USS Major ( DE - 796 ) USS " Major " ( DE - 796 ) was a " Buckley " - class destroyer escort acquired by the U . S . Navy during the latter part of World War II . She served as an escort vessel , protecting Allied ships , both in the Atlantic Ocean , and later in the Pacific Ocean . When the war with Japan ended , " Major " witnessed the Japanese surrender from her berth in Tokyo Bay . Constructed in Texas . " Major " ( DE 796 ) was laid down by Consolidated Steel Corp . , Orange , Texas , 16 August 1943 ; launched 23 October 1943 ; sponsored by Ens . Margaret Roper Major , Ensign Major ’ s widow ; and commissioned at Orange , Texas , 12 February 1944 , Lt . Comdr . O . W . Goepner in command . World War II operations . North Atlantic convoy escort duty . Following shakedown off Bermuda , " Major " served in the Caribbean Sea frontier and escorted convoys between Cuba and Trinidad until arriving Boston , Massachusetts , 11 June . She underwent training out of Casco Bay , Maine , with ships of Escort Division 56 before arriving Yorktown , Virginia , 2 July for convoy escort duty . On 4 July she sailed as part of Task Force 61 and escorted UGS - 47 , a 68 ship convoy , to Bizerte , Tunisia , where she arrived 23 July . Between 30 July and 18 August she escorted a westbound convoy back to the United States . " Major " again sailed with Task Force 61 as convoy escort 12 September , but on the 25th she left UGS - 54 and steamed to Plymouth , England , arriving 29 September . There she met a convoy of 18 LSTs and 20 LCIs , and between 5 and 24 October she sailed as escort to Charleston , South Carolina . During the next 2 months " Major " made another convoy run to North Africa and back ; and , after returning to Boston 29 December , she served as submarine training target ship out of New London , Connecticut . Thence she sailed 21 February 1945 for duty in the Pacific . Pacific Ocean operations . Arriving Manus , Admiralties , 1 April , " Major " escorted a convoy from Hollandia , New Guinea , to Leyte Gulf , Philippines , where she reported for duty with the Philippine Sea frontier . During the remainder of the war she operated out of Leyte Gulf , patrolling for enemy submarines , providing passenger and mail service to islands in the southern Philippines , and conducting periodic convoy escort duty , including a run to New Guinea and back . Late in July she reached Okinawa as escort for an LST convoy , thence she departed 1 August guarding LSTs bound for Leyte . Three days later , as " Earl V . Johnson " ( DE - 702 ) dueled with a Japanese submarine , " Major " protected the convoy , which arrived at Leyte Gulf 7 August . Witnessing the surrender in Tokyo Bay . Following the cessation of hostilities 15 August , " Major " steamed to Manila 18 August and escorted LSTs to Japan . She anchored near mighty " Missouri " ( BB - 63 ) in Tokyo Bay 1 September and the following day witnessed the Japanese surrender on board the giant battleship . After returning to the Philippines later that month , she operated out of Leyte . Post - war decommissioning . Late in 1945 she steamed to the U . S . West Coast . " Major " decommissioned at Long Beach , California , 13 March 1948 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet berthed with the Pacific Inactive Fleet at Stockton , California . " Major " was sold for scrapping 27 November 1973 .