USS Mitscher ( DL - 2 ) USS " Mitscher " ( DL - 2 / DDG - 35 ) , named for Admiral Marc " Pete " Mitscher USN ( 1887 – 1947 ) , was the lead ship of her class of destroyer of the United States Navy . Originally designated DD - 927 , she was laid down by the Bath Iron Works Corporation at Bath , Maine on 3 October 1949 , reclassified as a destroyer leader and designated DL - 2 on 2 February 1951 , launched on 26 January 1952 by Mrs . Marc A . Mitscher , widow of Admiral Mitscher and commissioned on 15 May 1953 , Commander Terrell H . W . Connor in command . " Mitscher " was initially homeported in Newport , R . I . , and became the operational flagship for Commander Destroyer Flotilla Two . After initial shakedown exercises off Cuba , " Mitscher " returned to Boston for further modification , followed by another shakedown cruise to Guantanamo Bay , ending 31 August 1954 . Homeported thereafter at Newport , R . I . , she conducted exercises off the east coast until 3 January 1956 , when she sailed on a good - will cruise to England , Germany , and France , returning to Rhode Island 10 February . For the next 5 years , she continued her east coast operations , deploying annually either to the northern or eastern Atlantic for NATO exercises . In 1955 , " Mitscher " cruised the Caribbean with Commander Destroyer Force , US Atlantic Fleet embarked . In 1958 , President Eisenhower broke his personal flag in " Mitscher " during the America ' s Cup Challenge Races off Newport . " Mitscher " journeyed to South America on a four - month cruise in 1959 , and subsequently cruised to Northern Europe for extended NATO Exercises . In November 1960 , the ship ' s homeport was shifted to Naval Station Charleston , SC , where she became the operational flagship of Commander Destroyer Flotilla Six . On 9 February 1961 , she departed her new homeport , and steamed to the Mediterranean for her first 6 - month tour with the U . S . 6th Fleet . Early in 1961 , " Mitscher " deployed with the Sixth Fleet . During this cruise , " Mitscher " was flagship for Admiral Anderson , Commander Sixth Fleet . The ship was again transferred to Newport , R . I . in 1962 , where she again became the flagship of Commander Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla Two . Such deployments over the next 4 years involved her in further NATO exercises as well as 6th Fleet exercises . Spring 1964 , departed Newport , RI for 6 - month tour with 6th Fleet . In August 1964 , while in the Mediterranean , she stood off Cyprus to aid in the evacuation of American nationals , and then steamed through the Suez Canal to patrol the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf . Returned to Mediterranean for 4 - month tour with U . S . 6th Fleet in 1965 , returned to Newport , RI December 1965 . On 2 March 1966 , " Mitscher " departed Newport for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard . There , she was converted to a guided missile destroyer at between 18 March 1966 and 29 June 1968 and designated DDG - 35 . In late August 1970 , " Mitscher " departed Norfolk for Mediterranean operations with COMDESRON One Four aboard . Her next deployment was in July 1971 as a member of Destroyer Squadron Twenty - Six , the " Mod Squad " . " Mitscher " entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in March 1972 for overhaul . " Mitscher " was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1978 , and sold for scrap in July 1980 .