USS Shannon ( DM - 25 ) USS " Shannon " ( DD - 737 / DM - 25 / MMD - 25 ) was a " Robert H . Smith " - class destroyer minelayer in the United States Navy . She was named for Marine Colonel Harold D . Shannon . " Shannon " ( DD - 737 ) was laid down on 14 February 1944 by the Bath Iron Works , Bath , Maine ; launched on 24 June 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Harold D . Shannon ; reclassified DM - 25 on 19 July 1944 ; and commissioned on 8 September 1944 , Commander E . L . Foster in command . Transfer to Pacific . Completing shakedown in the Bermuda area in late October , " Shannon " was ordered to overtake convoy GUS - 54 and deliver election ballots before proceeding to Norfolk , Virginia for availability . She accomplished her mission ; completed the yard work ; and , on 21 November , sailed for the Pacific . On the 25th , she rescued two crewmen from a downed scout plane . She arrived in the Panama Canal Zone on the 27th . From there , she continued on to California and Hawaii . On 27 January , " Shannon " , flagship of Mine Division ( MinDiv ) 7 and a unit of Task Force 51 , departed Pearl Harbor for Eniwetok , Saipan , and Iwo Jima . At the latter island , on 19 February , she conducted antisubmarine patrols as marines landed ; then , during the afternoon , she moved in to provide fire support . For the next five days , she rotated between those duties ; then returned to Saipan to escort reinforcement and resupply echelons to the embattled island . She returned to Iwo Jima on 3 March and resumed duty - night illumination , harassing fire , and call fire - in support of the 4th Marine Division for another five days . On the 8th , she sailed for Ulithi ; and , on the 19th , she left the Western Carolines for the Ryukyu Islands and Operation Iceberg , the invasion of Okinawa . Okinawa . " Shannon " arrived off Kerama Retto , an island group west of Okinawa , on 25 March and covered minesweeping units and underwater demolition teams until that base was secured . She then protected the minesweepers as they prepared the way for the landings on Okinawa . On 1 April , when the troops were landed on the Hagushi beaches , she patrolled to the east of Kerama Retto ; then moved to the southern coast of Okinawa to screen the demonstration landings there . Further screening duties followed ; and , on the 4th , she retired to the rear area . On the 15th , she returned to Okinawa and resumed screening duties . On the 21st , she commenced anti - small - boat patrols off southeastern Okinawa . She alternated that duty with radar picket duty until mid - June with interruptions only to cover minesweepers in the Tori Shima area on 11 May and in the Iheya Shima area from 30 May to 3 June . From mid - June through the end of July , " Shannon " accompanied minesweeping units as they continued sweeping operations in the immediate Okinawa area and in the East China Sea . During the first part of August , she was at Buckner Bay for availability . On the 12th , she resumed operations with the minesweepers which continued until the war ended on the 15th . Yellow Sea . After the cessation of hostilities in the Pacific , " Shannon " moved into the Yellow Sea with mine units to clear the fields off Korea . On 7 September , she got underway for Japan ; and , into November , she assisted the minesweeping detachments as they cleared the sea - lanes to the major ports of that country . Then , having relinquished flagship duties in October , she headed back for the United States . After stops in Hawaii and on the west coast , she continued on to the east coast to join the Atlantic Fleet . Post World War II and fate . Arriving in Chesapeake Bay in April 1946 , she conducted limited operations under ComDesLant and Com - SubLant into June . She then proceeded to Charleston , South Carolina for duty in MinDiv 2 . During 1947 , her operations were extended ; and , that summer , she escorted on a goodwill visit to Liberia . Availability and limited operations followed that cruise ; then , from November 1947 into August 1948 , she remained immobilized at Charleston . In August 1948 , she resumed operations with Mine Force , Atlantic Fleet which she continued for the next seven years . During that time , she participated in various exercises — type , fleet , and international ; conducted midshipmen cruises ; and deployed to the Mediterranean Sea once , from September 1950 to January 1951 . Ordered inactivated in 1955 , she joined the Charleston Group , Atlantic Reserve Fleet , on 7 July and was decommissioned on 24 October 1955 . Reclassified MMD - 25 on 14 August 1968 , she remained in the reserve fleet until struck from the Navy list on 1 November 1970 . She was subsequently sold for scrapping to the Boston Metals Company , Baltimore , Maryland , and was delivered to that firm in May 1973 . " Shannon " earned four battle star s during World War II .