USS Piedmont ( AD - 17 ) USS " Piedmont " ( AD – 17 ) was a Dixie class destroyer tender built during World War II for the United States Navy . Her task was to service destroyers in , or near , battle areas and to keep them fit for duty . He served in the Pacific Ocean during World War II , the Cold War , the Korean War , and the Vietnam War . For his work in battle areas he won four battle stars for his Korean War efforts and one for Vietnam War service . He was laid down by the Tampa Shipbuilding Company , Inc . , in Tampa , Florida , on 1 December 1941 ; launched 7 December 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . Elsa Kauffman ; and , commissioned 5 January 1944 , Commander Malcolm D . MacGregor in command . The ships mascot was " Doc " , one of the dwarfs in Disney ' s " Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs " . World War II Pacific Theatre operations . Early in February 1944 , " Piedmont " stood out from Tampa , Florida , on his shakedown cruise . On 6 March she sailed for the Panama Canal , San Diego , California , and Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . Less than 24 hours after her arrival at Pearl Harbor , " Piedmont " had taken his first United States Pacific Fleet destroyer alongside . " Piedmont " remained at Pearl Harbor throughout the months of April and May during the feverish preparations for the Marianas campaign . At one time , " Piedmont " had seven destroyers alongside and was working on jobs for more than 50 other destroyers moored in the stream . Servicing the Mobile Fleet . Having served her apprenticeship , " Piedmont " sailed from Pearl Harbor to join the fleet in the Marshall Islands in mid - June . July and August were months of great fleet activity at Eniwetok . Periodically , task groups from the huge Task Force 58 , which was supporting the Marianas campaign , returned to Eniwetok for rest , replenishment , and repairs . Unlike his duty at Pearl Harbor , all jobs were now a race against the calendar and , in addition , shore facilities were no longer available . During the month of July , 99 ships were provisioned with 888 tons of stores . The month of August turned out much the same with ships returning from the invasion of Guam . In September 1944 , with the Central Pacific campaign virtually completed , " Piedmont " sailed into the Southwest Pacific with the rest of the fleet in preparation for the Philippines campaign . By early December , damaged ships began returning to Manus and and , both severely damaged by Japanese suicide planes , were assigned to " Piedmont " for repairs . " Mount Hood " explosion . On the morning of 10 November , while anchored in Seeadler Harbor , " Piedmont " heard two explosions to port . , lying about away , had blown up . No trace of " Mount Hood " remained . Between " Mount Hood " and " Piedmont " , was anchored and took terrible punishment from the explosion . Fire and rescue parties were immediately dispatched from " Piedmont " to " Mindanao " and ships alongside her . Though " Piedmont " suffered only superficial damage from the explosion , numerous projectiles and steel fragments flew over Mindanao and landed on " Piedmont ’ s " decks and superstructure , most of them ricocheting off . One man suffered fatal injuries from a direct hit by the base of a shell . One 250 pound aerial bomb penetrated the movie locker on the boat deck while another pierced the forecastle and plowed through a tier of bunks . Fortunately neither bomb exploded and remarkably enough , personnel in both compartments escaped injury . Support Philippine Invasion operations . Lingayen Gulf operations scheduled for early 1945 demanded the presence of all available tender strength at Ulithi in the Caroline Islands . Early in January " Piedmont " stood out of Manus Island for Ulithi with Service Squadron 10 . January through April saw " Piedmont " in his most sustained effort . Those same months which witnessed the seaborne invasions of Lingayen , Iwo Jima , and Okinawa , found the repair department averaging more than 1 , 000 completed job orders and almost 100 , 000 man hours of work each month . Supporting the Fleet at Iwo Jima and Okinawa . During the long , bitter weeks of the Iwo - Okinawa operations , the United States Fleet suffered more damage than at any other time in its history . , beached and abandoned after being hit by a suicide plane during the Mindoro landings of November 1944 , was patched , refloated , and towed to Ulithi for temporary repairs by " Piedmont " which would permit her return to the United States under her own power . On 20 April made port with a 3 - by - 5 foot hole in her sheer strake , port side , for repair by " Piedmont " . , having suffered extensive damage to her port side bridge structure during a collision with a carrier while refueling , came alongside 1 May . The most badly battered of the battle damaged ships serviced by " Piedmont " at Ulithi was which came alongside 4 May . Her entire bridge superstructure was a mass of tangled wreckage , a bomb explosion had blown a 15 - by - 15 foot hole in her starboard side , main deck ; her forward stack had been completely destroyed ; extensive bomb damage extended down to her second platform ; and her interior and fleet radio room had been destroyed . Numerous dead had still to be removed from the wreckage . All repairs effected were temporary and on 24 May " Hazelwood " sailed for the United States and a Navy Yard rebuilding . Post - Okinawa operations . With the cessation of all organized resistance on Okinawa in June " Piedmont " moved to the Naval Base at Leyte , Philippine Islands , for much needed rest and repairs . However , her stay was short and on 30 June she sailed for Eniwetok again . At Eniwetok , the repair department was occupied chiefly with the construction and development of fleet recreation facilities ashore in anticipation of the fleet turn - around which had been scheduled for late August . The fleet did not return to Eniwetok for the anticipated August availability as on 14 August the Japanese government accepted Allied peace terms . In Tokyo Bay at War ’ s End . On top of this electrifying news the ship received orders to prepare for getting underway . " Piedmont " had been selected from the Pacific Fleet destroyer tenders as the one to move into Tokyo Bay with the first naval units for occupation of Japanese ships . On 16 August the ship departed Eniwetok to rendezvous with the U . S . 