USS Lloyd Thomas ( DD - 764 ) The third USS " Lloyd Thomas " ( DD / DDE - 764 ) was a in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War . She was named for Lieutenant ( j . g . ) Lloyd Thomas ( 1912 – 1942 ) , who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in the Battle of Midway . " Lloyd Thomas " was laid down by Bethlehem Steel Corporation , Shipbuilding Division , San Francisco , California , 26 March 1944 ; launched 5 October 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . Lloyd Thomas , widow of Lt ( jg . ) Thomas ; and commissioned 21 March 1947 , Commander J . I . Cone in command . Service history . 1947 – 1949 . After shakedown off San Diego , California and a training cruise in Hawaiian waters , the new destroyer departed the west coast 16 January 1948 for a round - the - world training and good will voyage . In company with the aircraft carrier and three other destroyers , " Lloyd Thomas " visited Sydney , Australia , Hong Kong , and Tsingtao , China . After Tsingtao , " Lloyd Thomas " , , and " Valley Forge " proceeded westward , touching Singapore , Ceylon , and Saudi Arabia , transited the Suez Canal and the Straits of Gibraltar , then steamed north for calls at Bergen , Norway , and Southampton , England . The formation left England 13 March 1948 , spent five days in New York City , and arrived at home port San Diego , Calif . 11 June , having steamed 46 , 168 nautical miles ( 85 , 503 km ) during the five - month voyage . During the rest of 1948 , the destroyer trained reserves . In 1949 , after conversion to a hunter - killer type destroyer at San Francisco Navy Yard , the ship joined the Atlantic Fleet at Newport , Rhode Island , in October and steamed north with the 2nd Task Fleet for cold weather exercises in the Arctic . 1950 – 1959 . Returning home from the Arctic , the destroyer operated between Bermuda and Puerto Rico during the first two months of 1950 . She was redesignated DDE - 764 on 4 March 1950 . Following four months of antisubmarine exercises and a midshipmen cruise early in July , the ship departed Newport 15 July for a five - day call at Reykjavík , Iceland . Returning from Iceland in early August , she left Newport for Naval Station Norfolk , Va . 6 September in company with three other destroyers . Just off Norfolk the destroyers rendezvoused with and escorted the big carrier to the Mediterranean . After rigorous operations with the 6th Fleet and calls at Sardinia , Sicily , and Golfe - Juan , France , " Lloyd Thomas " and her sister destroyers departed Gibraltar on 1 November to escort home . They arrived Norfolk on 9 November and the destroyers made Newport the next day . During the next two years , the ship conducted antisubmarine operations in the Caribbean and made yearly voyages to the Mediterranean . The 1952 voyage included a NATO amphibious landing on the coast of Denmark ( Operation " Mainbrace " ) and port calls in Scotland in England . During 1953 she again operated with NATO , this time in the Mediterranean , and visited Cannes and Naples . In early 1954 , " Lloyd Thomas " checked out the new canted - deck carrier in the intricacies of anti - submarine warfare . From August to January 1955 the destroyer again operated with NATO units in the Mediterranean . Except for a quick run to Lisbon , " Lloyd Thomas " spent the rest of 1955 operating in home waters . The highpoint of 1956 was a summer midshipman cruise to Spain and the British Isles in company with the battleship . On 4 January 1957 the ship departed Newport with Destroyer Division 242 and submarine for South America to acquaint our good neighbors in Colombia , Peru , Ecuador , and Chile with the newest techniques in antisubmarine warfare . Returning to Newport from Chile 18 March , she conducted local operations until departing 12 August for five months of patrol duty in the Mediterranean and Red Seas . She spent most of 1958 in the Caribbean , with Operation Springboard that spring and refresher training during September and October . In 1959 , besides hunter - killer training off Norfolk and a summer midshipman cruise to Quebec , " Lloyd Thomas " again operated with NATO in European waters . 1960 – 1969 . During 1960 , the ship returned to the Mediterranean , spending June through September with the 6th Fleet . Between exercises she visited Palma de Majorca , Barcelona , and Naples . From March to December 1961 , " Lloyd Thomas " underwent a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM ) II conversion , a program designed to add years of service to destroyers built shortly after World War II . After leaving New York Naval Shipyard she commenced six weeks of refresher training at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . Redesignated DD - 764 on 30 June 1962 , the destroyer operated along the east coast until departing 7 September 1962 for a six - month tour to the Mediterranean and Middle East . During her duty with the Middle East Force in January and February 1963 , the ship visited Ceylon , crossed the equator , and called at the Indian Naval Base in Visakhapatnam . She arrived Newport early in March and resumed operations from her home port . The ship returned to the Mediterranean in May 1964 for the Joint French American amphibious Operation Fairgame II . Then after a brief call at Athens , she spent June and July in the Near East , showing the flag and promoting good will in the nations bordering the Red Sea and Persian Gulf . From 10 October to 19 November 1964 , " Lloyd Thomas " escorted 28 , 000 Marines from Little Creek , Va . to the coast of Spain during " Operation Steel Pike I " , the largest peacetime amphibious operation ever conducted . During 1965 the destroyer , after installing new electronic gear to update her antisubmarine capabilities , trained in Guantanamo Bay , then participated in the late summer antisubmarine operation , CANUS - SILEX , with the Royal Canadian Navy in the western Atlantic . On 15 February 1966 she deployed from Newport again to the Mediterranean . Returning to Newport 8 July , the destroyer entered drydock for three weeks beginning 29 July , at Bethlehem Shipyard , Boston , Massachusetts . Resuming operations on 22 August , she was plane guard for during the recovery phase of the Gemini II operation , 4 through 18 November . On 1 March 1967 " Lloyd Thomas " , with the rest of Destroyer Squadron 10 ( Desron 10 ) , departed Newport for another cruise to the Mediterranean during the Arab - Israeli war . The ship arrived back at Newport on 20 July and operated out of her home port the remainder of the year . On 7 May 1968 , after a brief tour of exercises in the Caribbean , DD - 764 entered Boston for overhaul . Back in full fighting trim in the fall , she returned to local operations out of Newport into 1969 . ROCS " Dang Yang " . She was decommissioned on 12 October 1972 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day . She was then sold to Taiwan on 12 October 1972 , and renamed ROCS " Dang Yang " . She was stricken 16 March 1999 and sunk as artificial reef on 31 October 2002 . Service Vietnam Lost Gun Mount Gun Line Six Crew Members Lost . All books ( Jane ' s , Register of Ships of the US Navy , navsource ) fix the decommissioning and transfer dates at 12 October 1972 .