USS Whitehurst ( DE - 634 ) USS " Whitehurst " ( DE - 634 ) , a of the United States Navy , was named in honor of Henry Purefoy Whitehurst , Jr . Ensign Whitehurst was a crew member of the when he was killed while his ship participated in the Battle of Savo Island off Guadalcanal in August 1942 . Initial operations . " Whitehurst " ( DE - 634 ) was laid down on 21 March 1943 at San Francisco , California , by the Bethlehem Steel Co . ; launched on 5 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Robie S . Whitehurst , the mother of Ensign Whitehurst ; and commissioned on 19 November 1943 , Lieutenant Commander James R . Grey in command . World War II . Following sea trials , calibration tests , and shakedown off the west coast , " Whitehurst " proceeded to Hawaii , arriving at Pearl Harbor on 4 February 1944 . Underway for the Solomons on the 7th , the destroyer escort sailed via Majuro and Funafuti in company with and " SC - 502 " , escorting SS " George Ross " , SS " George Constantine " and SS " Robert Lucas " , and arrived on 23 February at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides . After shifting to Nouméa , New Caledonia , and back to Espiritu Santo , " Whitehurst " joined and on 22 March to escort oilers , , and . " Whitehurst " and " Atascosa " were detached from that task unit on 26 March to proceed independently to a rendezvous with other task forces operating in the area . While " Atascosa " refueled ships from Destroyer Squadron 47 , an enemy plane appeared . All ships present , including " Whitehurst " , opened fire but scored no hits as the plane climbed upward and out of sight . Once refueling had been completed , " Whitehurst " and the oiler returned to Espiritu Santo . At the completion of a mission escorting to Milne Bay , New Guinea , " Whitehurst " remained in waters off New Guinea on local escort duties until 17 May . She then participated in the amphibious operation against Wakde Island , screening the amphibious ships as they landed troops of General Douglas MacArthur ' s forces . " Whitehurst " , in company with other units of Task Unit ( TU ) 72 . 2 . 9 , later escorted echelon S - 4 of the invasion force to $ 3 . The destroyer escort subsequently joined , , and , to screen echelon H - 2 as it steamed toward Bosnic , Biak , in the Schouten Islands , for landings there . Arriving off Biak on 28 May , " Whitehurst " took up a patrol station off the western entrance to the channel between Owi Island and Biak . While there , she received an urgent message from " LCI - 34 " which had been taken under fire by Japanese shore batteries . " Whitehurst " arrived on the scene in time to be shelled , herself , but the enemy ' s rounds fell harmlessly nearby and caused no damage to the ship . The destroyer escort soon was relieved by and " Swanson " in covering " LCI - 34 " , and then protected " LCT - 260 " as that landing craft embarked casualties from the beachhead . " Whitehurst " subsequently screened echelon H - 2 as it retired from Biak to Humboldt Bay . " Whitehurst " performed escort duties and trained through the summer of 1944 . The tempo of the war , however , was increasing . With the Japanese being driven from one island after another , American planners looked toward the next rung of the ladder to Tokyo , the Philippine Islands . Accordingly , " Whitehurst " , Lt . Jack C . Horton , USNR , now in command , was placed in the anti - submarine and anti - aircraft screen of TU 77 . 7 . 1 , a group of fleet tankers slated to supply units of the 7th Fleet on its drive into the Philippines . On 27 October , a week after American troops had landed on Leyte , two enemy planes attacked " Whitehurst " ; but both were driven off by anti - aircraft fire from the ship ' s guns . Two days later , on 29 October , " Whitehurst " received word that , on the previous day , had been torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine . While picked up survivors from the sunken destroyer escort , " Whitehurst " , detached from TU 77 . 7 . 1 to conduct a search , soon picked up a contact . At general quarters , the destroyer escort conducted three attacks without conclusive results . When " Whitehurst " pressed home a fourth depth charge attack , her efforts were crowned with success . In quick succession , five to seven explosions rumbled up from the depths . Another violent underwater burst soon followed , causing a concussion that damaged " Whitehurst " ' s detecting gear . " Bull " continued the search after " Whitehurst " , with her damaged sound gear , requested her to do so but found nothing except a stretch of disturbed water . As the waves calmed , lookouts in both ships noticed many pieces of wood and other debris bobbing in a widening oil slick . The , which had sunk the " Eversole " , had been destroyed . While " Bull " continued picking up " Eversole " survivors in the vicinity , " Whitehurst " returned to TU 77 . 7 . 