3rd Fleet at about one day ’ s steaming from Japan . The long - awaited event took place on 28 August when " Piedmont " dropped her anchor in Sagami Wan , Honshū , Japan . Early on the 30th , she moved into Tokyo Bay and on the following day moored to the dock at the Yokosuka Naval Base . While moored at Yokosuka , " Piedmont " supplied provisions and clothing to the landing forces and to the hospital ship s standing by to care for released allied prisoners of war . " Piedmont " remained in the Tokyo area supporting the occupation forces until sailing for the United States , arriving at Alameda , California , 15 March 1946 . Korean War operations . When the Korean campaign began 27 June 1950 , " Piedmont " was on station in Japan carrying out his normal schedule providing tender services to ships of the U . S . 7th Fleet where she remained until relieved in November . During the Korean campaign " Piedmont " completed four tours in the Western Pacific : 4 September 1950 to 27 October 1950 ; 1 August 1951 to 12 February 1952 ; 9 September 1952 to 9 March 1953 and 11 April 1954 to 27 July 1954 ; when he acted as flagship for Commander United Nations Blockading and Escort Force and provided tender services to ships of Canada , Colombia , New Zealand , South Korea and Thailand as well as those of the U . S . Navy . In February 1956 he returned from a six - month tour of duty in the Far East which included visits to the Philippines , Hong Kong , Formosa , and Japan . In January 1957 " Piedmont " again departed CONUS for his annual tour of duty in WestPac , visiting Subic Bay , Hong Kong , Singapore , Sasebo , Kobe , and Yokosuka before returning again to San Diego , California , in August 1957 . On 23 June 1958 " Piedmont " departed San Diego and steamed for Yokosuka via Pearl Harbor , arriving there 12 July . When the Lebanon crisis in the Middle East erupted , " Piedmont " steamed 15 July for Subic Bay to stand ready and alerted to participate , if needed , in the Middle East action . Quemoy and Matsu Conflict . On 28 August 1958 " Piedmont " steamed to Kaohsiung , Taiwan , to tend 7th Fleet units engaged in convoy and patrol duty in the Taiwan Straits to prevent Communist capture of the off - shore island of Quemoy . After returning to Yokosuka via Hong Kong , " Piedmont " steamed for San Diego 12 January 1959 . Between 1960 and 1962 " Piedmont " made two more cruises to WestPac . He received a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization overhaul at Long Beach , California , completed 31 January 1963 . He again deployed to WestPac from February to September 1963 and from June to December 1964 . Vietnam War Activity . Three months of the latter tour were spent at Subic Bay servicing destroyers and other 7th Fleet ships serving in the Tonkin Gulf and off Vietnam . During her 1968 WestPac tour " Piedmont " was still servicing ships in Subic Bay , as well as Kaohsiung , Taiwan . Received rework at San Francisco Naval Shipyard until summer of 1971 . Left San Francisco on way to new home port of Long Beach , California . Did 3 weeks maneuvers upon arrival to Long Beach . End of US service . After an extensive refit in San Pedro , California , Piedmont transferred to the Atlantic fleet and was homeported in Naples , Italy from December 1974 until June 1976 . While in the Mediterranean , " Piedmont " provided services to the fleet and to the navies of Spain , France , Turkey , and Tunisia . " Piedmont " transferred to Norfolk , Virginia , in June 1976 . " Piedmont " was decommissioned on 30 September 1982 and leased to the Turkish navy on 18 October 1982 and renamed " Derya " ( A - 576 ) . On 6 August 1987 " Piedmont " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and purchased outright by Turkey . On 17 August he was transferred to Turkey under the Security Assistance Program ( SAP ) , Foreign Assistance Act ( FAA ) Section 516 , Southern Region Amendment . He was deleted from the Turkish navy in 1994 and scrapped a year later . Awards . For service in World War II , " Piedmont " earned the Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal . " Piedmont " earned the Navy Occupation Service Medal , Pacific , for the periods from 2 September 1945 to 24 February 1946 , from 11 June 1946 to 2 February 1947 , and from 12 September 1948 to 15 September 1948 . " Piedmont " also earned the China Service Medal for the periods from February to 30 March 1947 , from 2 March to 10 March 1948 , and from 16 May to 30 May 1950 . During the Korean War , she earned battle stars for : North Korean Aggression ( 25 September to 15 October 1950 ) , Second Korean Winter ( to 10 January 1952 and 6 to 7 February 1952 ) , Korean Defense Summer - Fall 1952 ( 23 September to 3 October 1952 and 19 to 23 November 1952 ) , and Third Korean Winter ( 28 to 30 December 1952 and 24 to 25 January 1953 ) . For the Vietnam War , " Piedmont " was awarded a star for : Vietnam Ceasefire ( 29 June to 8 July 1972 ) . Prior to decommissioning in 1982 the Piedmont was awarded for Battle Efficiency " E " . A notable award after such a long service career .