USS William Jones ( DD - 308 ) USS " William Jones " ( DD - 308 ) , a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy , named for William Jones . History . " William Jones " was laid down on 2 October 1918 , at San Francisco , California , by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation . She was launched on 9 April 1919 , sponsored by Mrs . Ernest P . McRitchie , the wife of the assistant naval architect at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation , and was commissioned at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard , Vallejo , California , on 30 September 1920 , with Lieutenant Commander C . E . Rosendahl in temporary command . Lt . Comdr . J . G . B . Gromer took command on 16 November . Initially assigned to Division 34 , Squadron 12 , Destroyer Force , Pacific Fleet , " William Jones " operated off the west coast on duty in connection with the Officers ' Engineering School until October 1921 , cruising as far north as Seattle , Washington and as far south as the waters off the Panama Canal Zone . Assigned to Destroyer Squadrons , Battle Fleet , early in 1922 , the destroyer operated with this force over the next seven years . Her operations took the ship up and down the west coast from Puget Sound to the Panama Canal . She took part in fleet maneuvers , exercises in torpedo firing and gunnery , and battle practices . In March 1925 , she joined the Fleet for Fleet Problem V during which she screened the Battle Fleet units off Baja California , as they carried out maneuvers designed to practice protective screening , seizing and occupying a lightly defended position , and fueling at sea . Later that summer , " William Jones " served as one of the ships plane - guarding for the PN - 9 flying boat flight to Hawaii . None of the planes actually flew all the way to Hawaii due a variety of mishaps . One , PN - 9 number 3 , was forced down by a malfunctioning fuel line . " William Jones " located her and went to her assistance , later towing her into San Francisco harbor on 1 September . PN - 9 number 1 , flown by Commander John Rodgers , did eventually reach Hawaii after a remarkable voyage in which her enterprising crew stripped the fabric from one wing and used it to fabricate a sail which propelled the floating aircraft to Oahu . From 5 September to 15 September , " William Jones " participated in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations at San Francisco before resuming her operations and exercises off the west coast . She worked along the Pacific coast until 3 March and 4 March 1926 , when she transited the Panama Canal to take part in maneuvers with the Fleet in the Atlantic Ocean . She visited a succession of east coast ports and returned to the west coast on 30 June , when she moored again at San Diego , California . " William Jones " conducted a reserve training cruise to Alaskan waters from 7 July to 21 July 1928 , pausing at Ketchikan , Juneau , and Sitka . After the ship ' s return to San Diego , she participated in tactical exercises off Point Loma and , later , in joint Army - Navy maneuvers off Port Angeles , Washington , in July 1929 . Fate . Upon the conclusion of the joint exercises , the destroyer arrived at San Diego late in August 1929 and remained inactive there until decommissioned on 24 May 1930 . In accordance with the London treaty for the limitation and reduction of naval armaments , the warship was struck from the Navy list on 13 August 1930 and sold for scrap on 25 February 1932 .