USS Charles R . Ware ( DD - 865 ) USS " Charles R . Ware " ( DD - 865 ) , was a " Gearing " - class destroyer of the United States Navy , named for Lieutenant Charles R . Ware USN ( 1911 – 1942 ) , who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for heroism in the Battle of Midway . " Charles R . Ware " was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation at Staten Island in New York on 1 November 1944 , launched on 12 April 1945 by Mrs . Z . Ware and commissioned on 21 July 1945 . From her home ports at Norfolk , Virginia , and after December 1950 , Newport , Rhode Island , " Charles R . Ware " operated through 1960 with the Atlantic Fleet . Along with many deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and northern Europe , she carried out training and overhaul necessary . Her first major cruise , between 1 March and 9 April 1946 , was to northern waters , where she aided in developing techniques for cold weather operations , crossing the Arctic Circle . Shortly thereafter , she served as target ship for submarine s training off New London , Connecticut . The tenth of November 1947 found her underway for the Mediterranean , and her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet . After exercising with this force , and calling at ports of northern Europe , she returned to Norfolk 11 March 1948 . Her next tour of duty in the Mediterranean came in 1949 , during which for 2 weeks she patrolled off the Levant Coast under the direction of the United Nations ' Palestine Truce Commission . Through two cruises to the Caribbean in the summer of 1949 , " Charles R . Ware " aided in the training of members of the Naval Reserve , then took part in a large - scale Arctic operation before preparing for a 1950 tour with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . Her 1951 tour was highlighted by operations with ships of the Royal Hellenic Navy . Following her 1953 tour , she conducted antisubmarine warfare exercises with British ships off Northern Ireland , calling then at ports in Ireland , Germany , Norway , Denmark , and Belgium . Later that year she took part in exercises with the aircraft carrier HMCS " Magnificent " off Narragansett Bay . Early in 1954 , she returned to the Mediterranean once more , for a tour of duty which included participation in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) operation . Her 1955 deployment began with antisubmarine warfare exercises with the Royal Navy off Northern Ireland , and was followed by her 6th Fleet duty . In summer 1956 , she carried midshipmen on a summer training cruise to Northern Europe . The year 1957 was marked by assignment to escort the ship carrying King Saud of Saudi Arabia into New York harbor for his state visit , and a European cruise during which she exercised with Spanish destroyers . That fall , she put to sea for North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercises and on 20 January 1958 , she rescued a downed pilot from " Essex " ( CVA - 9 ) while conducting air operations off the east coast . Shortly thereafter she cleared for the Mediterranean once more . During the summer of 1959 , " Charles R . Ware " took part in the historic Operation Inland Seas , the first passage of a naval force through the Saint Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes . She took part in the Naval Review in Lake Saint Louis on 26 June , which was taken by Queen Elizabeth II and President Dwight D . Eisenhower , and sailed on to call at a number of United States and Canadian ports . During her 1960 Mediterranean tour , she carried German naval observers during an exercise in the Ionian Sea . Ware underwent FRAM I overhaul at the New York Naval Shipyard from January 1961 through March 1962 . During FRAM I , Ware ' s anti - submarine capabilities , air detection , equipment and crew ' s living spaces were modernized . Since FRAM I , Ware has been stationed in Mayport , Florida . In 1962 Ware joined other U . S . Second Fleet Units in the blockade of Cuba during the " missile crisis " . During the 1965 - 66 deployment to the Mediterranean , Ware participated in the successful search for the missing H - Bombs of Palomares , Spain . The year 1967 was the most different year in the history of the ship . On 21 February , Ware left Mayport en route to Vietnam . After passing through the Panama Canal , Ware was for the first time in its lifetime in the Pacific Ocean . New Ports of call for this Atlantic Fleet destroyer were Rodman , Canal Zone ; Pearl Harbor , Hawaii ; Sasebo and Yokosuka , Japan ; Kaohsuing , Taiwan ; Subic Bay , Republic of the Philippines ; Hong Kong ; San Francisco , California ; and Acapulco , Mexico . Ware was a member of Task Group 77 . 