USS Owen ( DD - 536 ) USS " Owen " ( DD - 536 ) , a , was a ship of the United States Navy named for Elias K . Owen . " Owen " ( DD – 536 ) was laid down 17 September 1942 by the Bethlehem Steel Corp . , San Francisco , California ; launched 21 March 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Hope Owen ; and commissioned 20 September 1943 , Comdr . R . W . Wood in command . " Owen " , assigned to Destroyer Squadron 52 ( DesRon 52 ) , completed shakedown off California and training in Hawaii in time to join the Fast Carrier Task Force ( then called TF 58 , as it was then part of the 5th Fleet ) for Operation Flintlock . Operating with the carriers throughout most of World War II , she escorted them to their objectives ; screened them as they launched dive bombing , straffing , and torpedo attacks ; and covered them as they retired . 1944 . On 16 January 1944 " Owen " departed Pearl Harbor for the Marshall s . Between 29 January and 3 February she screened the carriers of Task Group 58 . 2 off Kwajalein , then retired to Majuro . From Majuro her group raided Truk 16 February and then retired briefly to Pearl Harbor , returning to Majuro in mid - March . On 22 March , the carriers , supported by battleship s and cruiser s and screened by a ring of destroyers , departed the atoll with " Owen " in the outer ring of steel . Completing strikes at Palau , Yap , Ulithi , and Woleai , 29 March – 1 April , they returned to Majuro , whence they headed for New Guinea . There they supported Army assault forces with raids on Hollandia , Wakde , Sewar and Sarmi , 21 April – 22 April and then struck at Truk , Satawan and Ponape 29 April – 1 May . Next the force hit Marcus and Wake Island s , 19 May – 23 May and then prepared for the Marianas campaign . On 6 June , the carrier force again sortied from Majuro . From 11 May through 17 May , its ships and planes ranged from the Volcanoes and Bonins to the southern most Marianas in support of the assault on Saipan . On the 17th , after screening the carriers during strikes against Saipan , Tinian , Rota and Guam , " Owen " received word of a Japanese fleet en route from the Philippines . On 18 May , screening continued as she waited . On 19 May , enemy dive bombers opened the Battle of the Philippine Sea . Throughout the two day battle , which permanently crippled the Japanese sea - borne aerial arm , she carried out her protective mission in the screen of . Strikes on Pagan Island preceded a brief upkeep at Eniwetok . In July , the force struck Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima , Palau , Ulithi , and Yap . During August there were further operations in the Marianas and against the Bonins . September raids against Palau , Mindanao , Leyte , Luzon and Samar in support of the Palau campaign were followed in October by a foray into the East and South China Seas . On 20 October , the force supported amphibious operations on Leyte and Samar . " Owen " , forced by boiler trouble to miss the China Seas operations , rejoined the force for the Leyte landings . On 25 October , " Owen " , temporarily with TG 34 . 5 , sailed to assist TF 77 units which had engaged enemy forces attempting to enter Leyte Gulf . Shortly after midnight , off the eastern end of San Bernardino Strait , an enemy destroyer , Nowaki , was taken under fire . After several exchanges , " Owen " and closed to deliver the final blows . They accomplished their mission in under 20 minutes . Nowaki was sunk with the loss of all hands and also those survivors of the IJN Cruiser Chikuma who were picked up a day before . Raids against enemy installations in the Philippines continued into November . On 25 November the force retired to Ulithi , whence it sortied , 11 December , to support amphibious operations on Mindoro . Strikes on Formosa preceded another return to the Philippines in support of amphibious landings , this time in Lingayen Gulf . 1945 . Following the Luzon assault , the carrier force ' s sorties into the South and East China Seas were stepped up . The ships and planes repeatedly blasted installations from Saigon to the Ryukyus and frequently sailed north to raid Japan ' s industrial heart . On 19 – 21 February 1945 , the force supported the assault in Iwo Jima , then steamed west again to pound the Tokyo plain . By mid - March , an intensified raiding campaign against the Ryukyus and Japan was well underway , preparing the way for an invasion force . On 19 March , an enemy dive bomber penetrated the screen to score a direct hit on Following rescue operations , " Owen " was detached , with others , to escort the damaged carrier back to Ulithi . " Owen " departed Ulithi 5 April for her last operation . For the next 53 days she screened TG 58 . 2 as it provided air cover for forces fighting the battle of Okinawa and raided Kyu - shu - . On 28 May , she departed the intensely disputed Okinawan combat area . Sailing south , she anchored in Leyte Gulf until 20 June , when she set a homeward course . She arrived at San Francisco , California 9 July and was there when the war ended . Post - war service . Assigned to the 19th Fleet ( Pacific Reserve Fleet ) , " Owen " decommissioned 10 December 1946 and was berthed at San Diego . She remained there until reactivated during the Korean War . She recommissioned 17 August 1951 , becoming flagship of DesDiv 282 , and reported for duty with the Atlantic Fleet in November . Cold weather operations in the North Atlantic in early 1952 were followed by overhaul at Charleston Naval Shipyard and training operations in the Caribbean . On 7 January 1953 , she sailed , with her division , for the Far East . Steaming via the Panama Canal , she arrived at Sasebo , Japan , 12 February ; joined the 7th Fleet ; and immediately commenced operations off the embattled Korean peninsula . " Owen " divided her five months tour with the United Nations Force between the fast carriers ( TG 77 ) and the Blockade and Escort Force ( TF 95 ) . With the former , her operations were similar to her World War II missions — screening and plane guard . With the latter , she patrolled from Wonsan to Chongjin and acted as flagship for the Yong Do and Wonsan Defense and Blockade Units . Defense of friendly islands , coastal patrol , shore bombardment to silence enemy batteries and impede their transport and communications activities , and mine destruction were included in these assignments . On 26 June , " Owen " departed Sasebo to return to NS Norfolk via the Suez Canal . Completing her round - the - world voyage 22 August , she remained on the east coast until January 1954 . A 3 month Mediterranean deployment followed , after which she returned to spend the remainder of the year in the western Atlantic . In January 1955 , she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet , arriving at Long Beach on 26 January . On reporting , her division was redesignated DesDiv 192 . From 1955 to 1958 , the destroyer alternated EastPac training operations and shipyard overhauls with WestPac tours . In December 1957 , she returned from her last 7th Fleet deployment and reported for inactivation at Mare Island Naval Shipyard . She decommissioned 27 May 1958 and was again berthed in California as a unit of the Pacific Reserve Fleet , berthed at Stockton . " Owen " was stricken 15 April 1973 , sold 27 November 1973 , and broken up for scrap . Honors . " Owen " earned 9 battle star s during World War II ; 2 during the Korean War .