USS Clarence K . Bronson ( DD - 668 ) USS " Clarence K . Bronson " ( DD - 668 ) was a " Fletcher " - class destroyer of the United States Navy , named for naval aviator Lieutenant ( junior grade ) Clarence K . Bronson ( 1888 – 1916 ) . " Clarence K . Bronson " was launched 18 April 1943 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co . , Kearny , N . J . , sponsored by Mrs . W . P . Richardson ; and commissioned 11 June 1943 , Commander W . S . Veeder in command . World War II . " Clarence K . Bronson " reached Pearl Harbor 21 November 1943 for final training , remaining in Hawaiian waters aside from a single escort voyage to Tarawa , until January 1944 , when she joined the Fast Carrier Task Force ( then 5th Fleet ' s TF 58 ) . " Bronson " screened this force for strikes supporting the landings on Kwajalein , and raids on Truk , Saipan , and Guam through February , and on 15 March , sailed from Espiritu Santo to screen aircraft carrier s covering the landings in the Bismarck Archipelago from 19 to 25 March . With Task Group 36 . 1 ( TG 36 . 1 ) she rejoined TF 58 two days later for strikes on Palau , Yap , and Woleai . In late April 1944 , " Bronson " ' s force covered the New Guinea landings , and returned to raid Truk on 29 and 30 April . The destroyer was drydocked at Majuro during May , and sailed again with TF 58 on 6 June for the Marianas operation . After screening during preinvasion air strikes on Saipan , Rota , Tinian and Guam , " Bronson " stood off Saipan as the assault on that island began , then guarded her carriers as they launched their planes in the aerial Battle of the Philippine Sea , 19 and 20 June , an American victory from which Japanese naval aviation never recovered . " Clarence K . Bronson " was one of the ships which displayed her searchlight aloft as a homing beacon for carrier pilots at the close of the battle as the Fleet audaciously revealed itself to save its aviators . After replenishing at Eniwetok early in July , TF 58 covered the invasion of Guam , and launched air strikes on enemy bases in the Palaus and Bonins . " Clarence K . Bronson " ' s force covered the capture of the Palaus in September 1944 and in October neutralized Formosan bases , hurled raids against the Philippines and Visayas , and played its part in the epic Battle for Leyte Gulf of 23 to 26 October , in the Battle of Cape Engaño , 25 October . In November and December 1944 , air strikes covered the Mindoro landings , and through January 1945 , raids on Japanese bases on Formosa , Luzon , the Nansei Shoto and Chinese ports made possible the Lingayen assault . February ' s strikes on Tokyo prepared for the assault on Iwo Jima , and " Clarence K . Bronson " left the main body of her task force 18 February to escort cruiser s to Iwo Jima for preinvasion bombardment and fire support to the forces ashore after the assault on 19 February . She offered this aid for 4 days , then rejoined her task force for another round of strikes on Tokyo and the Nansei Shoto . She returned to fire support and antisubmarine patrol duties off Iwo Jima from 3 to 29 March , then sailed for a west coast overhaul . " Clarence K . Bronson " returned to Pearl Harbor 9 July 1945 for training , and put to sea 2 August to bombard Wake Island 6 days later . Continuing west , she entered Sagami Wan 27 August , and took part in the occupation by patrolling Japan ese waters until 5 December . Homeward bound , she called at San Diego and New York , and on 12 April arrived at Charleston , S . C . Here she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 16 July 1946 . 1951 – 1960 . Recommissioned 7 June 1951 , " Clarence K . Bronson " had training along the east coast and in the Caribbean until 18 May 1953 , when she sailed from her home port , Newport , R . I . , to join TF 77 in Korean waters 3 July . She operated with TF 77 and TF 99 on blockade , patrol , and escort duty until 10 November , when she began the final leg of her round - the - world cruise , calling at Hong Kong , Aden , Gibraltar , Bermuda , and many other ports before she stood up Narragansett Bay 15 January 1954 . Through the next 4 years , she alternated training and local operations with exercises in the Caribbean , NATO operations in the North Atlantic , assignment as engineering school ship , and two Mediterranean cruises with the 6th Fleet in 1955 and 1957 . In 1958 " Clarence K . Bronson " was assigned to experimental duty with the Underwater Sound Laboratory , and in 1959 , made naval reserve training cruises along the east coast and in the Caribbean from Charleston , and her new home port , Mayport , Fla . On 11 April 1960 , she was placed in commission in reserve at Orange , Tex . , and on 29 June 1960 was decommissioned . TCG " İstanbul " ( D 340 ) . " Clarence K . Bronson " was transferred to Turkey 14 January 1967 , served in the Turkish Navy as TCG " İstanbul " ( D 340 ) , after the city of İstanbul . She was stricken and broken up for scrap in 1987 . Awards . " Clarence K . Bronson " received nine battle star s for World War II service , and one battle star for Korean War service .