USS James E . Kyes ( DD - 787 ) USS " James E . Kyes " ( DD - 787 ) was a of the United States Navy , named for Commander James E . Kyes ( 1906 – 1943 ) . " James E . Kyes " was laid down on 27 December 1944 by Todd Pacific Shipyards , Inc . , Seattle , Washington ; launched on 4 August 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . James E . Kyes ; and commissioned on 8 February 1946 , Comdr . K . E . Shook in command . 1946 – 1953 . After shakedown along the West Coast , " James E . Kyes " steamed from Seattle on 12 June for Pearl Harbor to embark troops for transportation to the United States . Arriving San Diego , California on 12 July , she operated along the California coast until departing on 9 November for the $ 3 . Joining the 7th Fleet at Shanghai on 30 November , she operated along the Chinese Coast supporting Chiang Kai - shek ' s struggle with the Chinese Communists for control of the mainland . Departing Tsingtao , China , on 28 January 1947 , she steamed to Japan for four months of operations off southeastern Japan , in the Tsushima Strait , and along the Korean coast . She cleared Yokosuka on 8 June for home and arrived San Diego on 22 June . Following operations out of San Diego and San Francisco , California , and Bremerton , Washington , she departed San Pedro , California , 2 September 1948 for duty in the Far East . Arriving Yokosuka , Japan , on 30 September , she conducted surveillance patrols in the East China Sea and the Tsushima Strait . She steamed to Inchon , Korea , on 20 January 1949 as tensions mounted on that peninsula . Returning to Japan on 28 January , she resumed sea patrols until departing Yokosuka on 3 April for San Diego . After arrival on 24 April , " James E . Kyes " operated out of San Diego until sailing for the western Pacific on 23 June 1950 , two days before North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel to sweep down through South Korea . Ordered by President Harry S . Truman to give South Korean troops " cover and support , " the Navy placed the 7th Fleet on alert from Formosa to Japan . Standing off Pohang - dong , Korea , on 18 July , " Kyes " provided fire support during landing operations which reinforced U . N . positions at the southern end of the peninsula . She joined on 2 August escorting while that carrier ' s aircraft struck enemy troop and supply concentrations along Korea ' s southern and western coasts . Sailing into the Sea of Japan on 11 August , she screened , , and ; and then steamed to Sasebo , Japan on 27 August to prepare for Operation Chromite . As a flanking counterstroke to halt the North Korean advance , General Douglas MacArthur ordered an amphibious assault against Inchon , the " strategic solar plexus of Korea , " to be carried out on 15 September . " James E . Kyes " arrived off Inchon the 15th to guard as her aircraft conducted preinvasion strikes . Remaining off Inchon until 3 October , the destroyer sailed via Sasebo to Korea ' s east coast for patrol duty . Late in November she sailed for the United States ; but , ordered to reverse course on the 29th , she steamed back to the fight . The Chinese People ' s Liberation Army had crossed the Yalu River into North Korea to attack advancing U . N . forces . The Chinese cut off and surrounded the 5th and 7th Marine Regiments at Chosin Reservoir on 27 November . The releasing of the marines depended upon air cover from the aircraft carrier s stationed off the eastern coast . " James E . Kyes " joined the task force on 1 December and provided anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) support while aircraft made hundreds of sorties supporting the embattled marines . Under a protective canopy of naval air cover , the leathernecks broke through on 10 December at Chinhung - ni and moved to Hŭngnam for evacuation . " James E . Kyes " remained on guard as the Navy completed the Hungnam withdrawal of 24 December after embarking 105 , 000 troops , 91 , 000 refugees and vast quantities of military cargo . She remained along the eastern coast , supporting the southward movement of American forces . Sailing for home on 19 January 1951 , she arrived San Diego on 8 February . " James E . Kyes " departed San Diego on 27 August and joined " Boxer " ( CV - 21 ) and on 20 September in patrolling the Sea of Japan . Sailing to Formosa on 17 December , she joined the Formosa Strait surveillance patrols before resuming carrier guard duty off Korea on 22 January 1952 . " Kyes " joined the U . N . Blockading and Escort Force on 19 February and sailed to the Wonsan area to conduct " harassing and interdiction fire at predesignated targets and targets of opportunity . " Designed to prevent or hinder enemy troop and supply movements , her patrol concentrated on enemy shore batteries , coastal roads , and railroad installations before sailing for home on 25 March . Departing San Francisco on 12 November , " James E . Kyes " resumed Korean blockade and bombardment duty on 5 December and joined the Formosa Patrol during February 1953 . She returned to Korea on 14 March . Blockade and bombardment patrols were often unspectacular , but therein lay the effectiveness of the naval blockade . As Rear Admiral Sir W . G . Andrewes , RN , observed , " The absence of the spectacular is a measure of the complete success achieved . " Patrolling Korea ' s eastern coast for almost three months , " Kyes " engaged enemy batteries , covered amphibious landings , and supported carrier air strikes . On 19 May " James E . Kyes " and became members of the " Train Busters Club " , the awards issued by Commander of TF 95 , for destroying a Communist supply train . Illuminating the area with 128 star shells , the two destroyers pumped 418 rounds of 5 inch shells into the doomed train . Ordered home on 9 June via Yokosuka and Midway , she arrived at Long Beach , California on 29 June . 