USS Jouett ( DD - 396 ) USS " Jouett " ( DD - 396 ) was a in the United States Navy . She was named for Rear Admiral James Edward Jouett . " Jouett " was laid down on 26 March 1936 by Bath Iron Works , Bath , Maine ; launched on 24 September 1938 , sponsored by Mrs . J . R . Todd ; and commissioned at Boston , Massachusetts on 25 January 1939 , Commander G . W . Clark in command . Service history . Following shakedown training which took " Jouett " to England and Ireland , the ship returned to Norfolk , Virginia on 29 April 1939 and began operating on the Neutrality Patrol along the East and Gulf Coasts . She stood out of Pensacola Bay on 15 February 1940 as one of the escorts for , carrying President Franklin D . Roosevelt on a cruise through the Gulf of Panama , returning to Pensacola , Florida on 1 March 1940 . " Jouett " then set course for the Panama Canal and the Pacific , arriving Pearl Harbor for duty on 10 April 1940 . The destroyer remained in Hawaiian waters during the next year exercising with aircraft carriers and perfecting tactics . Sailing on 18 April 1941 , " Jouett " accompanied through the canal to Cuba , proceeding from there to Port of Spain , Trinidad , on 19 May . The ship then joined a cruiser and destroyer force under Rear Admiral Jonas H . Ingram charged with guarding against German surface or submarine attacks on American shipping . " Jouett " was at Port of Spain on 7 December 1941 when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into the war . The ship then began offensive antisubmarine patrols between Brazil and Africa , helping to keep the ocean supply lines open . She accompanied Army engineers to Ascension Island on 30 March 1942 , where an airfield was built . " Jouett " convoyed the oil tankers from Trinidad south during the months that followed , often attacking submarines with depth charges . In December 1942 , the ship returned to Charleston , South Carolina for repairs , but by 21 January 1943 she was back in Natal harbor , Brazil . " Jouett " received President Getúlio Vargas of Brazil on 27 January 1943 , providing quarters for him and his party during conferences on board with President Roosevelt . Following the talks , which cemented relations between the countries and provided for closer naval cooperation , President Vargas departed " Jouett " on 29 January . The veteran destroyer resumed her escort duties in February , and 14 May joined in the search for off Bahia , Brazil . Aircraft dropped depth charges on the U - boat and brought her to the surface where gunfire from " Jouett " and sent her to the bottom . The destroyer continued to serve with Admiral Ingram ' s antisubmarine force , now 4th Fleet , through the rest of 1943 . On New Year ' s Day 1944 she joined for ocean patrol ; and the ships intercepted German blockade runner SS " Rio Grande " , with a cargo of crude rubber . After the crew abandoned ship , " Omaha " and " Jouett " sank the German ship . This effective closing of the South Atlantic to German blockade runners was demonstrated even more forcefully on 5 January when patrol planes reported a strange ship identifying herself as " Floridian " . Intelligence identified her , however , as blockade runner " Burgenlund " . Before aerial attacks could begin " Omaha " and " Jouett " picked her up on radar and closed in . Scuttling charges and the cruiser ' s gunfire sank her just after 17 : 30 . " Jouett " returned to Charleston once more in March 1944 and engaged in training operations in Casco Bay , Maine , before sailing for England in convoy on 16 May 1944 . There she joined a Reserve Fire Support Group for the invasion of France . " Jouett " arrived off Omaha Beach on 8 June , escorting coastal steamers with support troops embarked . She repelled an air attack that day , and until 21 June screened British heavy cruisers during shore bombardment and provided antisubmarine screen for the Omaha Beach transport area . The second front established , " Jouett " escorted convoys to and from the Firth of Clyde until 12 July 1944 when she sailed with a convoy for Algeria . The destroyer arrived at Oran on 21 July to prepare for the next major European operation , the invasion of southern France . Departing Naples on 14 August , " Jouett " arrived off the Delta assault area next day and , as troops landed , acted as command ship of the Convoy Control Group charged with the smooth routing and unloading of support troops . This duty continued until 3 September , after which the ship operated on patrol out of Toulon . In early October " Jouett " steamed off Cap Ferrat , giving gunfire support to American troops in the fighting ashore . She also destroyed mines off San Remo on 9 October , destroyed bridges , and covered Allied minesweeping operations in the area . " Jouett " sailed from Oran on 31 December 1944 for repairs at Charleston . After refresher training in Casco Bay in April , the battle - tested ship made convoy voyages to England and Cuba before the end of the war on 15 August 1945 . Fate . She was decommissioned at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 1 November 1945 , and was scrapped there in 1946 . Honors . " Jouett " received three battle star s for World War II service .