USS Halsey Powell ( DD - 686 ) USS " Halsey Powell " ( DD - 686 ) , a " Fletcher " - class destroyer , was a ship of the United States Navy to be named for Captain Halsey Powell , ( 1883 – 1936 ) , who served during World War I . " Halsey Powell " was launched by Bethlehem Steel Co . , Staten Island , N . Y . , on 30 June 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Halsey Powell , widow of Captain Powell ; and commissioned on 25 October 1943 , Commander W . T . McGarry in command . Service history . United States Navy . World War II . 1944 . " Halsey Powell " conducted her shakedown training off the East Coast , and sailed on 20 January 1944 from Norfolk to join the Pacific Fleet . Arriving Pearl Harbor on 12 February , the destroyer steamed to Majuro to escort tankers back to Hawaii , returning to the Marshall Islands in March for escort and patrol duty . As the islands fell to American amphibious troops , " Halsey Powell " and other ships protected the task force from air and submarine attack . The destroyer carried out a series of effective attacks on on 23 March , and after running out of depth charges yielded to and to complete the kill . Following the Marshalls operation , " Halsey Powell " departed Pearl Harbor on 30 May for rehearsals in connection with the upcoming Marianas invasions . She sortied with the assault force from Eniwetok on 11 June , and as troops stormed ashore on Saipan four days later she took up fire - support station off the beaches , and was an effective force in victory . In addition to screening , radar picket duties , and fire support for ground forces , " Halsey Powell " sank a net tender , a cargo ship and numerous small craft in the lagoon with her guns . The operation a success , she entered Saipan harbor on 21 June , after the carrier forces had decimated the Japanese in the Battle of the Philippine Sea . She then steamed to Tinian , bombarding shore positions , clearing the way for troops and screening through the invasion there on 24 July . Following this she spent two weeks on screening and radar picket duty off Guam before returning to Eniwetok on 22 August to join the fast carrier task force . " Halsey Powell " sortied with Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher ' s famous Fast Carrier Task Force ( then called TF 38 ) , on 29 August . Operating for long periods at sea by underway refueling and replenishment , this powerful carrier force represented the ultimate in mobile striking power afloat . During September the carriers , screened by " Halsey Powell " and other destroyers , struck the Palaus and the Philippines , returning to Ulithi on 1 October . Five days later , the ships sailed on one of the most important operations of the long Pacific war . After air strikes on Okinawa the great task force turned to its real objective , the airfields on Formosa . The air battle raged from 12 – 15 October , with " Halsey Powell " assisting in the splashing of many Japanese aircraft . At a cost of three damaged ships , the task force had driven off nearly a thousand enemy aircraft , downing over 500 . As the invasion of Leyte began , the desperate Japanese Navy moved with its remaining units into the Philippines . This three - pronged attack , launched almost without air power , precipitated the epochal Battle for Leyte Gulf . " Halsey Powell " screened Admiral Gerald F . Bogan ' s carriers during the strikes which made up one phase of the battle , the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea , on 24 October . Battleship was sunk and Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita ' s ships were delayed and confused . That night the bulk of TF 38 steamed north to meet another Japanese fleet , and in the Battle off Cape Engaño next day another major victory was won . " Halsey Powell " picked up downed pilots from 29 – 30 October and returned to Ulithi with the task force on 9 November 1944 . During the remainder of 1944 TF 38 carried out heavy strikes against the Philippines and Formosa . 