1954 – 1962 . From 9 February 1954 to 12 March 1962 , " James E . Kyes " deployed to the Far East on seven occasions . While operating with the 7th Fleet , she ranged the Orient from Japan and Korea to Southeast Asia and Australia and engaged in a variety of activities . She patrolled the coasts of Korea , where an uneasy truce had brought an end to hostilities in July 1953 . On several occasions she joined the Formosa Patrol to protect the Chinese Nationalists from Communist invasions . In 1955 she sailed to Southeast Asia while the Navy carried thousands of refugees from North to South Vietnam during " Operation Passage to Freedom " . While serving in the Pacific , " James E . Kyes " conducted several air - sea rescue missions . During the Marshall Islands ' nuclear tests of 1956 , she acted as a life guard ship ; and , in May 1959 , she steamed from duty in the Formosa Strait to assist and guard SS " President Hayes " , grounded in the Paracel Islands off Vietnam . She also served as plane guard during carrier flight operations , and on four occasions during 1960 and 1961 she effected or assisted in successful rescues of downed pilots and flight crews . While deployed with the Fleet , " James E . Kyes " engaged in numerous operations designed to test and improve her performance as a fighting ship . In December 1961 , during her longest deployment to the Far East , she participated in a combined ASW readiness exercise with units of the Japanese Maritime Self - Defense Force , which " greatly advanced the mutual understanding between the two forces . " 1962 – 1964 . After returning to the West Coast on 12 March 1962 , " James E . Kyes " assumed an " in - commission - in - reserve " status on 16 April and underwent Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM I ) conversion at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , Bremerton , Washington , to prepare for her role in the new Navy . Returning to full commission on 18 December , she participated in fleet exercises held off the California coast on 27 and 28 May 1963 in honor of President John F . Kennedy . " James E . Kyes " deployed to the Far East on 10 October . Following readiness evaluation exercises off the Hawaiian Islands , she arrived Yokosuka , Japan , on 22 November and commenced Fleet operations that continued to the end of the year . In the spring of 1964 she participated in Operation " Back Packs , " a combined Chinese Nationalist and United States amphibious exercise on Taiwan . She was in the hunter - killer group which provided ASW protection for the operation . During the deployment , she supplied water to Hong Kong helping to relieve suffering caused by a severe drought which afflicted the city . The destroyer returned to Long Beach on 2 April 1964 and operated out of homeport for the rest of the year . She celebrated Columbus Day by saving a wayward DASH helicopter from hitting . She sailed for the Far East on 24 March 1965 and reached Yokosuka on 30 April . In May she participated in SEATO Exercise " Seahorse " with ships of the Thai , United Kingdom , and Australian navies . At the end of this exercise in the South China Sea , she visited Bangkok , Thailand . After upkeep in Subic Bay and a run to Hong Kong , " James E . Kyes " got underway for Exercise " Cross Tee II " in the Sea of Japan with ships of the Japanese Maritime Self - Defense Force . 1965 – 1973 . During her 14th Westpac deployment in July 1965 , " James E . Kyes " reported for duty with TF 77 , which she operated until 10 September . During this period " James E . Kyes " served as plane guard for , AAW and SSSC picket at the southern end of the Tonkin Gulf and carried out a mercy mission to a stranded South Vietnamese SeaBee Battalion on Drummon Island in the Paracel Island group , providing them with food and water . From 30 August to 5 September , the ship fired her guns in " ANGER " for the first time since the Korean War , providing illuminations and destructive fire near the Quang Ngai Province area of South Vietnam while assigned as Naval Gunfire Support ship . From 2 to 7 August 1966 , " James E . Kyes " was assigned as NGFS ship off South Vietnam raising havoc with the enemy . The ship returned to the Tonkin Gulf for operations . From 10 October to 24 November , " James E . Kyes " served as Surface - Subsurface Coordinator , and double as shotgun for the on PIRAZ station from 25 October to 2 November . Between 8 and 15 November , " James E . Kyes " was again assigned duties as NGFS ship and expended 787 round of 5 inch projectiles against the enemy during this seven - day period . 