USS Ordronaux ( DD - 617 ) USS " Ordronaux " ( DD – 617 ) was a " Benson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II . She was named for John Ordronaux , the 19th - century privateer sman . " Ordronaux " was laid down 25 July 1942 by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation , Fore River , Massachusetts ; launched 9 November 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . J . Henry Judik ; and commissioned 13 February 1943 , Lieutenant Commander Robert Brodie , Jr . in command . Service history . After shakedown , " Ordronaux " departed New York 1 May 1943 en route to Mers - El - Kebir , Algeria , escorting a convoy . Her first encounter with the enemy came on 6 July , while at anchor at Bizerte Naval Base . Attacked by German planes , she helped down several . Mediterranean theater . In the invasion of Sicily 9 July , " Ordronaux " was assigned a squadron of torpedo boat s to patrol the harbor of Porto Empedocle and force out German E boat s and Italian MAS boats , so they could be destroyed . She screened allied ships from Axis submarine s and rendered fire support for the invasion until the 21st . For nearly a year , following the invasion , " Ordronaux " sailed back and forth across the Atlantic and through the Mediterranean Sea on convoy duty . North Atlantic theater . On 7 April 1944 , while operating with a hunter - killer task unit composed of DD ’ s and DE ’ s , " Ordronaux " spotted a German submarine south of Nova Scotia . USS made first contact by sounding and with USS made several depth charge attacks forcing the submarine to surface . Both ships opened fire , and " Champlin " rammed the sub . and " Ordronaux " captured 28 survivors . Return to the Mediterranean . On 12 May , " Ordronaux " was back in the Mediterranean with screening while the British cruiser bombarded Terracina and Gaeta on the west coast of Italy in support of the U . S . 5th Army , which was advancing on Rome . For the rest of the month , " Ordronaux " operated with " Dido " and supporting the beachhead at Anzio . Southern France . On 9 August , " Ordronaux " was attached to a fire support force for the invasion of southern France . On the 15th , she operated within 3000 yards of the beach providing “ call fire ” for Navy liaison officers and Army spotters . Many times she was straddled with 88 min projectiles from enemy shore batteries . After the invasion of southern France , she returned to convoy duty . On 1 May 1945 , after returning to New York for alterations , " Ordronaux " sailed for the Pacific , via the Panama Canal . On 24 July she arrived in Pearl Harbor and sailed immediately for Wake Island . There on 1 August , " Ordronaux " conducted close fire support , meeting accurate counter - fire . Pacific theater . " Ordronaux " arrived at Okinawa several days before Japan capitulated . After the surrender , she took part in two occupation landings — at Wakayama and at Nagoya . She made several cruises to ports in Honshū , including two to Tokyo Bay , before sailing for the United States 31 October . Post war . Returning to the East Coast , she was assigned local operations off Charleston , South Carolina until she was placed out of commission in reserve January 1947 , and attached to the Charleston group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . She was later berthed at Orange , Texas . She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1971 and scrapped in 1973 . Awards . " Ordronaux " earned three battle star s for service in World War II .