USS Alvin C . Cockrell ( DE - 366 ) USS " Alvin C . Cockrell " ( DE - 366 ) was a acquired by the U . S . Navy during World War II . Decommissioned several times , in addition to serving in the World War , she also served during the Berlin Crisis of 1961 . She was laid down on 1 May 1944 at Orange , Texas , by the Consolidated Steel Corp . ; launched on 27 June 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . James A . Perkins , the sister of the late 1st Lt . Cockrell ; and commissioned on 7 August 1944 at her builder ' s yard , Lt . Comdr . Merrill M . Sanford , USNR , in command . World War II . After initial fitting out alongside the City Docks at Orange , " Alvin C . Cockrell " shifted to Galveston , Texas , arriving on 14 October , and continued fitting out at the Todd - Galveston Shipbuilding , Inc . , yard . Completing these preparations for service on 25 October , she sailed for Bermuda that afternoon in company with her sister ship , for shakedown training . Arriving at noon on the last day of October , the new destroyer escort carried out her shakedown training out of Bermuda until 29 November , after which time she sailed for Boston Navy Yard and post - shakedown availability . Underway from Boston , Massachusetts , on 10 December , " Alvin C . Cockrell " arrived at Norfolk , Virginia , the following day . On 15 December , " Alvin C . Cockrell " sailed from Norfolk , and escorted the attack transport to the Panama Canal Zone , arriving there on the 20th . Transiting the canal the same day , the destroyer escort then proceeded independently to San Diego , California , arriving there three days after Christmas of 1944 . She sailed thence for the Hawaiian Islands , reaching Pearl Harbor on the afternoon of 7 January 1945 . " Alvin C . Cockrell " then spent the next several days operating locally out of Pearl Harbor , conducting target practice , serving as a target for a division of motor torpedo boats , undergoing an availability alongside the destroyer tender , and carrying out gunnery exercises with student officers from the Destroyers , Pacific , gunnery school manning gun control stations . On 17 January , the destroyer escort , accompanied by " French " , sailed from Hawaiian waters for the Marshalls as escort for convoy PD - 256 - T — one transport and five attack transports . Reaching Eniwetok on 25 January , the destroyer escort remained there only briefly , getting underway for the Palaus the following day and convoying the same half - dozen ships she had shepherded from Hawaii . Detaching the transport to proceed independently to Ulithi Atoll , the convoy proceeded on , reaching its destination , Kossol Roads , on the last day of January . Over the next several weeks , " Alvin C . Cockrell " escorted convoys between Eniwetok , Guam , Saipan , Ulithi , and Kossel Roads , and , when required , served as harbor patrol and air - sea rescue vessel . She carried out her first air - sea rescue mission on 23 February 1945 , when she sailed from Ulithi to go to the assistance of a Martin PBM - 3D " Mariner " flying boat from Patrol Bombing Squadron 22 that had been forced down by engine trouble . Underway at 1008 , " Alvin C . Cockrell " proceeded at flank speed , guided to the scene by a " Dumbo " plane overhead . She put her whaleboat over the side as she neared the " Mariner " , to take off the crew and attempt to take the aircraft in tow , and soon had seven of the nine enlisted men ( two had remained on board to handle towlines ) , and the three officers from the crew on board . While the destroyer escort screened the operation , " Alvin C . Cockrell " managed to get the plane under tow by 0910 the following day , after which time the destroyer escort set out for Ulithi . Unfortunately , soon after the remaining crewmen from the plane were taken on board , the towline parted . Further attempts at salvage by Manlove proved fruitless and , ultimately , the " Mariner " ( one wing of which had been damaged in the initial attempt to get a line to it ) had to be sunk by gunfire . The next instance of rescue occurred on 22 March 1945 , while the ship was stationed on harbor entrance patrol at Apra Harbor , Guam . At 1540 on that day , " Alvin C . Cockrell " received orders to depart from her patrol station for an air - sea rescue mission 12 miles from Orote Point . Once again