1945 . The fleet sailed into the South China Sea on 9 – 15 January to support the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf , and the supporting ships fought off air attacks the carriers struck bases in China and Indochina . With damaged by a " kamikaze " on 21 January , " Halsey Powell " was assigned to escort her to Ulithi , where they arrived on 24 January 1945 . The carrier task force departed again in February to attack Japan itself . " Halsey Powell " screened the carriers during this attack , in covering attacks for the Iwo Jima invasion on 19 February , and later during more strikes on Japan . The destroyer shot down one attacking aircraft on 16 February and assisted with many others . The veteran carrier groups returned on 1 March to Ulithi , but were underway again on 14 March to soften up Okinawa for the coming assault , and to strike more blows at Japan . On 20 March , " Halsey Powell " was alongside when Japanese aircraft attacked . As the destroyer was getting clear , the aircraft overshot the carrier and crashed " Halsey Powell " . Her steering gear jammed , but alert action with the engines averted a collision . Fires were put out , and although 9 were killed and over 30 wounded in the attack the ship reached Ulithi on 25 March . " Halsey Powell " arrived San Pedro for battle repairs on 8 May , but with the Pacific war reaching its climax sailed again for Pearl Harbor on 19 July 1945 . She arrived Eniwetok on 17 August , two days after the surrender of Japan , and was present in Tokyo Bay for the formal surrender ceremonies 2 September . The ship then supported the occupation forces until departing 31 October for Puget Sound . " Halsey Powell " decommissioned on 10 December 1946 at San Diego and was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet . Korean War . With the increased demands on the Navy as a result of the Korean War , " Halsey Powell " recommissioned on 27 April 1951 . After shakedown and training exercises the ship sailed for the familiar waters of the Far East 23 July from Long Beach , arriving Japan 16 August . Joining Task Force 77 , the destroyer acted as plane guard and screening ship while the carrier planes kept up constant pressure on the Communist lines and shore installations . " Halsey Powell " continued these operations off the eastern coast of Korea until October , when she departed the nearly stabilized war zone for training off Okinawa . Late in the month she returned to take part in destructive bombardments of Suwon Dam , Wonsan , Hungnam , and other areas . Patrolling and screening duties continued until the ship sailed for the United States on 20 February 1952 . " Halsey Powell " got underway for her second tour in Korea on 4 October 1952 , and in the next 7 months took part in shore bombardment and screening duties as United Nations Command naval strength continued to seal off North Korea from the sea . The destroyer returned to the United States 6 May 1953 , and after training exercises out of San Diego sailed once more for Japan on 26 December 1953 . Early in 1954 after flight operations with task force 77 off of Korea in the Sea of Japan the Halsey Powell was assigned to Task Force 77 . 7 in the South China Sea as part of the flight operations off of Vietnam . 1954 - 1968 . During the next few years " Halsey Powell " made yearly cruises to the western Pacific , operating with Task Force 77 off Korea , patrolling the Formosa Strait , and engaging in tactical exercises with other units of the Pacific Fleet . In September – October 1958 the ship aided Nationalist Chinese operations in the Quemoy - Matsu crisis , convoying transports and standing by to deter attack by the Communist Chinese . Seapower was a decisive force in checking the spread of communism . " Halsey Powell " s trim silhouette became familiar at many far eastern ports . She continued to alternate these important operations with the 7th Fleet with training and readiness exercises off the west coast . In recent years this included practice cruises with NROTC midshipmen . " Halsey Powell " continued to be an important contributor to peace in the Far East as well as America ' s readiness at sea . During May – July 1962 , the destroyer took part in important nuclear tests in the Pacific , and returned in 1963 - 1964 to her regular pattern of deployments . On 1 January 1965 , " Halsey Powell " was assigned to Reserve Destroyer Squadron 27 with Long Beach as her home port . She operated as a Naval Reserve training ship through 1967 , cruising between Vancouver , Canada , and Mazatlán , Mexico . On 27 April 1968 , " Halsey Powell " was transferred to South Korea . She was striken from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 June 1975 . South Korean Navy . Transferred to South Korea 27 April 1968 , the ex - " Halsey Powell " was renamed ROKS " Seoul " ( DD - 912 ) , after the nation ' s capital . She was stricken and scrapped in 1982 . Awards . " Halsey Powell " received seven battle star s for her World War II service , and two for Korea .