USS Ralph Talbot ( DD - 390 ) USS " Ralph Talbot " ( DD - 390 ) was a " Bagley " - class destroyer in the United States Navy , named for USMC Second Lieutenant Ralph Talbot ( 1897 – 1918 ) , who was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I . " Talbot " served in the Pacific Theater during World War II , from the attack on Pearl Harbor through the battle of Okinawa , earning 14 battle star s for her service . Launching and pre - war operations . " Ralph Talbot " was laid down at the Boston Navy Yard 28 October 1935 ; launched 31 October 1936 ; sponsored by Mrs . Mary Talbot , mother of Lieutenant Talbot ; and commissioned 14 October 1937 , Lieutenant Commander H . R . Thurber in command . On 21 September 1938 during the New England Hurricane , the frigate USS Constitution rammed into the " Ralph Talbot " after breaking loose . Prior to the U . S . entry into World War II , " Ralph Talbot " , assigned to Destroyers , Battle Force , operated in the eastern Pacific . In early 1941 , she began a major overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo , California and in April 1941 , she rejoined the fleet at San Diego . At midmonth , she steamed to Pearl Harbor whence she operated for the remainder of the year . The war begins . Moored at Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December 1941 , the crew of the " Talbot " manned her guns and began preparations for getting underway within minutes of the start of the Japanese attack . By 0900 she was en route out of the harbor having already splashed her first enemy aircraft . After the attack , she searched for enemy submarines and , on the 14th , sortied with Task Force 14 ( TF 14 ) on the first of a series of carrier force screening assignments . Sailing for the South Pacific . In January 1942 , she sailed with Task Force 8 during raids against Japanese positions in the Marshalls and Gilberts and in February and March against Wake and Marcus Islands . Returning to Pearl Harbor with Task Force 16 on 9 March 1942 , " Ralph Talbot " joined Task Force 15 on the 19th and through May escorted convoys between Hawaii and the west coast . In early June , she escorted auxiliaries to the northwest of Hawaii ; which refueled and replenished the victors of the Battle of Midway , then escorted TF 16 back to Pearl Harbor . On the 14th she got underway for Australia and New Zealand , and then sailed on 22 July for the Solomons and the first of the island assaults which would eventually lead to victory in the Pacific . The Battle of Savo Island . Assigned to Task Group 62 . 6 ( TG 62 . 6 ) , she screened the transport group to Guadalcanal , arriving on the morning of 7 August , then patrolled off the transport area through the landings . On the 8th she took up patrol station north of Savo Island and at 0145 on the 9th received word of three enemy ships inside Savo Island . Soon afterward heavy gunfire was seen to the southeast , the first Battle of Savo Island had begun and Ironbottom Sound was on its way to being named . Half an hour later " Ralph Talbot " was shelled by a friendly destroyer , the error was quickly rectified , but within minutes an enemy cruiser appeared off her port quarter . Both ships opened fire and searchlight switches were flicked on . " Ralph Talbot " ' s searchlight cables had been severed in the earlier shelling , but the enemy ' s worked . The spotlighted DD 390 took a hit in the chart house which destroyed radar equipment , cut fire control circuits , and ignited fires . Three more shells came in close succession , hitting the wardroom , the starboard quarter , and the underside of gun Number 4 . Among the twelve dead were the Doctor and the Chief Pharmacist ' s Mate . At 0221 " Ralph Talbot " ceased firing . The enemy had disappeared , but the damage she had caused required a new fight . Fire enveloped the bridge and the ship listed heavily to starboard . Slowing to one - third speed , she turned toward Savo . At 0230 all radio communication to and from the vessel ceased , but twenty minutes later she stood in close to the shore where the crew continued the battle to save her . By 0330 fires and flooding were under control and repair work was begun . Soon after 0700 communications were reestablished and by 1210 repairs , including mattress patches on the hull , were sufficient to begin the journey back to the United States for repairs . Back in service . Arriving at Mare Island 11 September 1942 , " Ralph Talbot " headed west again on 11 November after being repaired . Refresher exercises kept her in Hawaii until mid - December and on the 16th she got underway for Australia . She arrived at Brisbane on 2 January 1943 and until 10 May conducted training exercises and escorted convoys along the northern and eastern coasts of that continent . On 13 May she arrived at Noumea to provide similar service as Allied forces pushed up the Solomons . On 30 June she covered the landings on Rendova to commence the New Georgia campaign , rescuing 300 survivors from the " McCawley " ( APA - 4 ) within hours of the completion of the landings . On 5 July she landed 148th Infantry units at Rice Anchorage after softening the landing area with her 5 - inch guns . On the 9th and 11th , she participated in the bombardments of Munda and on the night of 12 July joined TG 36 . 