USS Aulick ( DD - 569 ) USS " Aulick " ( DD - 569 ) was an American " Fletcher " - class destroyer , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Commodore John H . Aulick ( 1787 – 1873 ) . " Aulick " was laid down on 14 May 1941 at Orange , Tex . , by the Consolidated Steel Corporation ; launched on 2 March 1942 , sponsored by Mrs . Thaddeus A . Thomson , the wife of Captain Thaddeus A . Thomson who was then the acting commandant of the 8th Naval District ; and commissioned on 27 October 1942 , Lieutenant Commander O . P . Thomas , Jr . , in command . Service history . United States Navy . World War II . Following her commissioning , the destroyer conducted shakedown training in the Gulf of Mexico and out of Casco Bay , Maine , and departed Philadelphia on 23 January 1943 , bound for the South Pacific . She transited the Panama Canal and paused at Bora Bora , Society Islands , before making Nouméa , New Caledonia , on 12 February . After a week of antisubmarine patrol off New Caledonia , " Aulick " joined Task Force 64 ( TF 64 ) in the Coral Sea and stood by to support an American force landing on the Russell Islands . When TF 64 returned to Nouméa on the 25th , " Aulick " was detached . She stood out for Espiritu Santo on 1 March as an escort for . From there , the destroyer steamed to Efate Island , New Hebrides , but on 9 March , she was ordered back to Nouméa . At 0411 on the 10th , " Aulick " struck a coral reef off the southern tip of New Caledonia while making 20 knots and suffered extensive damage to her hull , propellers , and engines . After being briefly drydocked at Nouméa , the ship was taken in tow bound for Hawaii , where she arrived on 10 April after stops at Suva , Fiji Islands , and at Pago Pago , American Samoa . The warship underwent repairs at Pearl Harbor until 8 November when she got underway for Bremerton , Wash . Reaching there on 14 November , " Aulick " entered the Puget Sound Navy Yard for replacement of damaged machinery . She set sail on 23 December to return to Pearl Harbor . Upon reaching that port , the ship received three more weeks of availability . 1944 . The destroyer left Hawaii on 22 January 1944 , bound for the west coast , and reported to the Fleet Operational Training Command in San Francisco on 3 February . Her duties included serving as a training ship in engineering , ordnance , and deck duties . The highlight of her service during this assignment was her rescue on 11 April of 16 crewmen from a downed United States Navy PBM Mariner flying boat . The warship was relieved on 18 May and reported to the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard , San Francisco , for repairs . At the end of this work , she sailed once again for Pearl Harbor and arrived there on 27 June . After a series of training exercises , " Aulick " got underway on 9 July in the screen of 12 transports bound for the invasion of Guam . They arrived off that island on 22 July , and the destroyer remained in the area , patrolling and screening units of the 5th Fleet , until 6 August . After a resupply stop at Eniwetok , " Aulick " rendezvoused with Task Group 32 . 4 ( TG 32 . 4 ) on 21 August and continued on to Guadalcanal where she spent the next three weeks preparing for upcoming operations against the Palaus . The destroyer sailed for that group of islands with TG 32 . 7 on 8 September , reached her destination on 15 September , and supported the forces landing on Peleliu and on Anguar . On 30 September , the ship headed for Manus Island , Admiralty Islands , to join the 7th Fleet . She got underway for the Philippines on 12 October and arrived off Leyte on the 18th . The next day , " Aulick " was assigned to the northern fire support group for shore bombardment , night harassing fire , and close fire support . She entered San Pedro Bay at 0655 and opened fire at 1115 . At approximately 1212 , Japanese shells scored direct hits on the destroyer , killing one crewman by flying shrapnel . At 1328 , she ceased fire and retired for the night . " Aulick " again rendered fire support on 20 and 21 October . From the 22nd to the 24th , she stood by but did not fire her guns . Meanwhile , the Japanese high command had activated its plan to defend the Philippines with the Combined Fleet . Japan ' s warships were organized into four groups . The northern force was built around the Combined Fleet ' s remaining aircraft carrier s , now bereft of their warplanes , and was to wait as a decoy north of Luzon . Japan hoped to lure the American Fast Carrier Task Force to a point far enough from Leyte Gulf for it to be out of action while the Emperor ' s other three forces , composed of surface warships , annihilated the American shipping supporting Major General Douglas MacArthur ' s beachhead on Leyte . Thus , they hoped to strand the American invaders on Leyte as MacArthur ' s soldiers had been caught on Bataan some three years before . The more powerful of these surface forces was to cross the Sibuyan Sea , transit San Bernardino Strait , and descend upon Leyte Gulf from the north . The other two were to emerge from Surigao Strait and attack the invaders in Leyte Gulf from the south . On 25 October , " Aulick " was part of the screen that was protecting American battleship s and cruiser s guarding the waters approaching Surigao Strait . The guns of these warships defeated the first of the Japanese southern forces so decisively that the second force turned back before really getting into action . As the Japanese retreated , the American ships , including " Aulick " , joined in sinking a Japanese destroyer of the " Akitsuki " class . Before the Americans could finish off any more ships , they were ordered to return to Leyte Gulf . Reports were received that a large Japanese force was approaching from the north . " Aulick " and five other destroyers took station near the south coast of Homonhon Island awaiting an attack which never materialized . On 29 October , " Aulick " sailed in company with TG 77 . 2 for Seeadler Harbor . The destroyer sortied on 17 November to meet in Vitiaz Strait and escort her back to Seeadler . After escorting that battleship on to Ulithi , " Aulick " sailed back to Leyte on 22 November . Arriving in Leyte Gulf on 25 November , " Aulick " once again joined TG 77 . 2 . On 29 November , while on antisubmarine patrol in the east entrance to Leyte Gulf , " Aulick " was attacked at 1750 by six Japanese planes . One peeled off and dived toward the destroyer , dropped a bomb close aboard , then exploded on hitting the water approximately 20 yards off the destroyer ' s port bow . Another aircraft approached and struck the starboard side of the bridge with its wingtip , continued forward and downward , and exploded near the bow just above the main deck . The explosion set the number 2 gun and handling room on fire . Metal fragments killed several men on the bridge and flying bridge . Altogether a total of 31 men were killed , 64 were wounded , and 1 was missing . After being relieved by , " Aulick " proceeded to San Pedro Bay to transfer her wounded and made emergency repairs . On 1 December , she got underway for the west coast , via Seeadler Harbor and Pearl Harbor , and entered the Mare Island Navy Yard on Christmas Eve for repairs . 1945 . The ship began sea trials on 24 February 1945 and underwent refresher training out of San Diego , Calif . before departing the west coast on 7 March . After further training out of Pearl Harbor , the destroyer set a course on 25 March for the Philippines , via Eniwetok , Ulithi , and Kossol Roads . From Leyte , " Aulick " sailed on 12 April for Morotai , Netherlands East Indies . A week later , she departed for Mindanao Island with elements of the 31st Infantry Division embarked . After disembarking the invasion troops at Mindanao on 22 April , the destroyer escorted the LST s back to Morotai and remained there through the 30th , before heading for San Pedro Bay . Post war . After a period of upkeep , " Aulick " got underway for Okinawa , anchored off Hagushi beach on 16 May , and joined the antiaircraft and radar picket screen around the transports . She was destined to remain there through the end of World War II . From 24 August to 2 September , the destroyer was assigned air - sea rescue duties on the direct air lane between Okinawa and Tokyo . On the 28th , she rescued nine crewmen from a downed B - 29 Superfortress . After being relieved of her lifeguard duties , " Aulick " departed Okinawa on 10 September , bound for home . She touched at Pearl Harbor , transited the Panama Canal , and arrived in New York harbor on 17 October . The destroyer participated in a Presidential fleet review on the 27th and entered the New York Navy Yard on 15 November to prepare for inactivation . She was decommissioned on 18 April 1946 . Hellenic Navy . " Aulick " was transferred , on loan , to the government of Greece on 21 August 1959 . She served in the Hellenic Navy as " Sfendoni " ( D - 85 ) ( " Slingshot " ) . The ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 September 1975 , and she was sold to Greece in April 1977 . " Sfendoni " was stricken from the Greek Navy in 1991 . She was scrapped in 1997 at Aliağa , Turkey . Awards . " Aulick " earned five battle star s for her World War II service .