USS Healy ( DD - 672 ) USS " Healy " ( DD - 672 ) was a " Fletcher " - class destroyer of the United States Navy , named for Commander Howard R . Healy ( 1899 – 1942 ) who had distinguished himself on board during the Battle of the Coral Sea . " Healy " was launched by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co . , Kearny , N . J . , on 4 July 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Howard R . Healy , widow of the namesake ; and commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 3 September 1943 , Commander J . C . Atkeson in command . Service history . World War II . After completing her shakedown cruise off Bermuda , " Healy " returned to New York 31 October . The ship departed for a week of coastal patrol on 10 November , and after meeting a convoy at sea steamed into Norfolk , Va . on 18 November 1943 . Two days later she cleared port en route to the Pacific , and after transiting the Panama Canal arrived San Francisco , Calif . on 4 December . From there she proceeded to Pearl Harbor , and after arrival on 11 December spent several weeks training in Hawaiian waters with and other ships which would become the famous Task Force 58 ( TF 58 ) under Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher . January – September 1944 . The Navy had begun its gigantic island campaign in the Pacific with the capture of the Gilberts , and " Healy " departed on 16 January 1944 for the second major operation , the capture of the Marshall Islands . Until being detached from the group 1 February , " Healy " screened and " Yorktown " during devastating raids on installations on the target islands , including Kwajalein . " Healy " was assigned 1 February to escort and to Majuro , and rendezvoused with the carriers there 4 February . " Healy " s next major operation was the neutralization of Truk , a major Japanese naval base in the Pacific . Departing Majuro 12 February , the carrier group attacked Truk 17 – 18 February with striking thoroughness , sinking or rendering useless most of the shipping and aircraft and eliminating Truk as a major threat to the allied plans . After the raid " Healy " and the carriers steamed to the Marianas , fought off several air attacks 22 February , and delivered important strikes against Saipan , Tinian , and Guam , America ' s next objectives in the Pacific . Prior to the Marianas invasion , however , " Healy " screened " Enterprise " on a series of raids in the western Pacific designed to aid the coming operations . After a stop at Espiritu Santo the ships struck the Palau Islands 30 March , and after beating off Japanese air raids launched an attack on Yap and Ulithi the next day . " Enterprise " planes attacked Woleai 1 April 1944 , and returned to Majuro five days later . " Healy " put to sea again 14 April to screen " Enterprise " during strikes on New Guinea , supporting operations and landings at Tanahmerah Bay . Another heavy raid on the Japanese base at Truk 29 – 30 April completed this highly successful operation , and she returned to Majuro 4 May . After a period of intensive training and preparation , she departed Majuro on 6 June for the invasion of the Marianas , a spectacular amphibious operation to be carried out nearly 1 , 000 miles ( 1 , 800 km ) from the nearest advance base , Eniwetok . Again acting as screening ship for the carriers , " Healy " supported softening - up raids 11 – 15 June and protected them during the period of direct support as Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner ' s Marines went ashore on Saipan on 15 June . Two days later , " Healy " and the other ships steamed out to join Admiral Mitscher ' s carrier task force as the Japanese made preparations to close the Marianas for a decisive naval battle . The great fleets approached each other on 19 June for the biggest carrier engagement of the war : the Battle of the Philippine Sea . As four large air raids hit the American dispositions , fighter cover from the ships of " Healy " s task group and surface fire from the ships decimated the Japanese formations . With able assistance from American submarine s , Mitscher succeeded in sinking two Japanese carriers in addition to inflicting fatal losses on the enemy naval air arm during " The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot " on 19 June . " Healy " helped rescue pilots from downed aircraft on 21 June , and arrived Eniwetok on 9 July . The Marianas invasion had been secured and the enemy threat turned back . Getting underway again on 17 June , " Healy " s carrier task force launched repeated strikes on Guam , steamed into the Carolines , and commenced strikes against the Palaus 25 July . Continuing to cruise with Task Force 58 , " Healy " screened the carriers during strikes on the Bonin and Volcano Islands on 4 – 5 August before returning to Eniwetok on 11 August 1944 . Sailing again on 28 August , the group hit the Bonins , Palaus , and various targets in the Philippines until 17 September . " Healy " was detached that date and joined a carrier task group for direct support of the Peleliu invasion , the next step on the island road to Japan . October – December 1944 . The destroyer returned with her carrier group to Manus Island on 21 September , and steamed to Ulithi to form an important task group for operations in the western Pacific . The giant force , numbering 17 carriers and supporting surface ships , rendezvoused at sea , and launched strikes against Okinawa on 10 October . Then on 12 October , the carriers moved toward their real objective — Formosa . In a devastating 3 days of air attacks , carrier planes did much to destroy Formosa as a supporting base for the Japanese in the island battles to come . Japanese forces retaliated with heavy and repeated land - based air attacks . " Healy " brought down one bomber and assisted in downing many more during these attacks , in which and were damaged . After protecting the retirement of the damaged ships ( " CripDiv 1 " ) , " Healy " resumed her screening duties for air attacks against Philippine installations 19 October . As troops stormed ashore at Leyte for the historic return to the Philippines , " Healy " and her carrier group began direct support of the operation , blasting airfields on southern Luzon . By 24 October , it was clear that the invasion of Leyte had called forth one last giant effort on the part of the Japanese to annihilate the American fleet . Its three major fleet units moved toward the Philippines for the historic Battle for Leyte Gulf , intending to divert Admiral William F . Halsey ' s carriers to the northward and strike the assault forces in the gulf a two - pronged death blow . " Healy " joined Rear Admiral Frederick C . Sherman ' s Task Group 38 . 