USS Decatur ( DD - 936 ) The fourth USS " Decatur " ( DD - 936 ) was a " Forrest Sherman " - class destroyer of the United States Navy in service from 1956 to 1983 . She was named for Commodore Stephen Decatur USN ( 1779 – 1820 ) . " Decatur " was modernised as a guided missile destroyer in the mid - 1960s and re - designated DDG - 31 . After her decommissioning in 1983 , she operated as the U . S . Navy ' s Self Defense Test Ship from 1994 to 2003 . She was finally sunk as a target the following year . History . 1956 - 1966 . " Decatur " was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation at Quincy , Massachusetts on 13 September 1954 , launched on 15 December 1955 by Mrs . W . A . Pierce and Mrs . D . J . Armsden , descendants of Commodore Decatur and commissioned on 7 December 1956 , CDR John J . Skahill Commanding . In 1957 , she made her shakedown cruise through the Caribbean area , ran special trials , and steamed to northern Europe . Early in 1958 the new destroyer again crossed the Atlantic to begin her first Sixth Fleet tour in the Mediterranean Sea . " Decatur " made more such deployments during the late 1950s and early 1960s , as well as serving as a spacecraft recovery ship in September 1961 and taking part in Cuban Quarantine operations in November and December 1962 . On 6 May 1964 , her superstructure was heavily damaged in a collision with the aircraft carrier " Lake Champlain " ( CVS - 39 ) . The unrepaired " Decatur " was placed " in commission , in reserve " later in the year to await modernization , and was formally decommissioned on 15 June 1965 . 1966 - 1983 . During the next two years " Decatur " was extensively modified at the Boston Naval Shipyard , Massachusetts . She was reclassified as a guided - missile destroyer in September 1966 , receiving the new hull number DDG - 31 , and was recommissioned in April 1967 . In September that year she transferred to the Pacific Fleet , her assignment for the remainder of her commissioned service . " Decatur " ' s first Seventh Fleet deployment , in the Western Pacific , took place between July 1968 and February 1969 . In this , and her next two Far Eastern tours in 1970 and 1971 – 72 , she engaged in Vietnam War operations and visited southern Pacific nations . Further " WestPac " cruises took place in 1973 , 1974 – 75 , 1976 – 77 and 1978 – 1979 . The last deployment also took her into the Indian Ocean , an area of increasing interest to the U . S . Navy as the Persian Gulf region became unstable . In 1981 and again in 1982 , " Decatur " steamed across the Pacific for more duty with the Seventh Fleet and , in 1983 , in the Persian Gulf . At the end of June 1983 , several weeks after returning from her last deployment , she was decommissioned and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet . USS " Decatur " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in March 1988 . Her name was canceled sometime thereafter . 1994 - 2003 . However , the ship had a long career ahead of her as Self Defense Test Ship ( SDTS ) , a role for which she was converted in the late 1980s and early 1990s . The ship had " 31 " painted on the hull during this time . From 1994 to 2003 she was employed along the Pacific Coast , conducting trials of various systems for countering anti - shipping cruise missile s and other threats . After being replaced as SDTS by the decommissioned she was disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise 22 July 2004 .