19 August 1967 marked the beginning of " James E . Kyes " 16th Westpac deployment . From 24 to 28 October " James E . Kyes " was attached to Task Unit 70 . 9 . 9 as a gunfire support ship off the I ( Eye Corps ) area of South Vietnam and the DMZ . From 29 October to 5 November 1967 , she was part of TU 77 . 1 . 1 on Operation Sea Dragon . " James E . Kyes " ran shotgun for the Cruisers and during this time and helped destroy North Vietnamese bridges , roads , and coastal gun sites , and disrupted logistics traffic headed south for use by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops in South Vietnam . On 30 October " James E . Kyes " was fired upon by a North Vietnamese gun emplacement on an island . The North Vietnamese fired 27 rounds at " James E . Kyes " . Evasive action avoided damage . consequently destroyed the gun emplacement . " James E . Kyes " and crew received the combat action medal for the above incident . From 6 to 11 November , " James E . Kyes " was once more assigned to TW 70 . 8 . 9 off South Vietnam ' s I Corps area . During this period , " James E . Kyes " was one of the destroyers cited by the Admiral in charge of Amphibious Operations ( KNOX and FORMATION LEADER ) , for extremely effective gunfire missions conduction " PROMPTLY AND IN A HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL MANNER " . Leaving the gun line on 11 November , " James E . Kyes " had fired almost 3000 rounds of 5 inch ammunition against targets in both North and South Vietnam , and had destroyed or damaged 124 military structures , 300 meters of trenches and bunkers , 6 sampans , and a number of North Vietnamese coastal gun sites . On 3 January 1968 , the " James E . Kyes " was again underway for the Tonkin Gulf with Task Force 77 . Between 19 August 1967 and the middle of January 1968 , the " James E . Kyes " spent every month receiving combat pay for being in the waters off the coast of Vietnam . With only a couple of brief " R & R " stops for replenishment of food and arms , this was the longest stay in the combat zone . Because of this the crew were granted R & R in Australia and were steaming south for several days ( 20 – 23 January ) . When the USS Pueblo AGER - 2 was boarded and captured on 23 January 1968 , " James E . Kyes " was ordered to head to the Sea of Japan to assist other ships of the 7th Fleet with taking back the Pueblo . At Flank speed " James E . Kyes " headed away from Australia and toward the Sea of Japan . Upon arrival in the Sea of Japan " James E . Kyes " were met by two aircraft carriers , the USS Enterprise and USS Kearsarge and each of their escorts of a cruiser and several more destroyers . The " James E . Kyes " was the " Flagship " of the destroyer fleet because the Captain was on board . Because of this and it ' s armament , " James E . Kyes " was assigned to be the " Tow Ship " to bring the Pueblo out of Wonson Harbor . " James E . Kyes " maintained position as the closest ship to the Pueblo and crew mates could see the Pueblo through their binoculars . For several weeks " James E . Kyes " sat like a buoy bouncing in the just - under hurricane weather at - 40 degrees temperatures . On 29 March 1969 , " James E . Kyes " was underway for her 17th Westpac deployment , her 4th tour to Vietnam waters , and her 7th tour to the gunline . Arriving early in the morning of 19 June , in the vicinity of Vung Tau , near the Mekong River Delta , the ship was at a tense General Quarters ready for anything . This soon relaxed after her first firing mission in support of Australian forces against VC base camps in a valley 16 miles east - northeast of Vung Tau . " James E . Kyes " then moved south into and up the Saigon River , fired several missions . On 22 May , " James E . Kyes " transited to Manila Bay , Republic of the Philippines , where she joined in preparations for the joint SEATO exercise " Sea Spirit " . On 26 May , President Marco of the Republic of the Philippines opened the exercise at a ceremony in Manila . " James E . Kyes " steamed in company with and operated with the elements of ASW Group 1 , Destroyer Squadron 23 and various SEATO units including . " James E . Kyes " continued screen duties , ASW and AAW alertness for four days . Routine at 0316 on 3 June 1969 " James E . Kyes " quartermaster ' s notebook notes : " HMAS MELBOURNE and USS EVANS have hit . " By 0318 " James E . Kyes " had been detailed to pick up survivors . Seven minutes later the Captain had the conn . Two minutes following , at 0327 Exercise Sea Spirit ceased and with all the skill and effort she could muster , " James E . Kyes " joined the ships of Operation Sea Spirit in trying to mitigate the tragedy . " 999 for maneuvering ! " " Away the motor whale boat ! " The motor whaleboat cared 100 feet of hose to the salvage crew aboard the stern section of the . She brought three life rafts in tow to the " James E . Kyes " . Empty . " 0517 observed sunrise . " The Melbourne - Evans collision