USS Baldwin ( DD - 624 ) The USS " Baldwin " ( DD - 624 ) , was a United States Navy , in service from 1943 to 1946 . She was the only ship of the U . S . Navy to be named for Charles H . Baldwin , an 1864 Medal of Honor recipient . " Baldwin " was laid down on 19 July 1941 by Seattle - Tacoma Shipbuilding Co . , Seattle , Washington ; launched on 14 June 1942 , sponsored by Mrs . Ida E . Crawford , daughter of Acting Master ' s Mate Baldwin ; commissioned on 30 April 1943 , Lieutenant Commander George Knuepfer in command , and reported to the United States Atlantic Fleet . Service history . 1943 . After shakedown training along the West Coast , the destroyer put to sea from San Francisco , California , on 1 July , bound for the East Coast . The flagship of Destroyer Division 36 ( DesDiv 36 ) , " Baldwin " led her division into Norfolk , Virginia , on 19 July and operated along the east coast until getting underway from New York on 13 August in the screen of a convoy bound for Casablanca , Morocco . Similar arrangements occupied her time until late January 1944 , when she resumed duty along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States . 1944 . Some three months later , on 17 April 1944 , " Baldwin " headed for Europe in the screen for , , and . The destroyer arrived at Plymouth , England , on 28 April and began a routine that combined patrols in British waters with preparations for the invasion of Normandy . On 5 June , she departed the Isle of Portland in company with other units of the Western Naval Task Force . As a unit of the gunfire support group during the assault , " Baldwin " assisted the troops ashore with naval gunfire . In return , she suffered two hits from a light - caliber shore battery on D - Day , but sustained only slight damage . On the 9th , " Baldwin " joined in repulsing an attack by German E - boat s and received credit for destroying one of them . She operated off the coast of France until 15 July when she returned to England . Three days later , the destroyer departed Plymouth in the screen of a 50 - ship convoy bound for North Africa and arrived in Bizerte , Tunisia , on 28 July . She operated in the western Mediterranean mostly between Oran , Algeria , and Naples , Italy before arriving off Saint - Tropez on 15 August , D - Day for the invasion of southern France . " Baldwin " served there as an element of the Antisubmarine and Convoy Control Group , Task Group 80 . 6 ( TG 80 . 6 ) which screened follow up convoys between Oran and southern France . On 23 September , she concluded her part in that operation and departed Oran in company with her division mates bound for the United States . 1945 . Upon her arrival at New York on 3 October , the destroyer resumed operations in American coastal waters . On 21 January 1945 , " Baldwin " put to sea from Norfolk to rendezvous with which carried President Franklin D . Roosevelt on the first leg of the trip to the " Big Three " conference at Yalta . She returned to New York on 27 February and began four months of operations in American waters . During that time , " Baldwin " escorted to the Panama Canal Zone and operated off the east coast in the antisubmarine screens of and . On 24 June , the destroyer sailed from New York on her way to the Pacific . Steaming in company with , she visited Guantanamo Bay in Cuba ; Balboa in the Canal Zone and San Diego before arriving at Pearl Harbor on 12 August . A month later , the warship joined Task Force 55 ( TF 55 ) at Okinawa to prepare for the occupation of Sasebo , Japan , and participated in that operation between 20 September and 2 October . By 7 October , " Baldwin " was at Pusan , Korea , supporting forces sweeping mines along the Chinese and Korean coasts , a task at which she labored for the remainder of 1945 . 1946 - 1961 . The ship returned to the United States in January 1946 and operated along the east coast through the spring of that year . She was placed out of commission at Charleston , South Carolina , on 20 June 1946 and remained in reserve there until January 1961 when she was transferred to Boston . Later ordered moved to Philadelphia , " Baldwin " ran aground about two miles ( 3 . 7 km ) southwest of Montauk Point , Long Island , in the early afternoon of 16 April 1961 when the towline parted during the passage to Philadelphia . successfully pulled her free , though one of " Windlass " crew was killed in an accident . " Baldwin " was considered not worth repairing . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 1 June 1961 , and she was scuttled on 6 June 1961 , not far from where she went aground . Awards . " Baldwin " earned three battle star s for her World War II service .