USS Hollis ( DE - 794 ) USS " Hollis " ( DE - 794 / APD - 86 ) was a " Buckley " - class destroyer escort of the United States Navy , named in honor of Ensign Ralph Hollis ( 1906 – 1941 ) , who was killed on the battleship " Arizona " during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . " Hollis " was launched by Consolidated Steel Corp . , Orange , Texas , on 11 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Hermione C . Hollis , widow of Ensign Hollis ; and commissioned on 24 January 1944 at Orange , Lieutenant Commander G . D . Kissam in command . Following shakedown in the Atlantic , " Hollis " made two escort voyages along the East Coast and then reported to Quonset Point , R . I . , to assist in sonic research . The aim was to find countermeasures for the German acoustic torpedo , and the destroyer escort remained on this important duty until 28 May , when she sailed to Casablanca in an aircraft carrier screen . Returning to New York on 17 June , " Hollis " was soon at sea again , this time as part of an escort and hunter - killer unit . She operated from July to mid - August escorting convoys in the Mediterranean , and escorted a convoy to the southern France invasion area on 15 August as Allied troops stormed ashore . In the months that followed , as the offensive gained momentum , " Hollis " continued to act as an escort in the Mediterranean , ensuring the flow of vital supplies and men . She sailed for the United States on 28 December , and arrived on 18 January to undergo conversion to a high - speed transport at Philadelphia Navy Yard . Fitted out to carry amphibious assault troops , " Hollis " was reclassified APD - 86 , on 24 January 1945 , and conducted her shakedown in April and May off the Atlantic coast . Sailing from Miami , Florida on 10 May , the ship transited the Panama Canal and sailed for Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War . She arrived on 30 May and immediately began training with Underwater Demolition Team s , the Navy ' s famed " frogmen " , on Maui island . Converted to a UDT flagship , " Hollis " sailed to Eniwetok and Guam as the Japan ese were accepting surrender terms , arriving Apra Harbor on 23 August 1945 . " Hollis " , now flagship for Pacific UDT forces , sailed to Tokyo Bay to assist in the occupation , arriving on 1 September . There she witnessed the formal surrender ceremonies of the Japanese Empire the next day . Following occupation duties the ship sailed for San Diego California , where she arrived on 23 October , and thence via the Panama Canal to Boston . Arriving on 15 February 1946 , the transport spent four months at Charleston , S . C . , before arriving at Green Cove Springs , Florida , on 13 October 1946 . " Hollis " decommissioned on 5 May 1947 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . With the increase in fleet strength brought about by the Korean War , " Hollis " recommissioned on 6 April 1951 and conducted shakedown training out of Norfolk , Virginia . The ship sailed from her home port , Little Creek , Va . , on 8 October to take part in amphibious exercises in the Caribbean and on the coast of North Carolina , returning 20 November . For the next five years " Hollis " continued to participate in amphibious exercises , antisubmarine training , and maneuvers . In 1954 and 1955 she served briefly as school ship for Fleet Sonar School , Key West . In 1954 she took part in a North Atlantic cold weather exercise off Labrador , and in 1955 her schedule included a month of NROTC midshipman training . " Hollis " arrived Green Cove Springs , Fla . , on 17 July 1956 , and decommissioned there 16 October 1956 . Stricken from the Navy Register on 15 September 1974 , " Hollis " was sold for scrap on 1 July 1975 . " Hollis " received one battle star for World War II service .