caused the loss of 74 sailors . " James E . Kyes " departed the collision area with ASW Group 1 en route Subic Bay , and on 6 June tied up to Riviera Pier for an upkeep period and pre - gun line replenishment . By 17 June , preparation was completed and " James E . Kyes " departed Subic Bay en route to the gun line , off the coast of III Corp , Republic of Vietnam . On 23 June , " James E . Kyes " hit enemy position 15 miles north of Qui Khon , destroying six military structures , damaging nine and destroyed an Ammunition Dump . From the 24th to the 26th , " James E . Kyes " fired several missions destroying enemy bunkers , structures and supply camps . On the 27th , the ship ' s batteries came to the aid of the 47th South Vietnamese Regiment during a Viet Cong attack seven miles northwest of Tuy Hoa in II Corps . Illumination rounds fired by the ship helped the friendly forces repel the VC . In addition , missions fired at enemy targets six and nine miles northwest of Tuy Hoa , destroyed ten Viet Cong bunkers . On the 28th and 29th , the ship fired in support of the Ninth ROK Infantry Division . 1 July , " James E . Kyes " was off Phan Thet supporting units of the 101st Airborne and 506th Infantry , U . S . Army . During the gun line period , " James E . Kyes " supported American , Australian , South Korean and South Vietnamese troops fighting ashore . The ship was responsible for destroying 41 bunkers , 4 caves , 29 military structures and causing five secondary explosions , of which one was an ammo dump . " James E . Kyes " was diverted to Korean waters in October 1969 when the North Koreans shot down an American Recon plane while in International air space . After several periods at sea in the Tonkin Gulf , " James E . Kyes " was detached and arrived in Long Beach on 21 November 1969 . The year 1970 marked the first time since 1946 that " James E . Kyes " did NOT deploy to the Western Pacific . However , she operated up and down the West Coast with many exercises after a Hull renovation from March to June . Completing Refresher Training and Naval Gunfire Support Qualifications , " James E . Kyes " was ready , will and able to do combat once again for the 1971 deployment . In 1971 , " James E . Kyes " after several important exercises between Long Beach and Pearl Harbor , got under way for the Western Pacific on 19 March . Arriving in the Gulf of Tonkin and Vietnamese waters on 3 April , " James E . Kyes " plane guarded for the and steamed with the . On 11 May 1971 , the ship again arrived in the Gulf and plane guarded for the ) . After an exercise with ships from the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force , the ship plane guarded for the once again . However , this lasted only 2 days as " James E . Kyes " along with Destroyer Squadron 23 was detached on 17 June and ordered to Long Beach via Adak , Alaska for refueling . The " James E . Kyes " moored in Long Beach on 5 July ending a 3 month Westpac cruise . The " James E . Kyes " along with the rest of Desron 23 , changed home ports on 1 September 1971 from Long Beach to San Diego , California due to the Navy ' s general administrative reorganization . On 5 June 1972 , " James E . Kyes " departed San Diego for her 21st and FINAL Westpac deployment . On 6 June , " James E . Kyes " rendezvoused with and escorted the carrier to the Gulf of Tonkin arrive on 22 June 1972 . On 7 July , " James E . Kyes " began her first of sever Naval Gunfire Support missions off South Vietnam . She also participated in Naval Gunfire Strikes off North Vietnam and still more firing missions of South Vietnam . IN 1972 , the ship spent 3 month in the war zone broken only by short upkeep and R & R periods in Subic Bay , Kaohsiung and Hong Kong . On 26 December 1972 , " James E . Kyes " in company with destroyers , and departed Subic Bay for San Diego conducting extensive TYPE training exercises en route . " James E . Kyes " arrived in San Diego , California on 13 January 1973 thus ending her " Last at - sea period " as a commissioned United States Destroyer . For her part in the Vietnam War , " James E . Kyes " made 7 deployments to the Western Pacific and 19 tours to the War Zone . From February through March 1968 in Korea during the highjacking and October 1969 in Korea during the downed Recon plane by North Koreans . " James E . Kyes " was decommissioned , and on 31 March 1973 she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register . ROCS " Chien Yang " ( DDG - 912 ) . On 18 April 1973 , the ship was transferred to the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) . She served in the Republic of China Navy as ROCS " Chien Yang " ( ) , reclassified as a guided missile destroyer DDG - 912 . " Chien Yang " was decommissioned 1 December 2004 at Tsoying Naval Base , Kaohsiung , Taiwan . Awards . Six battle star s for Korean War service . National Defense Service Medal ( 2nd award ) . Combat Action Ribbon . Vietnam Service Medal with 7 campaign stars . Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry . Vietnam Campaign Medal with Clasp ( 60 - ) . Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ( 2nd award ) .