USS Harry E . Hubbard ( DD - 748 ) USS " Harry E . Hubbard " ( DD - 748 ) , an " Allen M . Sumner " - class destroyer , is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Commander Harry Hubbard ( 1903 – 1942 ) , who was the captain of the " Meredith " when it was sunk during the Guadalcanal campaign . " Harry E . Hubbard " was launched on 24 March 1944 by the Bethlehem Steel Co . , Staten Island , New York ; sponsored by Miss Jean Hubbard , daughter ; and commissioned on 22 July 1944 , Commander Leonard W . Bailey in command . Service history . World War II . Flagship of Destroyer Squadron 64 , " Harry E . Hubbard " trained precommissioning crews destined for newly constructed warships until sailing for Hawaii on 16 January 1945 . She served as a training ship out of Pearl Harbor until 17 April , then departed for combat She arrived off Okinawa on 8 May 1945 to serve as a picket destroyer , guarding against the day and night waves of Japanese aerial raids and suicide runs of " kamikaze s " . Although the American fleet suffered losses and damage , it had come to stay . As with all previous Japanese weapons , even the " kamikazes " were defeated in their attempt to save this last " stepping stone " to Japan itself . For nearly two months , " Hubbard " fought off the savage raiders , shooting down four suicide planes that tried to crash her at various times . When and were badly damaged in their stand against some 50 " kamikazes " on 11 May 1945 , " Hubbard " , first to arrive on the scene , went alongside " Evans " to render fire - fighting , damage control and medical aid . She gave similar assistance to on 24 – 25 May , shooting down two " kamikazes " as she escorted " Barry " from picket station into Kerama Retto . One enemy plane was disintegrated by " Hubbard " s gunners a bare 50 yards from the ship . " Hubbard " remained off Okinawa until 24 July 1945 , then escorted occupation troops to Jinsen , Korea , and carried the Commander of Destroyer Squadron 64 ( DesRon 64 ) to Chinkai , Korea , to oversee the demilitarization of the former Japanese naval base there . She returned to Jin - sen 7 November 1945 , then based out of Tsingtao , China . She performed escort , mail , and communication service for the North China Occupation force until departing 16 March 1946 , for the California seaboard . She arrived at San Francisco on 28 March 1946 , underwent demobilization overhaul at Oakland , then decommissioned at San Diego on 15 January 1947 . She remained in the Pacific Reserve Fleet until recommissioned 14 May 1949 but decommissioned 12 December without having gone to sea . Korean War . Following the invasion of South Korea , " Harry E . Hubbard " recommissioned on 27 October 1950 , Commander Burres D . Wood in command . After initial shakedown along the coast of California , she departed San Diego on 2 January 1951 for two months of training in Hawaiian waters . She then steamed to assist the U . N . Forces in Korea . Besides helping guard the fast carrier task force making repeated airstrikes against the enemy , she frequently joined in gunstrike missions to bombard coastal rail and communication centers and performed as seagoing artillery to support the advance of land troops . Her bombardment missions were conducted against targets at Yongdae Gap , Wonsan , Songjin , Chingjin , Kyoto , Ohako , Bokuko , Chuminjin , and other enemy strongholds of supply and reinforcement . When was heavily damaged by an underwater explosion off Wonson 11 June 1951 , " Hubbard " , with the same skill as off Okinawa in 1945 , moved in to render effective medical and damage control assistance . She returned to the California coast in October 1951 for overhaul and completed a similar tour of duty with the 7th Fleet off Korea July to December 1952 . She returned to San Diego in January 1953 but again departed on 11 July to guard fast carrier task groups patrolling after the was signed in Korea . Intervened by patrol in the Taiwan Straits , this duty continued until 13 January 1954 . She returned to San Diego for overhaul and refresher training along the western seaboard . " Harry E . Hubbard " departed San Diego 11 August 1954 on the first of nine additional Far East tours with the 7th Fleet which were completed by the close of 1966 . During this service , she joined the roving 7th Fleet 6 to 13 February 1955 in moving in under Chinese Communist artillery defenses to cover the evacuation of Chinese Nationalist from untenable positions on the Tachen Islands . In May 1955 , she participated in " Operation WIGWAM " , an underwater nuclear test approximately 500 miles southwest of San Diego , California . In October to November 1956 she diverted from Australia to the " Dewline " in the Northern Pacific to serve on picket patrol during the Suez Crisis . She next joined in combined warfare exercises with SEATO Treaty nations to improve readiness in defending freedom in that part of the world . From time to time , she patrolled the Taiwan Straits to insure Taiwan was not threatened from the Communist mainland of China . She was off Guam in June 1960 , twice guarding the flight of President Dwight D . Eisenhower ' s aircraft during his Far East visit . Vietnam War . During the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of August 1964 , " Harry E . Hubbard " was nearby in the South China Sea screening . The carrier task group struck to destroy North Vietnamese torpedo boats and their supporting facilities . In awarding the Navy Unit Commendation to " Ticonderoga " and her screen , Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze stated that they had " demonstrated the firm intent of the United States to maintain freedom of the seas and to take all necessary measures in defense of peace in Southeast Asia . " " Hubbard " returned to Long Beach on 28 October 1964 for a year of warfare readiness operations along the western seaboard . In October 1965 , she departed for the coast of South Vietnam . In company with in November and December 1965 , she provided gunfire support for two Marine amphibious landings . In the following months , she acted as escort to and during their strike operations in the South China Sea , acting as Harbor Defense ship at Danang and fired more than 1 , 000 rounds of exploding 5 - inch shells into Viet Cong strongholds along the South Vietnamese coast . She returned to Long Beach , California , on 7 April 1966 . The destroyer had drawn nationwide attention on 10 March 1966 when the ABC Television Network included scenes of one of her shore bombardments along the South Vietnamese coast . Awards . " Harry E . Hubbard " shared in the Navy Unit Commendation awarded Task Group 77 . 5 for support operations in the Gulf of Tonkin 2 – 5 August 1964 . She also received six battle stars for World War II and Korean service .