USS Champlin ( DD - 601 ) USS " Champlin " ( DD - 601 ) was a " Benson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II . She was the second ship named for Stephen Champlin . " Champlin " was launched 25 July 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Company , Fore River Shipyard , Quincy , Massachusetts ; sponsored by Mrs . A . C . Brendel ; and commissioned 12 September 1942 , Lieutenant Commander C . L . Melson in command . Service history . Operations . After escorting a convoy to NS Argentia , Newfoundland , and another to the Panama Canal Zone , " Champlin " sailed from New York 11 December 1942 on her first convoy crossing to Casablanca , returning to New York 7 February 1943 . She sailed again on 4 March guarding a convoy which was constantly shadowed by German submarine s for 6 days after it passed the Azores on 12 March . On that day , a radar contact was made ahead of the convoy , and " Champlin " charged ahead to investigate , finding the submarine on the surface . She opened fire , and attempted to ram the enemy , which made a crash dive . " Champlin " hurled a pattern of depth charge s into the swirl , and sank at position . As the convoy plodded east , " Champlin " and the other escorts fought a constant battle to protect it , but the convoy lost three merchantmen before reaching Casablanca . " Champlin " rescued every member of ' s 127 - man crew , as well as taking aboard two survivors from . The return convoy which arrived at Boston , Massachusetts 15 April was without incident . " Champlin " sailed from New York 1 May 1943 with a slow convoy of small craft and support ships which called at Bermuda before arriving at Oran 26 May . She put to sea again to bring a convoy in from Gibraltar , then took part in training as well as conducting patrols in the western Mediterranean Sea . On 5 July , she cleared Oran for the invasion of Sicily , escorting a convoy to the transport area south of Scoglitti arriving 9 July . Leaving her charges , she sped ahead to join in the pre - assault bombardment the next day , during which she aided in driving off an air attack . While covering the landing and initial advances the same day , she answered the request from shore for a bombardment of the village of Camerina , so successfully that the enemy there surrendered . " Champlin " left Sicily guarding a convoy for Oran and New York , arriving 4 August 1943 . She made four more $ 3 crossings on convoy escort duty from New York to North Africa and the British Isles between 21 August 1943 and 11 March 1944 . While undergoing refresher training in Casco Bay , Maine in March 1944 , " Champlin " was ordered out on a submarine hunt , joining an all - day operation 7 April . At 1632 , she made contact and dropped deep - set depth charges , driving the submarine to the surface . Immediately , her guns opened fire and started a fire . " Champlin " rammed the stern of the submarine , and sank at position . " Champlin " s commanding officer , Commander John J . Shaffer III , was wounded by shrapnel during the attack and died the next morning despite emergency surgery . After repairs to her bow , damaged in the ramming , " Champlin " left New York 21 April 1944 with a convoy for Oran . On 15 May , she reported at Naples for duty supporting the operations striving to break loose from the Anzio beachhead . She conducted patrols , escorted convoys , and provided fire support for minesweepers , and the Army ashore . Returning to Palermo , she sailed from that port 13 August for the invasion of southern France , in which she was assigned to patrol southwest of the transport area as a reserve fire support unit . On 18 August , she rescued a downed Army pilot from his raft , and on 19 August , she was fired upon by shore batteries as she steamed off Cannes . Next day she returned to the area to locate those batteries and destroy them , and the 21st , blocked the Gulf of Napoule while German E - boat s thus trapped were destroyed . Continuing her fire support , she knocked out a bridge across the Var River near Nice upon Army request on 24 August , and a week later left the area to guard merchantmen bound for Oran . She continued to New York , escorting a division of battleship s , and began a program of training and plane guard operations which lasted through the remainder of 1944 . Atlantic convoy escort . On 6 January 1945 , " Champlin " returned to Atlantic convoy escort , sailing for Oran . On 30 January , she cleared Oran to rendezvous with the group bringing President Franklin D . Roosevelt to Malta , where he was to enplane for the Yalta Conference . She later escorted this same group back into the Atlantic , and on 20 February returned to Gibraltar for patrol and convoy escort duty in the western Mediterranean . On 22 April , she departed Oran for New York and preparations for deployment to the Pacific Ocean . " Champlin " passed through the Panama Canal 4 June 1945 , arrived at Pearl Harbor 10 July , and after training , sailed 24 July for the attack on Wake Island 1 August . Continuing to Okinawa , she arrived 12 August for local escort and patrol duty until 4 September , when she cleared on the first of two voyages to Japan in connection with occupation arrangements . On 31 October , she sailed from Okinawa with homeward - bound servicemen , calling to embark more at Saipan and Pearl Harbor . She disembarked her passengers at San Diego , California 21 to 24 November , then sailed for the east coast . Reserve status . " Champlin " was placed in commission in reserve at Charleston , South Carolina 28 March 1946 , and out of commission in reserve 31 January 1947 . She was sold 8 May 1972 and scrapped . Awards . " Champlin " received six battle star s for World War II service .