USS Endicott ( DD - 495 ) USS " Endicott " ( DD - 495 ) , a " Gleaves " - class destroyer , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Samuel Endicott , who served as a quarter gunner on board " Enterprise " in the Barbary Wars . He volunteered to participate in the expedition under Lieutenant Stephen Decatur , Jr . , which destroyed the former U . S . Frigate " Philadelphia " . " Endicott " was launched by the Seattle - Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp . , Seattle , Washington , on 5 April 1942 ; sponsored by Miss Bettie L . Rankin ; and commissioned 25 February 1943 , with Lieutenant Commander W . S . Heald , in command . She was reclassified DMS - 35 on 30 May 1945 . History . Initial operations . The destroyer underwent shakedown off San Diego , was ordered to the U . S . Atlantic Fleet and in her first year escorted two convoys to Africa and one to Ireland , Panama , and Trinidad . In preparation for the European invasion " Endicott " served as escort for merchantmen and transports until 24 May 1944 when she collided with the freighter SS " Exhibitor " and was forced to undergo repairs at Cardiff , South Wales . European theater . " Endicott " rejoined the fleet on 12 July and escorted LST s and LCI s into the Mediterranean for the buildup preparatory to the attack on southern France ( Operation Dragoon ) . The destroyer , together with British gunboats HMS " Scarab " , " Aphis " , and 17 motor torpedo boat s , was scheduled to make a diversionary attack against the coast at La Ciotat . The feint successfully deceived the enemy and " Endicott " sank a German merchantman during the bombardment . She then hastened to rescue the British gunboats in their uneven match against two German warships , " Nimet Allah " and " Capriola " , and though battle weary she destroyed both . She continued to support coastal operations off southern France by escorting a convoy to Corsica , and HMS " Eastway " to Salerno . " Endicott " underwent overhaul and refresher training from October through the end of 1944 . In January 1945 she sailed via Bermuda on the scouting line , then proceeded to rendezvous with Task Group 21 . 5 ( TG 21 . 5 ) to escort " Quincy " ( CA - 71 ) — on which President Franklin D . Roosevelt was embarked — to Yalta and back to New York . Pacific theater . She escorted a convoy to Oran in mid - April and then entered the Charleston Navy Yard for conversion to a high - speed minesweeper . Dispatched to the Pacific , she arrived in San Diego three days after the Japanese surrender . " Endicott " reported to Task Force 52 at Okinawa on 23 September 1945 to begin the huge task of ridding the Yellow Sea of mines . Designated flagship of the sweeping group , she conducted similar operations in the Inland Sea and Kure area as well . After a period of overhaul in May 1946 , she operated out of San Diego in peacetime patrols and local exercises until the outbreak of the Korean War . Korean War . In June 1950 she weighed anchor for the coast of Korea where she screened aircraft carrier s " Badoeng Strait " ( CVE - 116 ) and " Sicily " ( CVE - 118 ) . Steaming to Chinhae Wan in August , she lent direct fire support to the U . N . troops and on 15 September escorted a Korean LST in a feint attack against Chang Sa Dong . When the LST broached , " Endicott " stood guard until help arrived . She continued her harassment of the enemy following the Inchon landings , cruising along the east coast of Korea and supporting the minesweeping force . For the remainder of the year she afforded sweeping assistance at Wonsan and then at Hungnam prior to the evacuation of troops forced by the penetration of the Chinese Communists . She participated in the Action of 12 October 1950 , an engagement in which two American minesweepers were sunk . In January 1951 she rescued the crew of the grounded Siamese frigate " Prase " and stood guard until the latter had to be destroyed . Early in February she led a mine - sweeping force in bombarding the port of Wonsan and sweeping to the northward . An overhaul in San Diego was succeeded by " Endicott " ' s second tour in Korean waters . She reported to Commander Naval Forces in October and returned to shore bombardment and patrol . During the first half of 1952 she cruised on the Songjin Patrol and devoted the last four months of the year to overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard . Early in 1953 she again sailed for the Far East to patrol and provide gun support for minesweepers operating in the Korean area . " Endicott " received repairs at Long Beach in August and thereafter conducted individual and fleet exercises in local waters . On 17 August 1954 she was decommissioned and placed in reserve at San Diego . " Endicott " was reclassified DD - 495 on 15 July 1955 .