USS Abner Read ( DD - 526 ) USS " Abner Read " ( DD - 526 ) was a " Fletcher " - class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy , named after Lieutenant Commander Abner Read . She was laid down on 30 October 1941 at San Francisco by Bethlehem Steel , launched on 18 August 1942 , sponsored by Mrs . John W . Gates , and commissioned on 5 February 1943 with Commander T . Burrowes in command . Service history . The destroyer held shakedown along the California coast into April and then got underway with Task Group ( TG ) 51 . 2 , bound for the Aleutian Islands . She assumed patrol duties on 4 May and , on the 11th , shelled targets on Attu Island supporting soldiers of the Army ' s 7th Division who landed and were assaulting that island . The destroyer again bombarded Attu on the 16th before returning to San Diego , which she reached on the last day of May . After two weeks in drydock at San Francisco , " Abner Read " got underway on 14 June for Adak , Alaska . Upon her arrival there , she joined Task Force ( TF ) 16 and , soon thereafter , began patrolling the waters around Kiska Island . On 22 July , as part of TG 16 . 22 , she took part in a heavy bombardment of Kiska . Between 12 and 15 August , the destroyer again shelled Kiska in support of landing operations on that island . On 17 August , American forces discovered that Japan had removed its forces from the island . While she was patrolling off Kiska that night , " Abner Read " was shaken by an explosion aft at 0150 . The exact cause of the blast was unknown , and it was later thought that the destroyer had struck a mine . The concussion tore a huge hole in her stern and ruptured her smoke tanks . Men sleeping in aft compartments suffered from smoke inhalation . In the darkness , a few men fell through holes in the deck into fuel oil tanks below . Soon the stern broke away and sank . Once in the water , the men recovered from the effects of the smoke and could breathe . " Abner Read " was taken under tow by at 0355 and was pulled to Adak for temporary repairs . The destroyer lost 70 men who were killed or missing , and another 47 were wounded . Following a month of repair work in various Alaskan ports , " Abner Read " was towed by to the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Bremerton , Washington , where she was laid up on keel blocks on 7 October to receive extensive repair work . The yard work was finished on 21 December 1943 , and the destroyer commenced training exercises and trials . She moved to Pearl Harbor in February 1944 , and while she was underway for Hollandia , New Guinea , her starboard propeller was damaged . This accident required her to put in to Milne Bay , New Guinea , on 1 March for repairs . The ship was then attached to TF 75 and participated in the bombardment of Hollandia on 22 April . She provided fire support for the initial landing at Humboldt Bay by the central attack group in Operation Reckless . Her next targets were on the Wakde Islands off the coast of Dutch New Guinea . She sought to neutralize Japanese airstrips located there by concentrated bombardment , which she conducted on 30 April . " Abner Read " then moved on to Wewak and , on 12 May , bombarded Japanese batteries which had been hindering the efforts of American motor torpedo boats to destroy enemy barge traffic . The destroyer rendered fire support for the landings at Arara , New Guinea , and bombarded the Wakde - Toem area on 17 May . As part of TG 77 . 3 , she pounded Japanese targets on Biak in the Schouten Islands . From 8 – 9 June , she was involved in an engagement with a Japanese task force off the north coast of Biak . " Abner Read " took part in a night bombardment of Wewak on 18 and 19 June . Her next target was Noemfoor Island , which she hit on 2 July to cover the landing operations on the island . Following this extended period of action , she retired to Seeadler Harbor for tender availability . Getting underway on 8 August , " Abner Read " made a trip to Sydney , Australia , before returning to wartime activities in the Pacific . The destroyer supported the seizure on 15 September of Morotai Island in the Halmahera group . Her next action was a shore bombardment on Ponam Island in the Admiralties on 7 October . On 17 October , she then began steaming toward Leyte Gulf , and she entered San Pedro Bay on the 20th , D - day for Leyte , and patrolled off the beachhead s in ensuing days . Fate . In the hope of turning back the American invasion , the Japanese struck back fiercely with sea and air power . On 1 November 1944 , the Japanese launched " kamikaze " attacks on members of TG 77 . 1 , which was patrolling lower Leyte Gulf to protect a beachhead . At approximately 1341 , an Aichi D3A " Val " burst into flames and crashed toward " Abner Read " . A bomb from the raider dropped down one of the destroyer ' s stacks and exploded in her after engine room . The plane , in the meantime , came down diagonally across the main deck , setting fire to the entire after section . The ship lost water pressure and this made firefighting efforts impossible . At 1352 , a tremendous internal explosion occurred , causing her to list about 10 degrees to starboard and to sink by the stern . At 1415 , " Abner Read " rolled over on her starboard side and sank stern first . Destroyers quickly came to the aid of survivors and rescued all but 22 members of " Abner Read " ' s crew . Honors . " Abner Read " received four battle star s for her World War II service . DD - 769 . A second ship , a Gearing class destroyer , DD - 769 , was assigned the name " Abner Read " and laid down 21 May 1944 at Bethlehem Steel , San Francisco . Her construction was cancelled on 12 September 1946 and she was scrapped in the ways in January 1947 .