1 on " Operation Sea Dragon " , the destruction of North Vietnamese radar complexes . In almost twenty missions , 1080 rounds of ammunition were expended at enemy targets . On five occasions the enemy returned fire , but no hits or casualties were sustained . In all , Ware spent 90 days in the combat zone before returning to Mayport on 19 September 1967 . Over 61 , 000 miles were traveled with 58 underway replenishments accomplished to provide Ware her logistical requirements . On 2 March 1968 , Ware left Mayport for a deployment to U . S . Middle East Force . Ware ' s route to and from the Middle East stretched 11 , 000 miles each way between Mayport and Port Louis , Mauritius . During the 195 day deployment , Ware steamed 46 , 122 miles and crossed the Equator six times . Ware men distributed more than 250 cartons of " Handclasp " gifts of the Navy and American people to hospitals , schools , and orphanages . Ware was relieved of her MIDEASTFOR duties on 7 August 1968 , and arrived back in Mayport , Florida on 12 September 1968 , once again part of the U . S . Second Fleet . On 22 May 1969 the ship began a four month major overhaul at the Charleston Naval Shipyard . Upon completion of overhaul , the ship was underway for Guantanamo Bay , Cuba for refresher training . When training was completed Ware received her Operational Readiness Inspection ; among other accomplishments , Ware was awarded the highest grades in anti - submarine warfare given any destroyer in recent years . On 27 August 1970 , Ware sailed for the Mediterranean for the first time since 1965 , to begin a seven month deployment . The deployment for Ware meant long hours of fleet steaming ranging from carrier operations to screening amphibious support ships . She participated in every kind of exercise from National Week to steaming with Italian ASW research vessels . Shortly after her arrival , Ware found herself along with much of the U . S . Sixth Fleet in the eastern zone of the Mediterranean as civil war erupted in Jordan . During the deployment the ship visited Palma and Barcelona , Spain ; Suda Bay , Crete ; Brandisi ; Naples , and La Spezia , Italy ; Cannes , France ; and Malta . The year 1972 found Ware in her home port preparing for an INSURV Inspection in March . Ware later conducted local operations and qualified for Naval Gunfire Support during a trip to Cuba and San Juan , Puerto Rico in July . On 27 September 1972 , Ware departed Mayport for a deployment to Middle East Force . The cruise would take her around the globe for the first time in her 28 year history . Ports visited en route MIDEASTFOR were Port of Spain , Trinidad ; Recife , Brazil ; Luanda , Angola ; Lourenco Marques , Mozambique . On 1 November 1972 Ware sailed into Mombasa , Kenya where she became part of MIDEASTFOR . She sailed from Mombasa to Bahrain Island then to sea again as she participated in " Operation Mid - Link " with Navies from Iran , Pakistan , and Great Britain . At the close of " Operation Mid - Link " the Ware crew celebrated Thanksgiving while at anchor off Bandar Abbas , Iran . Ware then set sail for Karachi , Pakistan and then to Jiddah , Saudi Arabia . Prior to departure from Jiddah , Ware embarked with 20 men from the Royal Navy of Saudi Arabia for a training cruise . During the cruise and on the way to Bahrain the Ware was on the scene of a collision of two super tankers ( the Horta Barbosa and Sea Star ) in the Gulf of Oman . Ware assisted in the search and rescue of the crews of the tankers , receiving 31 survivors on board and provided medical treatment . Ware transported 29 survivors to Bahrain for further treatment and transportation to their homes . Ware ' s action resulted in messages of " Well Done " from the Chief of Naval Operations and other senior military and civilian authorities . Ware spent Christmas in Bahrain , then on 3 January 1973 set sail for Kuwait ; Massawa , Ethiopia ; Djiboute , AFARS ; Mombasa , Kenya ; Victoria , Seychelles ; and Port Louis Mauritius , where on 24 February 1973 she was relieved of her duties in MIDEASTFOR . Ware then began her long trek home visiting Colombo , Sri Lanka ; Singapore ; Hong Kong ; Yokosuka , Japan ; Midway Island ; Pearl Harbor , Hawaii ; San Diego , California ; Manzanillo , Mexico ; Rodman , Canal Zone and on 21 April 1973 she returned home to Mayport completing a 207 day trip around the world . § M . R . Dupray " Charles R . Ware " was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 November 1974 and sunk as a target in the Caribbean on 15 November 1981 .