USS Rupertus ( DD - 851 ) USS " Rupertus " ( DD - 851 ) was a " Gearing " - class destroyer of the United States Navy , named for United States Marine Corps General William H . Rupertus ( 1889 – 1945 ) . " Rupertus " ( DD - 851 ) was laid down on 2 May 1945 by Bethlehem Steel Co . , Quincy , Massachusetts ; launched on 21 September 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . William H . Rupertus ; and commissioned on 8 March 1946 , CDR William C . F . Robards in command . Service history . 1946 – 1949 . Following shakedown off Guantanamo Bay and visits to various east coast ports , " Rupertus " transited the Panama Canal and steamed to San Francisco . From 1946 she alternated deployments to the western Pacific with operations off the west coast of the United States . On her first deployment in 1947 she operated throughout the Far East , but particularly at Tsingtao , China . In the eastern Pacific throughout 1948 , she returned to Tsingtao in 1949 only to be one of the last three American ships to leave that port before it fell to the Communists . 1950 – 1959 . Returning to San Diego in December for operations in the eastern Pacific and overhaul , she departed San Diego on 13 November 1950 to operate with United Nations Command forces fighting the Korean War . She escorted aircraft carrier from Sasebo , Japan to Hŭngnam , Korea ; then , from 14 May 1951 , operated with blockade and escort Task Force 95 ( TF 95 ) off the west coast of Korea and in the Yellow Sea . Leaving TF 95 and steaming to Wonsan , " Rupertus " spent ten days off the coast near Songju and fired thousands of rounds of ammunition at shore targets . " Rupertus " saw continuous combat service until 4 July 1951 , when she returned to Inchon during the armistice talks . Returning to San Diego on 8 August 1951 , " Rupertus " steamed out again to rejoin the 7th Fleet on 23 February 1952 . Operating first with carrier TF 77 , she then departed to bombard the Hŭngnam - Hannum area with and rescued a pilot from while under heavy enemy shore battery fire . " Rupertus " put in to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for overhaul on 6 October . Departing San Diego for the western Pacific again on 16 May 1953 , " Rupertus " screened in TF 77 , participated in shore bombardment missions off Korea , conducted hunter - killer exercises , trained Chinese Nationalist naval students in Formosan waters , and participated in the centennial celebration of Commodore Matthew C . Perry ' s first visit to Japan , before returning to San Diego . 1960 – 1969 . After the of July 1953 , " Rupertus " continued her annual deployments to WestPac until 1960 when she was assigned Yokosuka as a homeport . In WestPac for almost three consecutive years , she operated off Vietnam during the Communist advance there in April 1961 . " Rupertus " returned to San Francisco on 13 December 1962 , and following a FRAM I overhaul , which replaced her World War II armament with a modern integrated anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) weapons system including ASROC and QH - 50 DASH , she entered her temporary homeport of Long Beach , California . On 26 May 1964 she again steamed for Yokosuka , Taiwan Patrol and after the August Gulf of Tonkin Incident , the South China Sea . Remaining in the Far East , in June 1965 she participated in operations supporting the Gemini IV space flight ; then returned to Vietnamese waters for " Market Time " operations , boarding and inspecting many boats and ships off South Vietnam in search of Communist contraband ; and provided naval gunfire support to U . S . forces in Vietnam . Operations on Taiwan Patrol and in the South China Sea continued throughout 1966 , interrupted by participation in Gemini IX - A recovery operations in May and June . " Rupertus " , again homeported at Long Beach , arrived there on 3 August 1966 . A year later she sailed for the Far East again arriving on " Yankee Station " in the Gulf of Tonkin in July . With when a series of explosions temporarily disabled the giant carrier on 29 July , " Rupertus " maneuvered to within 20 feet ( 6 m ) of the crippled ship and remained alongside for a period of three hours assisting in fighting fires , cooling magazines , and rescuing personnel thrown into the sea . " Rupertus " then participated in " Sea Dragon " operations involving the interdiction of waterborne logistics craft staging from North Vietnamese ports , and drew enemy fire off Đồng Hới , North Vietnam , which resulted in minor shrapnel hits . Assigned to gunfire support off South Vietnam in October , she returned to Long Beach on 4 December . Following overhaul and exercises off the California coast , " Rupertus " again got underway for WestPac on 3 July 1968 . She arrived in her new homeport , Yokosuka , on 22 July , and assumed naval gunfire support responsibilities off South Vietnam on 14 August . Taking up " Sea Dragon " duties on 29 August , she again came under fire from enemy coastal defense sites . After serving as part of the Apollo 7 recovery team , she returned to duties off Vietnam and then plane guard duty off Korea , winding up 1968 in Yokosuka . Continuing to operate throughout the Far East during 1969 , part of that time off Vietnam , " Rupertus " returned to San Diego on 15 August 1970 . 1970 – 1973 . She remained in San Diego for the rest of 1970 , spending much of the time in drydock . Both 1971 and 1972 brought " Rupertus " a WestPac cruise , each of about six months duration and alternated with operations in the San Diego area . Soon after her return from the second of these latest deployments , in the spring of 1973 , she underwent an INSURV inspection which resulted in her being declared unfit for further service . HNS " Kountouriotis " ( D - 213 ) . " Rupertus " was offered to the Hellenic Navy on a loan basis and she was decommissioned on 10 July 1973 . Concurrent with her decommissioning , she was transferred to the Hellenic Navy and recommissioned as HNS " Kountouriotis " ( D - 213 ) . She remained in the Greek Navy until retired in 1994 . The ship was stricken in 1995 , and as of 1998 was laid up in Souda Bay , Crete . Awards . " Rupertus " earned seven battle star s for service in the Korean War .