mobile headquarters for the Director of Port Activities , Empire Area ; and conducted an inspection trip to the Ryūkyūs . With the new year , 1946 , " Runels " continued her varied duties in support of the occupation of Japan . On 9 April she sailed east for the United States and inactivation , arriving at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 31 May . In July she shifted to Charleston , S . C . and in January 1947 , to Mayport , Fla . There she decommissioned on 10 February 1947 and was berthed as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . She remained in the Reserve Fleet until struck from the Navy list on 1 June 1960 . She was sold for scrap to the Portsmouth Salvage Co . , Portsmouth , Virginia on 10 July 1961 . " Runels " earned one battle star for World War II service .