1 in a sweep up the Slot . The Allied ships engaged an enemy cruiser and five destroyers escorting destroyer transports in the Battle of Kolombangara . After that battle , salvage operations on " Gwin " ( DD - 433 ) were frustrated by enemy aerial attacks . " Ralph Talbot ' s " torpedoes sent the damaged destroyer to the bottom . Through August and September and into October , " Talbot " continued to carry out patrol and escort duties in the Solomons . On 27 October 1943 , she sailed again for Australia , then continued on to Milne Bay , arriving 3 November , where antisubmarine and antiaircraft patrol and escort missions continued . At midmonth she returned briefly to Tulagi , then resumed operations off New Guinea . On the night of 29 November , she participated in a Task Force 74 bombardment of Japanese positions on New Britain . In mid - December , she covered the landings at Kiriwina as the Allies secured the Trobriands , then , toward the end of the month returned to New Britain to cover the assault on Cape Gloucester . Through the end of the year , she divided her patrol time between Buna , on the New Guinea mainland , and Cape Gloucester . Beginning the New Year . On 1 January 1944 she got underway with Task Force 76 for the preinvasion bombardment of , and landings at , Saidor . She next escorted reinforcements to both Saidor and Cape Gloucester . In early February she returned to Milne Bay , then steamed east to the United States for overhaul . In mid - May she departed San Francisco for Pearl Harbor and a month later sailed for Eniwetok and Saipan as convoy escort . Arriving at Garapan Harbor 5 July , she provided gunfire support to troops ashore , evacuated stranded casualties and on the 7th returned to escort duty in the Marshalls and Marianas . Back at Saipan on the 25th , she provided fire support and harassing shore bombardment fire at Tinian on the 27th , then resumed escort duties . Continuing that duty into August , she joined TF 38 . 4 at Eniwetok and on the 28th sailed for strikes against the Volcano and Bonin Islands ( 31 August – 2 September ) Yap ( 7 – 8 September ) , and the Palaus ( 10 – 19 September ) . Following the Palau offensive , the force retired to Manus ; then returned to the Palaus , wher , in October 1944 , they sailed to strike against Japanese shipping and positions on Okinawa , Luzon , and Formosa . On the 14th the force returned to smash targets on Luzon , continuing the raids through the 19th . On the 20th it supported the Leyte landings , then returned to operations off Luzon . On the 24th it steamed north to intercept the Japanese Northern Carrier Force . On the 25th , as " Ralph Talbot " screened the heavier vessels , the Battle off Cape Engaño was fought and , on the 31st , the force retired to Ulithi . " Ralph Talbot " , detached from the fast carriers on 16 November , rejoined the 7th Fleet on the 17th and , with the CVEs of TG 77 . 4 , patrolled the convoy routes in the Leyte Gulf area until the 27th when she steamed to Kossol Roads . On 12 December she returned to Leyte Gulf , then escorted the CVEs into the Sulu Sea for operations in support of the Mindoro landings . A brief respite at Manus followed , preceding her next screening assignment , the Luzon invasion . Departing the Admiralties 27 December , the destroyer steamed north to Kossol Roads and on 1 January 1945 sortied with the escort carrier group . On the 4th , the " Ommaney Bay " ( CVE - 79 ) was hit by a kamikaze and on the 6th the group arrived off Lingayen Gulf . Through the 17th , the destroyer screened the carriers as they provided air cover for the assault troops and on the 23d she returned to Ulithi to replenish . Reassigned to the 5th Fleet in February , she steamed to Saipan , where she screened transports to Iwo Jima . Between the 16th and the 27th , she patrolled off that island , then returned to Saipan . Back at Ulithi 5 March , she remained at that base until 20 April when she got underway for Okinawa . Arriving at Hagushi on the 26th , she immediately reported for duty in TG 51 . 5 and commenced antiaircraft patrols . Soon after 2200 , on the 27th , while patrolling off the anchorage , she was closed by two enemy fighters flown by pilots of the " Divine Wind " school . The first crashed into the starboard side aft . The second , a near miss , splashed into the sea off the port quarter . Damage control parties brought flooding under control by 2213 and within minutes " PCE - 852 " pulled alongside with a medical officer and seven corpsmen . The destroyer then turned back to Kerama Retto for repairs . On 20 May she got underway to return to the Hagushi anchorage where she again joined the antiaircraft screen . On the 26th she shifted to Nakagusuku Wan , then back to Kerama Retto where she rejoined the escort carriers . A month later she steamed to Leyte , then to Saipan . There she resumed convoy escort duty , and for the remainder of World War II plied between the Marianas and the Ryukyus . In August , she was busy in the Philippine Sea conducting rescue operations after USS " Indianapolis " was sunk in that area . She rescued 24 survivors and four days later returned to Ulithi Atoll to continue her service . On 1 September 1945 , " Ralph Talbot " escorted the " USS Portland ( CA - 33 ) " , sister ship of the " Indianapolis " and the lead of its class , from Guam to Truk and on the 2d stood by as the Japanese formally surrendered that island fortress during ceremonies aboard the cruiser . Returning to Guam on the 3d , the destroyer sailed for Saipan , Okinawa , and Japan on the 5th and , into October , operated off southern Japan and Okinawa , getting underway for the United States 29 October . Battle Stars ( participation in military campaigns ) . 1 . Pearl Harbor - Midway 2 . Pacific Raids - 1942 3 . Midway - 3 / 6 June 1942 4 . Guadalcanal - Tulagi Landing including First Savo Island 5 . East New Guinea Operations 6 . Consolidation of Solomon Islands 7 . New Georgia Operations 8 . Bismarck Archipelago Operations 9 . Marianas Operation 10 . West Caroline Operation 11 . Leyte Operation 12 . Luzon Operation 13 . Iwo Jima Operation 14 . Okinawa Operation Post - war atomic tests . Reporting for duty with the Western Sea Frontier on her return 19 November , " Ralph Talbot " was assigned to Joint Task Force 1 the following May 1946 , and designated for use as a target in Operation Crossroads , the atomic tests conducted at Bikini in July and August 1946 . Contaminated with fallout during the tests , the destroyer was towed to Kwajalein where she was decommissioned 29 August 1946 and sunk , in deep water off the atoll , 8 March 1948 . Her name was struck from the Navy list 5 April 1948 . Entertainment References . During the opening historical sequence of the HBO mini - series The Pacific , the USS Ralph Talbot is shown sailing through rough seas , apparently performing escort duty , based on the ships in the background . On the ship , sailors are seen on deck around the Number 1 and Number 2 gun mounts , manning the AAA mounts below the Bridge , and on the starboard bridge wing . The ship ' s hull number is in war - time , low visibility reduced - size .