USS Herndon ( DD - 638 ) USS " Herndon " ( DD - 638 ) , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Commander William Lewis Herndon . " Herndon " was launched on 2 February 1942 by the Norfolk Navy Yard , sponsored by Miss Lucy Herndon Crockett , great - grandniece of Comdr . Herndon , and commissioned 20 December 1942 , Comdr . Granville A . Moore in command . World War II Atlantic Service . After shakedown off the Maine coast , " Herndon " escorted a convoy from New York City to Casablanca , returning to New York 14 May 1943 escorting a tanker . Sailing from Norfolk on 8 June , she reached Algiers on 24 June and prepared for a key role in the Sicilian campaign . As Allied amphibious forces under the overall command of General Dwight D . Eisenhower launched the initial strike at " the soft underbelly of Europe " 10 July 1943 , " Herndon " performed antisubmarine patrol duty as well as fire support for Lieutenant General George S . Patton ' s U . S . 7th Army and General Bernard L . Montgomery ' s British 8th Army . Departing the Mediterranean on 3 August , " Herndon " on spent the next nine months escorting troopship s across the Atlantic from New York to various British ports as the massive buildup for the invasion of France hit full strike . On D - Day , 6 June 1944 , " Herndon " was off Omaha Beach , down front in " Bald - headed Row " ahead of the first assault waves . Despite heavy counter fire from enemy batteries , she effectively bombarded enemy targets ashore . " Herndon " remained off the Normandy beaches providing fire support , screening troopships , and antisubmarine patrol until 19 June , when she served as a screen for Allied landings at Baie de la Seine . Further screening duties followed until 11 July , when she reported to Belfast for training as an escort in the Mediterranean . Operation Anvil was the Allies ' next major blow in the struggle to liberate " Festung Europa " . " Herndon " was part of the Joint task force screening carriers 16 August when the invasion of southern France was begun . The battle - trained destroyer remained in the Mediterranean until sailing for New York 3 September . After two weeks of experimental operations in Chesapeake Bay for the Naval Research Laboratory , " Herndon " headed back toward the Mediterranean as a convoy escort 14 October . Returning to the States 12 November , she conducted battle exercises in Casco Bay and escorted convoys along the Atlantic coast through February 1945 . In that month . " Herndon " escorted President Franklin D . Roosevelt on the first leg of his voyage to the historic Yalta Conference . Pacific Service . The veteran destroyer and her crew turned south 21 April 1945 and headed for the still - hot war in the Pacific , reaching Pearl Harbor " via " the Panama Canal and San Diego 15 May . After training exercises and duty as a carrier plane guard , " Herndon " sailed to Eniwetok 12 July and remained in the rear area escorting convoys between Eniwetok , Guam , and Saipan through the end of the long Pacific war . Japanese capitulation came at last with the formal signing of the surrender in Tokyo Bay on 2 September , and " Herndon " proceeded to the China coast to enforce provisions of the peace . Reaching Dairen , Manchuria on 10 September , she continued to Tsingtao , China 16 September . On that day Vice Admiral Kanako , IJN , and his staff came aboard " Herndon " to sign and implement the unconditional surrender of all Japanese - controlled combatant and merchant vessels in the Tsingtao area . Post World War II and fate . " Herndon " spent the fall and winter escorting Japanese prize vessels along the coast , patrolling the Korean and China coasts , and assisting the repatriation of Japanese soldiers and the movement of Chinese Nationalist troops . On 5 December 1945 she was detached from this duty to participate in Operation Magic Carpet , the transfer of veterans from the Pacific to the States , and reached San Diego via Shanghai , Eniwetok , Okinawa , and Pearl Harbor on 27 December . After disembarking some of the veterans , " Herndon " continued on to New York with the rest , arriving 15 January 1946 . " Herndon " arrived Charleston on 28 January 1946 and decommissioned there 8 May and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . She was moved to Philadelphia on January 1947 and in June 1965 was transferred to Orange , Texas . Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1971 , " Herndon " was sunk as a target off Florida on 24 May 1973 . " Herndon " received three battle star s for World War II service .