USS Walter B . Cobb ( APD - 106 ) USS " Walter B . Cobb " ( DE - 596 / APD - 106 ) was a " Crosley " - class high speed transport of the United States Navy , named after Coxswain Walter B . Cobb ( 1919 – 1942 ) , who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his gallant service in the Battle of Savo Island aboard and . Cobb was a Pearl Harbor Survivor on USS West Virginia ( BB - 48 ) . He went on to serve on USS Mugford where , on 7 August 1942 , he was blown off the ship during a Japanese aerial attack . Uninjured , he was picked up by USS Ralph Talbot . On 9 August , the Ralph Talbot was hit by a Japanese aerial attack in which Cobb was killed . History . " Walter B . Cobb " ( DE - 596 ) was laid down on 15 January 1944 at Hingham , Massachusetts , by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation ; launched on 23 February 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Huey Cobb ; reclassified as a high - speed transport and redesignated APD - 106 on 15 July 1944 ; and commissioned on 25 April 1945 , Lt . Comdr . R . E . Parker , USNR , in command . Following shakedown in Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , " Walter B . Cobb " departed Hampton Roads , Va . , on 24 June , bound for the California coast ; emerged from the Panama Canal on 1 July ; and arrived at San Diego a week later . She conducted amphibious training exercises out of that port into August , preparing for the assault on the Japanese home islands . Shifting to Oceanside , California , on the 13th , " Walter B . Cobb " embarked Underwater Demolition Team ( UDT ) 27 . But the following day , 14 August , Japan capitulated , obviating further invasions . There now remained the occupation of the erstwhile enemy ' s land . " Walter B . Cobb " got underway for Japan on the 17th , steamed via Pearl Harbor , and entered Tokyo Bay on 4 September . Her embarked UDT 27 reconnoitered beaches , marked and mapped landing areas , and generally helped to set the stage for the occupation landings in the Tokyo area . The ship then returned , via Guam and Eniwetok , to Pearl Harbor and joined in the massive sealift of demobilized military men , Operation " Magic Carpet . " " Walter B , Cobb " made a cruise between Pearl Harbor and San Diego before sailing on 30 October 1945 for the Philippines . Proceeding via Guam , she arrived at Manila on 13 November 1945 ; later touched at Subic Bay , Samar , and Leyte ; and made two other visits to Manila before departing the Philippines on 22 January 1946 . She sailed to San Pedro , California , and thence moved south to the Canal Zone before making port at New York on 9 March . Decommissioned on 29 March 1946 , at Green Cove Springs , Florida , the ship was subsequently towed to Mayport , Florida , in April 1948 , for berthing . She remained in reserve there until the communist invasion of South Korea in the summer of 1950 . As a result of the Navy ' s increased need for ships , " Walter B . Cobb " was recommissioned on 6 February 1951 , Lt . Comdr . William D . Craig , USNR , in command . The ship conducted shakedown in Guantanamo Bay before engaging in amphibious exercises off Little Creek , Virginia , her new home port . From 1951 to 1954 , " Walter B . Cobb " was homeported at Little Creek , Va . , and made two Mediterranean deployments , as well as three midshipmen ' s cruises — to England and Ireland ; to Canada and Cuba ; and to Brazil . After landing exercises at Little Creek and at Onslow Beach , North Carolina , " Walter B . Cobb " got underway from Little Creek on 30 November 1954 , bound for the west coast . Fate . Homeported at Long Beach , California , " Walter B . Cobb " spent her next tour of duty primarily deployed to the Far East — from the spring of 1955 through the summer of 1956 . She conducted local operations and exercises out of Yokosuka , Sasebo , and Kure before she returned , via Pearl Harbor , to the west coast of the United States for decommissioning . On 15 May 1957 , " Walter B . Cobb " was placed out of commission and in reserve at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard , Vallejo , California . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 15 January 1966 . Sold to Taiwan on 22 February 1966 , " Walter B . Cobb " and were accepted by the Republic of China Navy on 15 March 1966 . The Chinese dispatched tug " Ta Tung " to tandem - tow the two transports to Taiwan . While en route to the western Pacific , the two APD ' s collided on 21 April 1966 and both suffered heavy damage . " Gantner " was towed to Treasure Island , California , but " Walter B . Cobb " , however , listed progressively from 18 to 40 degrees while settling aft . At 2340 on 21 April 1966 , the former high - speed transport filled with water and sank , stern first , in 2 , 100 fathoms of water .