USS Preston ( DD - 795 ) USS " Preston " ( DD - 795 ) , a " Fletcher " - class destroyer , was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Samuel W . Preston ( 1840 – 1865 ) . " Preston " was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Co . , Shipbuilding Division , San Pedro , California , 13 June 1943 ; launched 12 December 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . R . F . Gross ; and commissioned 20 March 1944 , Commander G . S . Patrick in command . World War II . Following shakedown off California and extended exercises in Hawaiian waters , " Preston " departed Pearl Harbor , for the Marianas combat zone , 1 July 1944 . On the 17th , she arrived off Guam and until 8 August screened the transport areas off the assault beaches . Two days in Apra harbor followed , after which she got underway for Eniwetok . On 29 August , she joined Task Force 38 ( TF 38 ) and sailed west . Between 6 and 8 September , she screened the aircraft carrier s during strikes against the Palaus ; then , continuing on , guarded them during sorties against Japanese positions in the south and central Philippines . On completing runs on the 14th , she returned with the force to the Palaus to cover the landings on Peleliu and Anguar , then sailed back to the Philippines before retiring to Ulithi . On 6 October , the force again sortied — this time to launch strikes preparatory to the invasion of the Philippines . After hitting the enemy ' s Formosan air bases , the force turned southeast for operations off Luzon in support of the Leyte landings . On 24 October , as the Japanese initiated a triple - pronged thrust to drive the Allied forces from Leyte Gulf , " Preston " ' s group , Task Group 38 . 3 ( TG 38 . 3 ) , came under severe attack in what was to be the first of the battles for Leyte Gulf . Wave after wave of bomber and torpedo plane s closed the formation . Many were shot down , but " Princeton " ( CVL - 23 ) was lost . That evening TG 38 . 3 was ordered north to rendezvous with TG 38 . 2 and TG 38 . 4 and search for a Japanese carrier force . Within an hour of the midnight rendezvous search planes were flying . After daylight they caught the enemy force north of Cape Engaño and the fighting squadrons were sent off . In the afternoon the force ' s cruiser - destroyer group closed the surviving ships to deliver final blows . The force then retired to the south to join in the search for enemy vessels fleeing through San Bernardino Strait . On 27 October , sorties were flown to provide air cover for ground forces on Leyte after which the ships got underway for Ulithi . By 5 November " Preston " was back in the operating area off Luzon as strikes were flown against enemy installations there . Anti - Japanese shipping runs in the central Philippines , particularly the Ormoc Bay area , followed and on 12 November the hammering of Luzon was resumed and repeated again on 25 November to 2 December and 10 to 21 December . On 30 December the force again steamed northwest from Ulithi , and after welcoming the new year , 1945 , with raids on Formosa and the Nansei Shoto , supported the Lingayen assault . Then , passing through the Bashi Channel , the ships entered the South China Sea and blasted Japanese shipping and shore installations along the Indo - China coast . By 15 January they were off western Formosa and by the 19th had swung around to launch strikes against that island and Okinawa Gunto from the east . During February , " Preston " screened the carriers as their planes delivered devastating blows to industrial complexes on the Japanese home islands ; provided air support for the assault troops on Iwo Jima ; returned to Japan for further strikes on Tokyo , Nagoya , Osaka , and Kobe ; and then sailed south for renewed raids against the next amphibious target , Okinawa . " Preston " , reassigned to TF 54 after returning to Ulithi in early March , sailed for the Ryukyus , 21 March , to screen the bombardment and underwater demolition groups . Between 24 March and 1 April she operated off Kerama Retto , then shifted to fire support off the Hagushi beaches . Continuing fire support duty until June , she provided assistance for Army and Marine Corps personnel on the Motobu Peninsula , where her fire enabled Marines to break out of their Japanese - ringed position ; in the Nago Wan , Nakagusuku Wan , and Naha areas ; and on Ie Shima and Kutaka Shima . In early June , she conducted patrols against suicide boats , then returned to fire support activities . In July , she patrolled off northern Okinawa on radar picket duty and , in August , escorted convoys in and out of the Buckner Bay area . After the Japanese surrender , 14 August , " Preston " remained in the Okinawa area on air - sea rescue duty . On 6 September , she got underway for the United States , arriving at San Pedro , California on 24 September to begin inactivation . In November she shifted to San Diego where she decommissioned 24 April 1946 and was berthed as a unit of the Pacific Reserve Fleet . 1951 – 1969 . Reactivated following the outbreak of hostilities in Korea , " Preston " recommissioned 26 January 1951 and in April got underway for the east coast . Modernization at Philadelphia preceded a brief stay at her homeport of Newport . The ship lost one 5 " / 38 mount ( # 3 ) which was replaced by a new gun director . Other major changes in armaments , radars and other capabilities were made at this time . On 9 January 1952 , she sailed eastward on her Mediterranean deployment . Returning from 6th Fleet duty in May , she participated in fleet and type training from Labrador to the Caribbean . On 1 April 1953 , she departed the New England coast for the Pacific and a return to combat in the Far East . Arriving in Japan in early May , she operated with the fast carrier force , TF 77 , until June , then joined the UN Blockade and Escort Force , TF 95 . With the signing of the truce 27 July , " Preston " got underway for Newport and , steaming via Suez , completed the round - the - world cruise , at Boston , in October . Overhaul followed and between May and September 1954 she operated with HUK ( Hunter Killer ) units of the Atlantic Fleet . In 1955 another Mediterranean deployment was followed by antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) exercises and on 15 March 1956 , she cleared Narragansett Bay and headed back to the west coast . Assigned to Destroyer Squadron 23 ( DesRon 23 ) , " Preston " arrived at Long Beach 15 April and through May operated off the California coast . In June , she sailed west for her first peacetime Far East deployment and initiated a schedule of regular rotation between tours with the 7th Fleet in the western Pacific and 1st Fleet assignments ; the former including SEATO and other Allied exercises and Taiwan patrol duty , and the latter including west coast training and cruises to the Arctic and to the central Pacific . In December 1958 , " Preston " assisted the fire - ravaged Japanese town of Keniya by providing food and clothing . During 1962 she followed winter arctic operations with participation in nuclear tests in the milder climes of the Pacific . In March 1964 " Preston " deployed to the WestPac operational area with the 7th Fleet . Most of her time was spent in the South China Sea with brief visits to Japan . Joining TG 77 . 6 in late July she first went to Hong Kong and then left to the Tonkin Gulf following the first attack on the " Maddox " DD - 731 on 2 August . The Carrier Task Group was led by " Constellation " CVA - 64 , which participated in the first counterattacks against North Vietnam . This action resulted in a Presidential Unit Commendation . Then in 1965 she deployed for the second time to the Vietnam combat area . Joining TG 77 . 5 on 12 August , she performed plane guard and screening duties for the carriers " Coral Sea " ( CV - 43 ) and " Ticonderoga " ( CV - 14 ) , and provided gunfire support to ground troops until 15 January 1966 . " Preston " was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 15 November 1969 . " Preston " earned 6 battle star s during World War II and one during the Korean War . Presidential Unit Commendation awarded August 1964 for Tonkin Gulf action . TCG " Icel " . " Preston " was transferred to Turkey 15 November 1969 , and renamed TCG " İçel " ( D 344 ) . " Icel " was stricken and broken up for scrap in 1981 .