1 and with that task unit headed back to Kossol Roads in the Palaus . Nearly a month later , following another stint of local escort operations , " Whitehurst " again came to grips with the enemy . While escorting a 12 - ship convoy from Leyte to New Guinea , " Whitehurst " came under attack by two Japanese " Lily " medium bombers . One skimmed low and dropped a bomb that fell well clear of the ships . The second started a glide bombing attack , but " Whitehurst " ' s guns tumbled that raider into the sea . After arriving with the convoy at New Guinea on 25 November , " Whitehurst " spent the remainder of 1944 and the first few months of 1945 in escort operations between New Guinea and the Philippines . She did not again engage the enemy until the Okinawa campaign . When the American landings on Okinawa commenced on 1 April 1945 , " Whitehurst " was among the many screening vessels protecting the valuable transports and cargo vessels . On 6 April , while on patrol station off Kerama Retto , the destroyer escort drove off an enemy plane that had attacked the cargo vessel SS " Pierre " . Three days later , the escort vessel was relieved of her escort duties off Kerama Retto , and she shifted to Okinawa to operate off the southwest coast of that island . Taking up station on the 10th , she was still steaming in that capacity early in the afternoon two days later when a low - flying enemy aircraft closed the ship only to be driven off by " Whitehurst " ' s gunfire . At 1430 , four " Val " dive - bombers approached the area from the south ; and one detached itself from the group and headed for " Whitehurst " . It circled and soon commenced a steep dive while two of its companions also commenced an attack , one from the starboard beam and one from astern . The latter two planes spun down in flames , destroyed by anti - aircraft fire , but the original attacker continued down in spite of the 20 - millimeter hits that tore at the plane . This " Val " crashed into the ship ' s forward superstructure on the port side of the pilot house , penetrating bulkheads and starting fires that enveloped the entire bridge , while the plane ' s bomb continued through the ship and exploded some 50 feet off her starboard bow . " Whitehurst " circled , out of control , while , patrolling a nearby sector , rang up flank speed and raced toward the burning destroyer escort to render assistance . By the time " Vigilance " finally caught up with " Whitehurst " , the destroyer escort ' s crew had put out the most serious fires ; but the minesweeper proved invaluable in aiding the wounded . The prompt and efficient administering of first aid and the injection of plasma undoubtedly saved many lives , 21 of the 23 wounded transferred to " Vigilance " were saved . With a " Vigilance " signalman on board ( " Whitehurst " ' s signal bridge personnel had been decimated ) the damaged destroyer escort limped into Kerama Retto for temporary patching . Then , seaworthy enough for a voyage to Hawaii , " Whitehurst " reached Pearl Harbor on 10 May and was docked for repairs and alterations . Post - war . Once the yard work had been completed and the ship had been converted to a floating power station , " Whitehurst " departed Pearl Harbor on 25 July 1945 , bound for the Philippine Islands . Soon after she reached Luzon , Japan capitulated . Nevertheless , the ship supplied the city of Manila with power from August through October 1945 . She was scheduled to depart Manila on 1 November , bound for Guam ; but a typhoon in the vicinity resulted in a two - day delay . " Whitehurst " eventually reached Guam on the afternoon of 7 November . Operating as a unit of Escort Division 40 , " Whitehurst " supplied electrical power to the dredge " YM - 25 " into 1946 . Returning to the continental United States in April 1946 , " Whitehurst " was decommissioned on 27 November 1946 and placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs , Florida , in January 1947 . Korean War . Reactivated in the summer of 1950 as a result of the outbreak of war in Korea , " Whitehurst " was recommissioned on 1 September 1950 and soon sailed for the Far East . The destroyer escort earned three battle stars for her activities during the Korean War between 25 February and 19 September 1951 . She remained in the Far East until 1955 , when she returned to Pearl Harbor via Midway . After working locally out of Pearl Harbor for a year , the destroyer escort operated between Hawaii and Guam into 1956 . Early in that year , she broadened her duties and itinerary by performing surveillance duties among the islands and atolls assigned the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands . She also performed search and rescue missions in the Marianas and Carolines , periodically stopping at various islands to provide medical care for the natives and to record population changes . Departing Guam on 22 February for Yokosuka , Japan , the ship sailed via the northern Marianas , the Bonins , and the Volcano Islands . She spent two weeks in Japanese waters before returning to Guam on 17 March . Returning to the Central Carolines for patrol duties in early April 1956 , " Whitehurst " stood by a damaged seaplane at the island of Lamotrek for two weeks before she returned to Guam on 14 April , en route to Pearl Harbor . After a period of local operations out of Pearl Harbor , " Whitehurst " headed back to the Far East and touched at Guam , Formosa , Hong Kong , and Sasebo , Japan , before representing the United States Navy at the graduation ceremonies of the Republic of Korea Naval Academy on 10 April . She returned to Sasebo before shifting to Yokosuka en route to Midway and Hawaii . Hollywood use . Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 30 April 1957 , " Whitehurst " underwent four weeks of upkeep and repairs before beginning six weeks of duty with 20th Century Fox during the filming of the World War II adventure film " The Enemy Below " . During that time , she portrayed the fictional destroyer escort " USS " Haynes " ( DE - 181 ) " . Upon completion of filming , " Whitehurst " operated off Oahu until late in September , when she was ordered to Seattle , Washington , for duty as training ship with the 13th Naval District . The veteran destroyer escort trained naval reservists on weekend drill cruises and , during this time , made one extended cruise to Guaymas , Mexico , in November 1957 . After being overhauled at Seattle from February to April 1958 , " Whitehurst " returned to active training duties , becoming a Group II ASW reserve ship in July . On 6 December 1958 , " Whitehurst " was decommissioned and placed in an " in service " status as a unit of the Selected Reserve ASW Force . Reserve ASW force . Thereafter , into the 1960s , " Whitehurst " cruised one weekend per month and made one two - week cruise per year . During the fiscal year 1961 , the destroyer escort placed second in the national competition and the battle efficiency competition among the west coast Group II Naval Reserve destroyer escorts . Commissioned on 2 October 1961 for duty with the Pacific Fleet , Lieutenant Commander Donald L . MacLane , USNR , in command , " Whitehurst " operated actively with the fleet after being " called to the colors " as a result of the Berlin Crisis that autumn . The destroyer escort departed Seattle on the 4th , bound for her new home port of Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . After a period of training in the Hawaiian area , " Whitehurst " departed Pearl Harbor on 10 February 1962 for a deployment to the Western Pacific ( WestPac ) . During the deployment , she operated with the 7th Fleet out of Subic Bay , Philippines , and made a goodwill visit to Sapporo , Japan . The ship also operated in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Siam . Returning to the United States via Hawaii , " Whitehurst " arrived at Seattle in company with on 17 July 1962 . Subsequently decommissioned on 1 August 1962 and placed in Group II in - service status as a Naval Reserve training ship , " Whitehurst " resumed operations out of Seattle . During 1963 , the ship received two major changes in her configuration when her 40 - millimeter mounts and ship - to - shore power reels — the latter items having enabled her to function as a floating power station — were removed . " Whitehurst " , in subsequent years , visited San Diego , California ; Bellingham , Port Angeles , and Everett , Washington ; and Esquimalt , British Columbia . On 17 January 1965 while operating in the Strait of Juan de Fuca , and steaming in dense fog off the Vancouver narrows , " Whitehurst " collided with the Norwegian freighter SS " Hoyanger " . Both ships then ran aground in shallow water . The destroyer escort suffered a five - foot gash in her stern above the waterline while the freighter got off with three feet of scraped bow plates . The following day , both ships were pulled off by tugs . " Whitehurst " operated locally out of Seattle and ranged as far south as San Diego and San Francisco into 1967 . One of the highlights for the destroyer escort in 1966 was the visit of astronaut Commander Richard F . Gordon , Jr . , USN , in November 1966 . The ship transported Gordon and his family from Seattle to his home town of Bremerton on 18 November before she returned to her home port . End of career . Soon " Whitehurst " ' s home port was shifted to Portland , Oregon , from Seattle . The ship she was to replace , , was being deactivated as part of an economy drive . However , " Whitehurst " ' s days were also numbered , and she , too , was soon deactivated . On 12 July 1969 , the destroyer escort was taken out of service and struck from the Navy List . She was eventually taken to sea , and sunk as a target by on 28 April 1971 . Awards . " Whitehurst " earned six battle star s for her World War II service and three battle stars for Korean service .