3 ( TG 38 . 3 ) , near Luzon 24 October which was attacked early in the day by land - based aircraft . Planes of the task group struck out at the ships of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita in the Sibuyan Sea , sinking and damaging other heavy units of the Japanese forces . While two other phases of the great engagement , the Battle of Surigao Strait and the Battle off Samar , were being fought , Admiral Halsey deployed carrier forces northward to meet the decoy force of carriers under Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa . Making contact on 25 October , the carriers , screened by " Healy " and other surface units , launched a series of strikes at the Japanese carrier group . Despite effective enemy anti - aircraft fire , the planes succeeded in sinking four carriers , and a damaged destroyer was later sunk by gunfire . The great sea battle was thus ended , with the invasion of Leyte secured and the Japanese fleet no longer an effective fighting unit . " Healy " returned to Ulithi for replenishment on 30 October and sailed two days later with her task group for additional strikes on the Philippines . Strikes on 5 November crippled airfields on Luzon , hit shipping in Manila Bay , and fought off air attacks by Japanese planes against the fleet . These operations continued until 2 December , with " Healy " splashing several of the attacking aircraft in the protection of her carriers . After a brief stay at Ulithi , the destroyer and her task group returned to Luzon for strikes against airfields from 14 – 16 December . After riding out the terrible typhoon which sank , , and , " Healy " searched for survivors from the lost ships before returning to Ulithi with her carrier group 24 December . 1945 . After getting underway 30 December , " Healy " and her task group moved back to the Philippines . They attacked Formosa and Luzon until 8 January 1945 , and then pushed into the South China Sea for a bold demonstration of the mobility of carrier - based air power . Attacking Formosa , Camranh Bay , Saigon , Hong Kong , and Hainan , the ships sailed out of the South China Sea 21 January , having sunk over 130 , 000 tons of shipping and destroyed numerous aircraft . The carrier forces , after another stop at Ulithi , now turned their attention to Iwo Jima . With " Healy " and other destroyers in the protective screen , carrier planes supplied close support for the invasion of the island on 19 February , and continued for 3 days before departing for strikes against Japanese home air bases . Leaving the carrier group , " Healy " next was assigned to the battleships designated to bombard Iwo Jima , and remained off the island patrolling and screening from 4 – 27 March . She then sailed with by way of Saipan and Eniwetok to Pearl Harbor , arriving on 4 April 1945 . From there the veteran destroyer steamed to San Francisco Bay , where she arrived on 23 April . After repairs and additional training , " Healy " again got underway for the combat zone 20 June 1945 , departing the Hawaiian area on 2 August with and other ships for the western Pacific . The destroyer arrived Guam on 11 August , and en route from there to Iwo Jima heard the news that the war was over . " Healy " steamed off Japan with and other units preparatory to the formal surrender , then acted as harbor control vessel at Tokyo Bay until after the ceremonies , departing on 5 September with passengers for the United States . She put them ashore at San Diego , Calif . on 21 December 1945 and sailed from California via the Panama Canal to New York , where she arrived on 17 January 1946 . Subsequently , she sailed to Charleston , S . C . and decommissioned on 11 July 1946 . 1951 - 1958 . " Healy " remained in reserve until recommissioning at Charleston 3 August 1951 . After shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , the ship took part in training exercises including anti - submarine , air defense , and screening drills until 29 June 1953 . During this time she visited various Caribbean ports and convoyed shipping to and from the Panama Canal . " Healy " put to sea on 29 June 1953 on a world cruise , stopping at San Diego and Pearl Harbor on the way to the Far East . The destroyer participated in operations with the 7th Fleet patrolling off Communist China , and conducted coastal patrol off Korea from 3 August to 3 December 1953 . Rejoining her division , she then resumed her world cruise , visiting Hong Kong , Ceylon , Egypt , Italy , and other countries before returning to Norfolk on 6 February 1954 . The ship spent the remainder of 1954 on a midshipman training cruise to northern Europe and on local exercises off Virginia . The destroyer joined the 6th Fleet in 1955 , sailing on 5 November for the Mediterranean . She remained with the fleet protecting allied interests in that area until 26 February 1956 , when she returned to Norfolk . After another cruise training midshipmen , which took her to northern Europe again , the ship returned to Annapolis on 31 July 1956 . " Healy " then participated in local operations , spent a month as training ship for Naval Mine Warfare School , Yorktown , Va . , and arrived Norfolk on 19 March 1957 . Moving to Philadelphia , the ship decommissioned on 11 March 1958 . " Healy " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 December 1974 . She was sold on 12 April 1976 and broken up for scrap . Awards . " Healy " received eight battle star s for World War II service . In Popular Culture . The " Healy " appeared in the movie " Away All Boats " , accurately depicting the Fletcher destroyer class ' s anit - aircraft role in the Pacific Theater .