USS Robert L . Wilson ( DD - 847 ) USS " Robert L . Wilson " ( DD / DDE - 847 ) was a of the United States Navy , named for Marine Private First Class Robert L . Wilson ( 1920 – 1944 ) , who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for " conspicuous gallantry " in the Battle of Tinian . " Robert L . Wilson " was laid down by the Bath Iron Works Corp . , Bath , Maine , on 2 July 1945 ; launched on 5 January 1946 ; sponsored by Mrs . Joe Wilson ; and commissioned in the Boston Navy Yard on 28 March 1946 , Captain Benard R . Cadden , in command . Service history . 1946 – 1960 . Following shakedown in Cuban waters , " Robert L . Wilson " sailed from Norfolk , Virginia on 23 July 1946 for a six - month tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . Returning to the United States in February 1947 , she spent the next two years based at Newport , Rhode Island , operating off the Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean . After overhaul at Boston Navy Yard , she stood out of Hampton Roads on a midshipman cruise to Plymouth , England ; Cherbourg , France ; and Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . On 4 March 1950 " Robert L . Wilson " was redesignated an escort destroyer DDE - 847 . She finished out the year with a midshipman training cruise to Northern Europe , duty in the Mediterranean which included special antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) demonstrations , and hunter - killer ( HUK ) operations along the eastern seaboard from Norfolk . On 1 January 1951 , as the result of a fleet reorganization , " Robert L . Wilson " became a unit of Escort Squadron 4 ( CortRon 4 ) , and hoisted the pennant of Commander , Escort Division 42 . By 30 June 1960 , she had completed eight tours of service in the Mediterranean since commissioning , provided training for cadet s of the United States Military Academy along the eastern seaboard ; and conducted the annual summer midshipmen cruises for the United States Naval Academy , stressing antisubmarine tactics . On 1 July 1956 , she was assigned to the newly established Destroyer Squadron 36 ( DesRon 36 ) , composed of destroyer escort types specially configured for anti - submarine missions and yet maintaining the capability to handle all destroyer missions . During the last week of November and the early part of December 1959 , " Robert L . Wilson " and two other escort destroyers participated in Operation " Monsoon , " manning sea - air rescue stations for the Presidential flight to Europe from the United States . She then operated in the western Atlantic and Caribbean until a Norfolk Navy Yard overhaul in the summer of 1960 . 1961 – 1974 . Returning to Caribbean and Atlantic operations , in January 1961 " Robert L . Wilson " pursued the Portuguese liner SS " Santa Maria " which had been seized by a group of revolutionaries . An eight - day chase took " Wilson " and across the equator to Recife , Brazil . Returning to Norfolk , " Robert L . Wilson " underwent a month of preparation , then departed on 8 June for her ninth Mediterranean cruise . She spent the fall and winter of 1961 operating in the western Atlantic out of Norfolk . In January 1962 , " Robert L . Wilson " participated in recovery operations for a Project Mercury manned space capsule . " Robert L . Wilson " deployed with Task Group Bravo to Northern Europe in February , returning to Norfolk in mid - June 1962 . On 1 August 1962 she was again classified DD - 847 . In September 1962 , " Wilson " and the other ships of Destroyer Division 362 deployed to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba as a unit under the command of the Naval Base Commander for the purpose of base defense , and was at Guantanamo and in adjacent waters during the Cuban missile crisis in October . " Robert L . Wilson " returned to Norfolk in late November and operated locally until March 1963 when she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM ) I modernization . Emerging from her overhaul period in 1964 , she continued to serve with the Atlantic Fleet for the balance of that year and throughout 1965 . After serving as gunfire support ship at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , in late January and early February 1966 , " Robert L . Wilson " was assigned the abort station for the first unmanned Apollo space shot . In April and June she was rescue destroyer for , prime recovery ship for the Gemini 9 space mission . Following ASW exercises , she made her 12th deployment to the Mediterranean on 22 July 1966 , returning to Norfolk 17 December . Following service as schoolship for the Fleet Sonar School in January and February , " Wilson " spent the rest of 1967 operating in the Atlantic and Caribbean . " Robert L . Wilson " continued these operations until May 1968 when she joined the search for nuclear submarine searching the continental shelf off the coast of Norfolk and then following the " Scorpion " s track back to her last reported position southwest of the Azores without success . Returning to Norfolk on 13 June , " Wilson " operated in the Atlantic until steaming on 6 September for a western Pacific deployment . Touching at San Diego , Pearl Harbor , Midway , Guam , and Subic Bay , " Robert L . Wilson " took up a naval gunfire support mission 36 miles ( 67 km ) south of Huế , the ancient capital of South Vietnam . She then undertook search and rescue duty in the Gulf of Tonkin after 28 October , destroying two sampans with . 50 caliber machine gun fire and hand grenade s . In early November " Robert L . Wilson " was assigned as plane guard for on " Yankee Station " . She remained in the Far East through the end of the year . " Robert L . Wilson " returned to San Diego from the Far East on 27 March 1969 , and operated off the west coast until transiting the Panama Canal and arriving Norfolk on 21 June . She then operated in the western Atlantic and Caribbean until deploying to the Mediterranean on 5 March 1970 . During this Mediterranean cruise , " Wilson " participated in two combined NATO exercises , DAWN PATROL and MEDTACEX , and was , for a time , diverted to the Levantine Basin due to another Middle East crisis . She returned to Norfolk on 16 September for a leave , upkeep , and training cycle which continued to the end of the year . Upon completion of overhaul , refresher training , and other operations in the Atlantic , " Robert L . Wilson " commenced another deployment to the Sixth Fleet , departing from Norfolk on 17 September . After six months away from Norfolk , she returned on 17 March 1972 and completed the year operating out of that port . " Robert L . Wilson " decommissioned at Norfolk on 30 September 1974 and transferred to the inactive fleet facility at Philadelphia . She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 September 1974 and sunk as a target as part of the Harpoon missile test program on 1 March 1980 . Awards . " Robert L . Wilson " earned three battle star s for service in the Vietnam War .