USS Robert F . Keller ( DE - 419 ) USS Robert F . Keller ( DE - 419 ) was a " John C . Butler " - class destroyer escort acquired by the U . S . Navy during World War II . The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy , in addition to other tasks as assigned , such as patrol or radar picket . " Robert F . Keller " ( DE - 419 ) was named in honor of Robert Franklin Keller , who was awarded the Air Medal as second pilot of a patrol plane in action against enemy Japanese forces during the Aleutian Islands Campaign 10 to 20 June 1942 . " Robert F . Keller " ( DE 419 ) was laid down by Brown Shipbuilding Co . , Houston , Texas , 12 January 1944 ; launched 1 February 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Peter S . Keller ; and commissioned 17 June 1944 , Lt . Comdr . R . J . Toner , USNR , in command . History . World War II . Following shakedown off Bermuda , " Robert F . Keller " escorted " Currituck " ( AV - 7 ) to the Panama Canal Zone , then transited the canal 7 September 1944 . She picked up a convoy of four Pearl Harbor - bound merchantmen at San Francisco , California , and escorted them safely to their destination . Arriving on 1 October , " Keller " joined Escort Division 72 , assigned to screen carrier " Coral Sea " ( CVA - 43 ) . With the U . S . 3rd Fleet , the group sailed to the Western Carolines arriving 1 November . This became " Keller ' s " advance base for operations until February 1945 . During this time her task group , designated 30 . 7 , conducted antisubmarine sweeps as a hunter - killer group in the Philippine Sea and adjacent waters . On 22 December 1944 " Keller " rescued four survivors of capsized destroyer " Hull " ( DD - 350 ) , victim of a typhoon . On 28 January 1945 all ships of task group TG 30 . 7 were assigned to the U . S . 5th Fleet and proceeded on 2 February to cover a group of transports in their voyage from Eniwetok to Saipan . At this newly annexed Pacific island , " Keller " was attached to Air Support Unit 2 and was with that division as it participated in the Iwo Jima campaign of February 1945 . While acting as carrier screen , on the night of 21 February , her crew witnessed the sinking of escort carrier " Bismarck Sea " ( CVE - 95 ) during a kamikaze attack . She remained in the Iwo area until 7 March and then retired to Leyte Island in the Philippines for upkeep and repair in preparation for the Okinawa operation . " Keller " was ready for the operation by 21 March 1945 and proceeded to Okinawa , destroying three floating mines en route . Her duties were identical to those she had known in the Iwo campaign , acting as air defense and antisubmarine screen for the carriers involved in covering the invasion from the air . The ship left the area on 27 April escorting the carrier " Anzio " ( CVE - 57 ) ( ex - Coral Sea ) to Ulithi . She was back in the war on 10 May escorting the cruiser " San Francisco " ( CA - 38 ) to the Okinawa battleline and then guarded the convoy lanes around the beleaguered island fortress . She returned to Leyte for availability 17 June . Task Group 30 . 6 set out again on 6 July on what was to be " Keller ' s " last combat operation of the war , antisubmarine sweeps east of Tokyo . Ten days later " Keller " assisted in a kill when " Lawrence C . Taylor " ( DE - 415 ) caught Japanese submarine I - 13 on the surface and raked her with gunfire until she sank . When the end of hostilities was announced , " Keller " proceeded to Guam . After escorting transports loaded with occupation troops to Jinsen , Korea , on 8 September , " Keller " returned to Okinawa on 22 September . She remained in the Far East for the rest of the year , calling at several Chinese ports . Naval Reserve duty . " Robert F . Keller " decommissioned 24 April 1946 at San Diego , California . In September 1946 she was placed " in service " and assigned to the 13th Naval District at Puget Sound , Washington , to lend her assistance in the Navy ' s Reserve training program . In January 1950 , she sailed to the east coast via the Panama Canal and was placed " in commission in reserve " on 31 March 1950 , assigned as Naval Reserve Training Ship at Washington , D . C . , under Commandant , Potomac River Naval Command . On 18 November 1950 , she was again placed on " active status in commission " and trained reserves while maintaining war readiness . Through 1955 she made 39 cruises and assisted in the training of over 3 , 500 reserve officers and enlisted men and visited most major ports in eastern Canada , the West Indies , and the United States . She continued this duty until 1959 , sometimes crossing the Atlantic to visit European ports . Berlin crisis . On 21 September 1959 " Robert F . Keller " decommissioned and was placed " in service " assigned to Naval Reserve training in Baltimore , Maryland , under the Commandant , 5th Naval District . She recommissioned 2 October 1961 incident to the Berlin Crisis and was manned by reserves , steaming in the Atlantic and Caribbean during the rest of the year . She again decommissioned and was placed " in service " as a Naval Reserve training ship of the 5th Naval District , 1 August 1962 . Fate . She was placed out of commission in reserve at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , in January 1965 , where she remained until 1972 . After survey , in the spring of 1972 , " Robert F . Keller " was found to be unfit for further service and was stricken from the Navy list 1 July 1972 . Awards . No record of awards for this vessel found in Navy records .