USS Ellyson ( DD - 454 ) USS " Ellyson " ( DD - 454 / DMS - 19 ) , a , is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Theodore Gordon Ellyson , a submariner who became the first officer of the U . S . Navy to be designated a naval aviator . History . Initial operations . " Ellyson " was laid down by Federal Shipbuilding of Kearny , New Jersey on 20 December 1940 . She was launched on 26 July 1941 sponsored by Miss Gordon Ellyson , daughter of Commander Ellyson , and commissioned on 28 November 1941 with Lieutenant Commander L . B . Rooney in command . World War II . 1942 . Still outfitting when the United States entered World War II , " Ellyson " was quickly readied for sea and patrolled in the Atlantic , protecting Allied shipping from Halifax , Nova Scotia , to the West Indies and Panama Canal . On 14 January 1942 she rescued 24 survivors from the sunken Norwegian SS " Norness " . On 15 June she broke the pennant of Commander , Destroyer Squadron 10 , which she was to carry proudly through the war , through the squadron ' s redesignatian to Mine Division 20 and the subsequent conversion of its destroyers to high - speed minesweeper s . In August 1942 " Ellyson " began operating with the aircraft carrier , and remained with her through the landings at Fedhala , French Morocco , on 8 November . After two months of escort duty along the east coast , she rejoined " Ranger " on two voyages to Casablanca to ferry Army planes to north Africa . 1943 . On 5 April 1943 " Ellyson " arrived at NS Argentia , Dominion of Newfoundland , to prepare for operations with the Royal Navy . She sailed for England on 12 May in the screen of the battleship s and , and operated with the British Home Fleet out of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands screening convoys , giving distant support to Allied shipping to Murmansk and Iceland , and attempting to lure German battleship and other German surface ships from the safety of Norwegian bases to battle on the open seas . In July she took part in a feint invasion of southern Norway to distract German attention from the real assault on Sicily . Returning to Norfolk , Virginia , on 9 August 1943 , " Ellyson " screened during the battleship ' s shakedown cruise off Argentina , then returned to Norfolk with her on 24 October . On 3 November " Ellyson " sailed in the scouting line for " Iowa " who was carrying President Franklin D . Roosevelt to the Teheran Conference . Later , moving into the battleship ' s screen , " Ellyson " touched Bahia , Brazil ; Freetown , Sierra Leone , Dakar , and Port Royal , South Carolina ; before returning to Boston , Massachusetts , on 19 December . 1944 . On 6 January 1944 " Ellyson " once again joined " Ranger " for screen and plane guard duty in Narragansett Bay . She sailed for north Africa 19 April and arrived at Oran on 1 May . On the 16th while hunting submarine s " Ellyson " made contact on " U - 616 " , touching off an intensive coordinated air - sea hunt . The submarine surfaced at 23 : 58 , and soon dived after a brief duel with . " Ellyson " and continued the attack with depth charge s , forcing " U - 616 " to surface again . " Ellyson " sank her with gunfire on the morning of the 17th , then rescued 30 survivors . " Ellyson " arrived at Plymouth , on 22 May 1944 for last - minute preparations for the invasion of France . On 6 June she covered " Ranger " ' s assault on Pointe de Hoc to knock out the heavy gun emplacements reported there . On 25 June she saw action off Cherbourg , blasting gun installations , destroying naval mine s , and laying a smoke screen for larger fleet units . " Ellyson " sailed from Portland Harbour on 29 June 1944 , to invade southern France on 15 August . She led the destroyer fires support group in directly behind the minesweepers and knocked out defenses for the incoming troops . On patrol on 27 August she illuminated a suspicious fishing vessel and captured it , finding 50 German submariners trying to escape . " Ellyson " remained on patrol to cover the landing of reinforcements and support the invasion until October , then sailed for Boston , arriving 8 November to begin conversion to a high - speed minesweeper . She was reclassified to hull classification symbol DMS - 19 on 15 November 1944 . 1945 . After training in Chesapeake Bay , " Ellyson " sailed from Norfolk , on 3 January 1945 for the Pacific . On 24 March she arrived off Okinawa with the rest of her squadron to sweep in advance of the invasion . After thus making possible the pre - assault bombardment , she supported smaller minesweepers clearing approaches to the beaches and inner harbors . After the landings of 1 April " Ellyson " joined the radar picket line . The varied and dangerous duties assigned her squadron in the Okinawa operation took a heavy toll , only three of the 12 ships with whom she sailed in the next three months survived undamaged . " Ellyson " went to the aid of her sister ship on 6 April , attempting to tow the abandoned kamikaze victim . Flames and the threat of a magazine explosion forced " Ellyson " to sink the stricken destroyer early on 7 April to prevent her drifting on to Japan ese - held Ie Shima . " Ellyson " herself was attacked several times and accounted for a number of Japanese planes . In July 1945 " Ellyson " became flagship for the task group sweeping the East China Sea . Upon the ceasefire , she joined Third Fleet off Tokyo Bay and cleared it for the incoming occupation fleet units . In September she returned to Okinawa , and from her base at Buckner Bay , served as command ship for clearing the Inland Sea . She sailed from Japan on 5 December for Norfolk , arriving 5 January 1946 . Post war . " Ellyson " remained in the Atlantic , based at Charleston , South Carolina , primarily , for training as far as the Caribbean Sea . In 1948 she was immobilized at Charleston , resumed operations that November when she sailed to Argentia to sweep for an amphibious exercise . Attached to Mine Force , Atlantic Fleet , " Ellyson " continued to operate from Charleston on training duty along the east coast and in the Caribbean . She served in the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet in 1949 , 1951 , and 1953 . On 4 May 1954 her hull classification symbol reverted to DD - 454 . She was decommissioned 19 October 1954 , and transferred to the Japanese Government 20 October 1954 under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program . She served in the Japan Maritime Self - Defense Force as Asakaze . In 1970 the ship was returned to the United States , and was sold to Taiwan , where she was cannibalized for spare parts . Awards . " Ellyson " received seven battle star s for World War II service . Fictional ships . The television show " JAG " occasionally featured a fictional frigate called USS " Ellyson " , which bears hull number 19 . FFG - 19 is the .