USS Ernest G . Small ( DD - 838 ) USS " Ernest G . Small " ( DD / DDR - 838 ) was a of the United States Navy , named for Rear Admiral Ernest G . Small ( 1888 – 1944 ) . " Ernest G . Small " was launched on 14 June 1945 by Bath Iron Works , Bath , Maine ; sponsored by Mrs E . G . Small ; and commissioned on 21 August 1945 with Commander T . D . McGrath , USN , in command . Service history . 1945 – 1949 . After completing her shakedown cruise in Guantanamo Bay , she sailed in company with on 11 January 1946 en route to Gibraltar whence she proceeded to Naples . She began a series of peacetime Mediterranean patrols in company with " Power " and until 7 March . She continued in this mission independently until 7 August when she returned to the States . Following a period of yard availability she reported to Commander , Submarines Atlantic Fleet , and operated out of New London , Connecticut , until 14 December when she was laid up for repairs at Boston , Massachusetts . On 3 April 1947 while anchored off Block Island she grounded in a violent wind and rain storm , but , refloated with aid from two tugs , she returned to Boston where repairs were made . " Ernest G . Small " sailed on 12 June for Norfolk , Virginia , and engaged in type exercises in the Virginia Capes Operating Area . On 6 August she stood out for the Caribbean , calling at Guantanamo and Trinidad before rendezvousing with Task Force 84 ( TF 84 ) which proceeded to Rio de Janeiro where on 7 September the flagship embarked President Harry S . Truman and his family for the trip to the States . " Ernest G . Small " steamed on escort station during the voyage . From 9 February to 10 April 1948 she cruised in the Caribbean and on 7 June began a midshipman cruise to the Mediterranean , calling at Lisbon , Genoa , Casablanca , and returning to Norfolk on 21 July . Her third tour in the Mediterranean was made between 30 August 1948 and 23 January 1949 . For the remainder of 1949 she operated in the Caribbean and along the Atlantic coast . Korea , 1950 – 1951 . From January to May 1950 she cruised in the Mediterranean and around northern Europe . With the outbreak of war in Korea , she was sent to join the 7th Fleet , and on 29 June she transited the Panama Canal en route to action . She sailed with carrier forces , fired shore bombardments , patrolled off Taiwan , and participated in the landings at Inchon in September , and at Wonsan in October . In December she helped evacuate the Tenth Army Corps from Hŭngnam and Inchon . Following a brief overhaul at San Diego , California , in the first half of 1951 , she began her second Korean tour as escort for the aircraft carrier . She participated in the naval bombardment of Hungnam and was so occupied on 7 October when she struck a mine which seriously damaged her bow , killed 9 and wounded 18 . Four days later heavy seas broke the bow off and she was fitted with a stubby replacement which enabled her to reach Long Beach , arriving on 18 December 1951 . She was decommissioned on 15 January 1952 and the bow of the unfinished was grafted to her hull . She also underwent conversion to a radar picket ship at this time . 1952 – 1960 . " Ernest G . Small " was reclassified DDR - 838 on 18 July 1952 , and recommissioned on 2 December 1952 . She followed training exercises off the California coast with her first peacetime tour of the Far East which lasted from 11 July 1953 through 29 January 1954 . Attached to Task Force 77 , she was a unit of the blockade and escort force for the Taiwan area . A period of overhaul ensued and on 10 August 1954 she departed with Destroyer Squadron 13 ( DesRon 13 ) for the Taiwan Patrol and later assumed defensive position to control part of the 7th Fleet air coverage during the Tachen Islands evacuation in February 1955 . Early in March she returned to Long Beach whence she operated with Task Group 7 . 3 ( TG 7 . 3 ) in " Operation Wigwam " , the testing of an underwater atomic bomb off the west coast ( 2 – 20 May ) . She deployed with the 7th Fleet for the remainder of the year . From 1 November 1956 through 28 April 1957 she again toured the Pacific , and included Kodiak , Singapore , and Brisbane in her itinerary . The remainder of that year was occupied with task force operations and intertype training exercises off the west coast . " Ernest G . Small " began another western Pacific tour in January 1958 as a unit of Destroyer Division 132 ( DesDiv 132 ) and was deployed in various operations , highlighted by participation in the SEATO exercise " Ocean Link . " In March 1959 she was assigned while on her annual Pacific cruise to the operational control of the United States Air Force to aid in the " Discoverer " earth satellite program . Until July 1959 she was engaged in competitive exercises and nose cone recoveries . The second half of the year was designated for a period of overhaul and local operations . Again , she deployed to the $ 3 on 17 May 1960 with Destroyer Division 131 . Her duty was principally to screen and picket and . She arrived back at Long Beach on 16 November and on 29 December entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard for Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM ) . ROCS " Fu Yang " ( DD - 7 ) . " Ernest G . Small " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 November 1970 and transferred to the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) on 13 April 1971 . She served in the Republic of China Navy as ROCS " Fu Yang " ( DD - 7 ) . The ship was decommissioned by Taiwan in December 1999 and sunk as a target on 8 October 2003 . Awards . " Ernest G . Small " received four battle star s for Korean War service .