USS Shields ( DD - 596 ) USS " Shields " ( DD - 596 ) , a " Fletcher " - class destroyer , was a ship of the United States Navy named for Purser Thomas Shields ( died 1827 ) , who fought in the Battle of New Orleans . The keel of the destroyer , " Shields " , was laid on 10 August 1943 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , Bremerton , Washington . Sponsored by First Lieutenant Margaret Shields Farr , WAC , the great - granddaughter of Purser Shields , the destroyer was launched on 25 September 1944 and commissioned on 8 February 1945 , Commander George B . Madden , USN , in command . World War II . " Shields " ' shakedown cruise , interrupted by a nine - day escort assignment with , lasted from 7 March to 18 April 1945 . She departed Puget Sound on 6 May and , after several days of operations in the vicinity of Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , shoved off for Eniwetok Atoll with convoy # PD - 413 - T . Her short period of combat service in World War II , 24 May – 15 August 1945 , consisted almost entirely of escort duty between and patrol duty around Eniwetok , Ulithi , Leyte , Okinawa , and Borneo . " Shields " saw actual combat only once during the war ; she shelled Japan ese shore installations at Miri , Borneo , in support of Australian ground forces , on 26 June 1945 . " Shields " was at Buckner Bay , Okinawa , on 15 August 1945 when she received orders from CINCPACAREA to " cease all offensive activity against the Japanese . " After a short cruise to Leyte , Subic Bay , and back to Okinawa , she got underway to rendezvous with Task Group 78 . 1 ( TG 78 . 1 ) and serve as escort to units of Transport Squadron 17 ( Transron 17 ) , at that time ferrying occupation troops to Jinsen , Korea . The occupation commenced without opposition ; and , on 12 September , she steamed out of Jinsen with Task Unit 71 . 5 . 1 ( TU 71 . 5 . 1 ) bound for the waters off northern China . For most of the remainder of 1945 , " Shields " remained in the area of the Gulf of Po Hai . Her primary assignment here was to participate in the naval demonstrations being conducted off the coast of northern China . Throughout this period , she also reconnoitered the unstable situation at the port of Chefoo . Her travels while operating off northern China took her to most of the major ports on the Gulf of Po Hai , including Chefoo , Chinwangto , Weihaiwei , Taku , Dairen , and Port Arthur . " Shields " rounded out her first Far Eastern tour with a mission to escort and to the end of the Seventh Fleet ' s area of responsibility and patrol duty with the Yangtze River Patrol Force based at Shanghai . She returned to San Pedro Bay , California , on 19 February 1946 , having stopped along the way at Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor . She remained on the west coast until being decommissioned and placed in reserve on 14 June 1946 . Korean War . Though decommissioned , " Shields " continued in an in - service status , participating in the reserve program . She was called back into active service at the outbreak of the Korean War and recommissioned on 15 July 1950 . " Shields " arrived in the Far East in September 1951 for the first of three Korean War tours . During this cruise , which lasted until February 1952 , she patrolled the Korean coast in the area of the bombline and Kojo , providing fire support for the First ROK Corps and the First Marine Division . She participated in the assault on Kojo and provided harassing and interdiction fire . Her second Korean War tour , commencing on 1 November 1952 , found her again cruising off the Korean coast near the bombline supporting the First ROK Corps and the Eighth Army . Later she took part in antisubmarine warfare exercises off the coasts of Japan and Okinawa and concluded the deployment training Chinese Nationalist naval forces at Taiwan . Stopping at Hong Kong and Japan , " Shields " returned to San Diego on 1 June 1953 . 1954 – 1972 . After six months on the west coast , she departed for her third Far Eastern cruise . Arriving off Korea on 11 February 1954 , she operated there with TF 77 until being detached , on 21 February , to proceed to the Philippine Islands . " Shields " conducted operations out of Subic Bay during the months of March and April , patrolling the coast of Indochina with Carrier TG 70 . 2 . On 7 May , she embarked for Yokosuka , Japan , stopping en route for a diplomatic representation at Hong Kong . After a week of tender upkeep at Yokosuka , " Shields " put to sea with TF 77 to conduct battle exercises . She returned to San Diego on 18 July 1954 . Between 18 July 1954 and 30 November 1963 , " Shields " was deployed to WESTPAC seven times . When not assigned to the western Pacific , she engaged in normal destroyer activities out of her home port , San Diego . One of the highlights of this decade of " Shields " ' career was her participation in the commemoration of the triumphant return of Theodore Roosevelt ' s " Great White Fleet " to San Francisco . Another important occasion was the award of the Battle Efficiency " E " for overall combat readiness in August 1960 . On 30 November 1963 , " Shields " ceased operations as an active fleet unit and was assigned as a Naval Reserve Training ship , part of Reserve Destroyer Squadron 27 . With her full - time crew cut more than 50 % , she spent the next 8 years working with the Development and Training Command to maintain the combat efficiency of reservists . After a survey of " Shields " in March 1972 , it was determined that the cost of her modernization would be prohibitive and that she was only of marginal value to the Navy without it . Consequently , " Shields " was decommissioned on 1 July 1972 and sold to the Brazilian Navy . " Shields " was awarded the Korean Presidential Unit Citation ( Korea ) and three battle star s for service in the Korean War .