USS Shelton ( DD - 790 ) USS " Shelton " ( DD - 790 ) was a of the United States Navy , the second Navy ship named for Ensign James A . Shelton ( 1916 – 1942 ) , who was killed in the Battle of Midway . " Shelton " was laid down on 31 May 1945 by Todd Pacific Shipyards Inc . , Seattle , Washington ; launched on 8 March 1946 ; sponsored by Mrs . Loretta Shelton Miller ; and commissioned on 21 June 1946 , Comdr . C . L . Werts in command . 1946 – 1959 . " Shelton " began her shakedown cruise on 20 July and returned to Seattle for post - shakedown availability . She moved down the coast to San Diego , California on 12 October and , on 9 November , stood out of that port en route to the western Pacific for her first tour of duty with the 7th Fleet . While serving with that fleet , she visited ports in China , Korea , and Japan . The destroyer returned to the west coast on 22 June 1947 and conducted local operations in the San Diego area . The destroyer underwent overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , Bremerton , Washington , from January to April 1948 . After moving to San Diego on 19 April , " Shelton " operated along the California coast until sailing for WestPac and the 7th Fleet on 1 September . The seven - month deployment ended on 24 April 1949 when she sailed back into San Diego . In June " Shelton " participated in a Midshipman training cruise which took her to Balboa , C . Z . , and terminated in San Francisco at the end of July . She was in drydock there during October and November and , following sea trials , returned to San Diego in January 1950 . " Shelton " sailed west again on 1 May 1950 . When hostilities began in Korea , on 25 June , the destroyer was a unit of Task Force 77 ( TF 77 ) , the Striking Force of the 7th Fleet . She served on both coasts of Korea until returning to San Diego on 8 February 1951 . After six months in the states , she was on her way back to the war zone in late August . As a fleet destroyer , she served with TF 72 , 77 , 95 , 96 , and 97 . " Shelton " also participated in special bombardment missions . With at Hŭngnam on 25 October , she was taken under fire by enemy shore batteries and sustained one near miss . She was assigned to the bombline with in December ; and , for a week , they shelled rail lines , bridges , and other targets of opportunity . In January 1952 , they bombarded the Songjin area . Assigned to TG 95 the following month , " Shelton " aided in the defense of Yang Do when North Korean forces attempted to land on that island . The action lasted from 01 : 30 until 11 : 00 and resulted in the landings being repulsed with heavy losses . Still in the area on the 22d , the destroyer was taken under fire by five communist batteries on the mainland . She sustained four direct hits and approximately 50 near misses . Her losses were 12 casualties and a five - foot hole in the bow , but she silenced the batteries and remained on station for two more days before retiring to Sasebo , Japan for repairs . She then returned to the Korean coast . " Shelton " returned to San Diego on 10 April where she began an upkeep period and then conducted local operations until 13 November . On that date , the destroyer sailed for its third tour of duty in the Far East during the Korean War . She arrived at Sasebo on 1 December 1952 for a three - day tender availability before joining TF 77 . She operated with that task force for 40 days before entering Yokosuka , Japan for an upkeep period . Ready for sea on 26 January 1953 , the destroyer joined the Formosa Patrol . Her next assignment was in Wonsan Harbor for 40 days , after which she again joined TF 95 . Her deployment ended on the west coast on 29 June 1953 . From 1953 to 1959 , " Shelton " divided her time between deployments with the 7th Fleet and west coast operations . On her annual deployment in 1957 , she rescued 120 passengers from a New Zealand merchant ship . 1960 – 1973 . She was on the west coast in 1960 and , from July to June 1961 , she underwent Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM ) conversion at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard . " Shelton " ' s home port was changed to Yokosuka , and she sailed from Long Beach on 6 January 1962 for that port from which she operated until early March 1964 . On 5 March , " Shelton " was ordered to Subic Bay where she was joined by the destroyers and , carrier , and oiler . All loaded to capacity with stores and consumable items and sailed , on 30 March , for the Indian Ocean on a six - week good will cruise . This was Operation " Handclasp " which was designed to aid foreign countries in the supply of consumable goods . The squadron visited Madagascar , Kenya , and Saudi Arabia before presenting a firepower demonstration for the Shah of Iran on 4 May . The squadron was in Yokosuka two weeks later ; but the deteriorating situation in Vietnam brought " Shelton " sailing orders to the South China Sea ; and , on 2 June , she began a 28 - day stay in the Gulf of Tonkin . The destroyer sailed for the west coast on 18 July , via Pearl Harbor , and arrived at her new home port , San Diego , on 31 August 1964 . " Shelton " operated from there until 24 August 1965 when she sailed to join the 7th Fleet off Vietnam . The destroyer provided anti - submarine protection and pilot rescue operations for " Bon Homme Richard " as well as firing numerous gunfire support missions . She was detached from the 7th Fleet on 1 February 1966 and returned to her home port the last of the month . The remainder of the year was spent in local operations with the exception of a Midshipman cruise to Hawaii in June . " Shelton " stood out of San Diego on 4 January 1967 and sailed for another tour off Vietnam . During the six and one - half months of her deployment , she performed such duties as : plane guard and anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) protection at Yankee Station ; screening on Piraz Station ; gunfire support off South Vietnam ; and gunfire support off North Vietnam . She returned to San Diego on 18 June and resumed normal stateside operations . " Shelton " was deployed to Guam from 2 January 1968 to 9 April where she conducted operations in support of Polaris missile tests . " Shelton " was to return to Vietnam from 30 September 1968 to 2 May 1969 ; from 2 March to 3 September 1970 ; and from 6 April to 7 October 1971 . She had six line periods during 1968 – 1969 ; four in 1970 ; and five in 1971 . After " Shelton " returned to San Diego in October , she spent almost nine months operating out of her home port until she was notified that her services were again needed in Vietnam . The destroyer departed on 13 June 1972 on what was to be her last deployment to the western Pacific . She was back on the gunline on 10 July for a 25 - day period . On 4 August , she was taken under fire by a barrage of approximately 40 rounds from a nearby wooded section of beach . Her gun crews quickly responded and were credited with destroying one of the enemy gun emplacements . " Shelton " and On 5 December , " Shelton " joined Task Unit 77 . 1 . 1 ( TU 77 . 1 . 1 ) for a raid on targets in the vicinity of Hon Me Island . A barrage of return fire was received before counter battery fire from " Shelton " and silenced the emplacements . Another raid near Hon Me , on 19 December , brought the heaviest hostile fire of the deployment : approximately 700 rounds , with many splashes only 50 yards from the ship . " Shelton " departed the Tonkin Gulf three days later and returned to San Diego on 13 January 1973 to prepare for decommissioning . " Shelton " was struck from the Navy list on 31 March 1973 and sold to the Republic of China on 18 April 1973 . ROCS " Lao Yang " ( DD - 20 ) . The ship served in the Republic of China Navy as ROCS " Lao Yang " ( DD - 20 ) . She was decommissioned by Taiwan on 16 March 1999 and as of November 2002 was to become an artificial reef . Awards . " Shelton " received eight battle star s for service in the Korean War and eight for service in Vietnam .