USS Gendreau ( DE - 639 ) USS " Gendreau " ( DE - 639 ) was a in the United States Navy . She was commissioned on 17 March 1944 and decommissioned on 13 March 1948 . She served throughout the Pacific during World War II . Canadian - born Captain Elphege A . M . Gendreau ( 1888 – 1943 ) served as Force Surgeon of Battle Force and on the staff of Admiral Chester Nimitz , Commander in Chief , Pacific Fleet . Admiral Nimitz recommended that a ship be named in honor of the surgeon for his dedicated service , after Capt . Gendreau was killed in a dive - bombing attack while onboard USS LST 343 in the South Pacific 21 July 1943 . " Gendreau " was laid down on 1 August 1943 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co . , San Francisco ; launched on 12 December 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . Josephine Gendreau , widow of Captain E . A . M . Gendreau , with Mrs . Chester W . Nimitz , wife of the Commander in Chief of Pacific Fleet , as matron of honor . " Gendreau " was commissioned on 17 March 1944 , with Lieutenant Commander A . D . Kilmartin in command . Service history . Convoy escort . After shakedown off the California coast , " Gendreau " departed San Francisco , California , on 23 May 1944 escorting a convoy to Pearl Harbor , arriving six days later . She trained in Hawaiian waters and got underway on 18 June 1944 on the first of two voyages , escorting convoys between Hawaii and the Marshalls . Convoy duty brought her to Eniwetok again and on 26 July 1944 . " Gendreau " returned to Oahu from the second voyage in time to help welcome President Franklin D . Roosevelt to Hawaii . During an ensuing anti - submarine patrol out of Pearl Harbor , the destroyer escort rescued the pilot and crew of an aircraft which had ditched at sea on 31 July 1944 ; and nine days later in heavy seas saved a downed fighter pilot . " Gendreau " departed Pearl Harbor on 8 September 1944 , with a convoy for Emirau . On 13 September 1944 , she collided with escort carrier while fueling from her in heavy seas ; but efficient emergency repairs allowed " Gendreau " to proceed with the convoy to Emirau before steaming into Manus on 19 September 1944 for repairs . She sailed from the Admiralties on 1 October 1944 and arrived at Port Purvis , Solomon Islands , on 4 October 1944 . Following intensive training with PT boat s at Tulagi , she sailed on 27 October 1944 for the Russell Islands and rendezvoused with a convoy of landing craft bound for New Georgia Island . Departing on 29 October 1944 , the group proceeded to Cape Torokina , Bougainville , where the landing craft debarked troops . " Gendreau " escorted the landing craft back to the Russells on 1 November 1944 , and returned to Port Purvis the next day . From 17 February through 20 February 1945 , " Gendreau " was in dry dock , being repaired by its seamen and members of the repair ship . Lieutenant Martin Victor became captain of " Gendreau " at this time . In March 1945 , following three months of escort and ASW duty shuttling between islands of the South Pacific , " Gendreau " rehearsed for the coming Okinawa invasion after which she escorted landing craft to the Russell Islands and Port Purvis , arriving at Port Purvis on 7 March 1945 , and returning to the Russells four days later . Underway from the Russells on 12 March 1945 , she called at Ulithi on 21 March 1945 for final staging and sortied four days later with a task force for the Ryukyus . Invasion of Okinawa . On L - Day , 1 April 1945 , " Gendreau " was off the southeast coast of Okinawa protecting amphibious ships . Before dawn a Japanese plane attacked the DE but was shot down and crashed a few yards to starboard . A few hours later she closed the invasion beaches and delivered the landing craft to their assigned positions well in advance of the final bombardment and initial landings . The next day she was in the destroyer screen when another enemy plane attacked her at dawn , but with the aid of other ships she managed to shoot it down . On 3 April 1945 , a plane strafed her and then , on its second pass , tried to crash her , but " Gendreau " s gunfire blew it out of the air and the plane crashed 25 yards ( 23 m ) away . On 5 April 1945 she joined a hunter - killer group . On 6 April 1945 , a torpedo bomber aimed a torpedo at the DE , but it exploded upon hitting the water . " Gendreau " shot down the bomber astern . The following day she destroyed another attacking plane . On 12 April 1945 , without warning , a torpedo bomber roared in and released a torpedo which passed just under the bow and exploded some distance beyond . On 16 April 1945 , two enemy planes homed in on her , but two American fighters swooped in from behind and shot down the attackers . " Gendreau " departed Okinawa on 22 April 1945 with a convoy , touching at Saipan five days later and returning to Okinawa on 2 May 1945 . She departed the next day for Ulithi , arriving there on 7 May 1945 . Underway again on 23 May 1945 with a mixed convoy , she called at Okinawa on 29 May 1945 and escorted convoys in these waters . On 10 June 1945 , while supporting the American troops who were wresting the island from Japan , " Gendreau " was hit by shellfire from a hidden 150 mm ( 5 . 9 in ) gun . She lost power and began taking water , but outstanding damage control had her under control in 15 minutes and nearly restored her to normal within two hours . Two men were killed and two others wounded . East China Sea . After repairs at Kerama Retto and later at Buckner Bay , Okinawa , she joined Vice Admiral Jesse B . Oldendorf ' s Task Force on 13 July 1945 , for training and minesweeping in the East China Sea . On 26 July 1945 she rescued a friendly fighter pilot who had ditched at sea , picking him up only 32 minutes after the crash . At the end of the month a bad typhoon caused her to roll nearly 60° and buckled steel plating . On 31 July 1945 she escorted damaged battleship to Guam and returned to Okinawa on 12 September 1945 , where four days later , another typhoon parted her port anchor chain . She departed on 22 September 1945 to act as courier ship during the Allied occupation of the Japanese homeland . Thus , after a short but distinguished war career , " Gendreau " stood out of Tokyo Bay on 4 November 1945 bound home via Pearl Harbor , arriving at Portland , Oregon on 22 November 1945 . Around this time , the departing captain of " Gendreau " , Lieutenant Commander Martin Victor , gave the following farewell address to the crew : Post - war activities . In February 1946 she proceeded to San Diego for training exercises and then departed the following month on a Far Eastern cruise . " Gendreau " arrived at Shanghai , China , on 14 April 1946 , and sailed to Hulutato , Manchuria , and then to Tsingtao and Chinwangtao , China . Further patrols brought her to Okinawa and Shanghai again May to June , and on 1 July 1946 she headed for California , arriving at San Diego on 19 July 1946 . After training and repairs , she cast off on her last Far Eastern cruise , calling at Pearl Harbor and Guam en route to Japan . " Gendreau " arrived in Japan on 19 March 1947 . In the spring and summer of 1947 , " Gendreau " stood patrol duty off the Korean coast , calling at Yokosuka , Japan on 21 May 1947 , and thence returning to station . On 1 September 1947 , she sailed from Japan for Pearl Harbor and San Diego , putting in at the latter port 19 September 1947 . Decommissioning and sale . " Gendreau " decommissioned on 13 March 1948 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego . " Gendreau " was stricken on 1 December 1972 . " Gendreau " was sold on 11 September 1973 and broken up for scrap .