USS Long ( DD - 209 ) USS " Long " ( DD - 209 / DMS - 12 ) , named for John Davis Long ( 1838 – 1915 ) , Secretary of the Navy from 1897 to 1902 , was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy . " Long " was laid down by the William Cramp and Sons at Philadelphia on 23 September 1918 , launched on 26 April 1919 by Mrs . Arnold Knapp and commissioned on 20 October 1919 , Commander A . B . Cook in command . Service history . After shakedown along the Atlantic coast , " Long " sailed late in the year for the Mediterranean . Assigned to Destroyer Division 26 , she patrolled the Adriatic and Mediterranean and served as station ship before steaming to the Philippines early in 1921 for duty with Asiatic station . Based at Cavite , Luzon , she patrolled the South China Sea until July 1922 when she was ordered to the United States . " Long " decommissioned at San Diego , California , 30 December 1922 . " Long " recommissioned at San Diego 29 March 1930 , Lieutenant Commander William J . Butler in command . Operating out of San Diego during the next decade , " Long " cruised primarily in the Pacific off North and Central America for division exercises and screen and plane guard duty . Between 1933 and 1935 she twice entered the rotating Reserve as part of Destroyer Squadron 20 . In 1940 , she was converted to destroyer minesweeper , and reclassified DMS - 12 on 19 November 1940 . World War II . " Long " operated along the west coast and in Hawaiian waters with Mine Squadron 2 . On 5 December 1941 , she departed Pearl Harbor in the screen for . Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 2 days later , she returned there 9 December and began antisubmarine patrols . She also escorted ships among the Hawaiian Islands and between March and June 1942 , made escort runs to Midway , Palmyra , and Canton . " Long " left Pearl Harbor 30 June for patrol and escort duty in Alaskan waters ; after colliding with in heavy fog 27 July , she repaired at San Francisco , California , returning to Kodiak 27 September for screen and antisubmarine patrols . During the Arctic winter she patrolled the approaches to Adak and guarded convoys as American forces sought to defeat Japanese garrisons in the western Aleutians . " Long " took part in the unopposed occupation of Amchitka 12 January 1943 , and while patrolling along the Island , helped repel Japanese air attacks 31 January and 1 February . Thence , she joined Rear Admiral Francis W . Rockwell ' s TF 51 on 3 May for the Invasion of Attu . Steaming through the heavy spring seas and blanketing fog of the Bering Sea , she closed Attu 11 May and swept for mines prior to the successful landings later that day . " Long " continued escort and patrol operations for the occupations of Attu and Kiska through the summer , returning to Pearl Harbor 16 September to escort merchantmen to San Francisco where she overhauled . After patrol in Hawaiian waters 15 November to 22 January 1944 , she escorted reinforcements to Roi and Namur in the Marshalls 2 February , then joined TF 76 on 28 February in New Guinea waters . She served as escort and swept mines in the conquest of the Admiralties early in March , then escorted convoys to and from Milne Bay , Guadalcanal , and Espiritu Santo from Cape Sudest . On 18 April , " Long " sailed for the invasion of the Hollandia ( currently known as Jayapura ) area ; she entered Humboldt Bay 22 April , made an exploratory sweep , and then fired a close - in preinvasion bombardment . " Long " arrived at Guadalcanal early in May to prepare for the Marianas assault , for which she sailed 4 June . Arriving Saipan 13 June for preinvasion sweeps west of the island , " Long " served as radar picket and guard ship until 24 June , then after a voyage to the Marshalls , screened during preinvasion bombardment of Guam beginning 12 July . After antisubmarine and convoy escort duty , " Long " joined TG 32 . 5 at Guadalcanal 16 August . " Long " sortied for the assault on the Palaus 6 September , cleared mines off Peleliu and Angaur , and in Kossol Passage from 12 to 16 September , then had escort and patrol duty between the Palaus and Admiralties until joining the 7th Fleet 4 October for the invasion of the Philippines . Leaving Seeadler Harbor 10 October with Minesweeping Unit 1 , " Long " entered Leyte Gulf the 17th . Spearheading the invasion , she cleared mines off Dinagat and Hibuson Islands , and in the Dulag - Tacloban approach channel . After sweeping Surigao Strait , she patrolled and served as smokescreen ship in Leyte Gulf until 23 October , when she joined the transport screen and steamed in convoy for Manus , arriving 29 October . After repairs and training at Manus , " Long " departed 23 December to sweep for the landings at Lingayen Gulf , Luzon ; her group was attacked 2 January 1945 in the Mindanao Sea in the first of the frequent air raids with which the Japanese attempted to repel the invasion of Luzon . " Long " began mine sweeps in Lingayen Gulf 6 January , evading and firing upon Japanese aircraft as she carried out her intricate mission . Shortly after noon , beginning her second run , " Long " spotted two Mitsubishi A6M Zeros heading for her . " Long " went to 25 knots and opened fire , but a " kamikaze " crashed into her portside below the bridge about 1 foot above the waterline . With fires and explosions amidships , " Long " lost power and internal communications , and was unable to fight fires forward . Her commanding officer , Lieutenant Stanley Caplan , fearing an explosion in the forward magazine , gave permission for men trapped on the forecastle to leave the ship , but through misunderstanding , the crew aft abandoned ship . All were quickly rescued by standing by to aid the burning but still seaworthy ship . Lieutenant Caplan prepared to lead a salvage party and board " Long " from , but continuing heavy air attacks prevented firefighting and salvage attempts . Later that afternoon a second plane attacked " Long " and exploded at the same spot , destroying the bridge and breaking the ship ' s back . " Long " capsized and sank the following morning . Several of the survivors rescued by " Hovey " perished when " Hovey " herself was torpedoed and sunk by enemy planes early the next morning . Awards . " Long " received nine battle star s for World War II service . As of 2012 , no other U . S . Navy ship has been named " Long " .