guided by aircraft overhead , the destroyer escort spotted a life raft and its two occupants shortly before 1800 , and by 1804 the ship had brought on board Lt . ( jg . ) Kenneth B . Coleman , USNR , and Aviation Radioman 3d Class H . Moorhead . Transferring them to a picket boat sent out for that purpose , Alvin C . Cockrell then resumed patrolling her station . In June , while at Kossol Passage , in the Palaus , she was directed to put to sea to search for reported airplane wreckage . In company with the destroyer escort , she searched the assigned area on 14 June and the days following , but found nothing . A similar search conducted off Peleliu during the waning days of July 1945 also yielded no trace of downed planes or pilots reported in her vicinity . The final month of the war , August 1945 , began with " Alvin C . Cockrell " operating with the Palau Island Patrol and Escort Unit , keeping watch on the by - passed Palaus and the Japanese garrisons there . On 2 August , the ship departed her patrol station on orders to pick up two men from a raft reported by a patrol plane . The two turned out to be Japanese soldiers or laborers attempting to escape from Babelthuap and hoping for an American ship to pick them up . " Alvin C . Cockrell " turned them over to a small boat for transfer ashore , and resumed her patrol . On 5 August , however , while operating in the Peleliu - Angaur antisubmarine screen , " Alvin C . Cockrell " received orders to proceed at full speed to the scene of the sinking of the heavy cruiser . She arrived in the area at 0600 , and commenced a search in company with the destroyers , , and and the destroyer escort . One flying boat orbited overhead . With each ship proceeding to cover an assigned sector , " Alvin C . Cockrell " began finding grim evidence of the tragedy that had befallen the cruiser . She sighted two empty rubber rafts at 1007 , and recovered an unidentified body at 1115 , quickly burying it at sea . A half - hour later , at 1145 , the ship spotted several other corpses — six of which were given a burial soon thereafter . Only one of the six was identifiable , and the advanced state of decomposition in all indicated that they had been dead for several days . Many had life jackets , and a few had clothing . The destroyer escort sighted very little debris or wreckage by that point , and " no signs of any live survivors . " Eventually ordered to break off the search and return to her regular operating base , " Alvin C . Cockrell " departed the area at 0622 on 6 August to return to Peleliu . End - of - war activity . The end of the war in mid - August saw " Alvin C . Cockrell " still assigned local operations out of Peleliu . These lasted until 19 August , when she joined other units of Escort Division ( CortDiv ) 86 at Ulithi . She then proceeded to Okinawa for duty with the U . S . 5th Fleet , reporting on 26 August . " Alvin C . Cockrell " departed Buckner Bay on 9 September 1945 , bound for Japan with Task Unit ( TU ) 56 . 5 . 2 — one light cruiser , an escort carrier , a dock landing ship , two hospital ships , a seaplane tender and a Coast Guard cutter ; three destroyer escorts ( including Alvin C . Cockrell ) and three fast transports ( converted from destroyer escorts ) rounded out the screen . Steaming for Wakanoura Wan to evacuate Allied prisoners of war ( POWs ) , the task unit reached Kii Suido and entered Wakanoura Wan in the wake of the minesweeping group on 11 September . The task unit anchored at 1820 that day . With the completion of the evacuation — part of her ship ' s company serving on ashore during that time — on 15 September , the destroyer escort was assigned to Task Force 51 the same day . After riding out a typhoon that swept through the area on 17 and 18 September , " Alvin C . Cockrell " operated as one of four destroyer escorts serving as the mine screen for the escort carriers and , as those ships ' planes covered the occupation of Wakayama on 24 to 26 September . During this period , the destroyer escort sank two Japanese mines with gunfire . Soon thereafter , " Alvin C . Cockrell " departed Wakanoura Wan in company with French and screening , putting to sea with a search group on 7 October to rendezvous with other ships looking for a PBM believed down at sea ; among the " Mariner ' s " passengers was Rear Admiral William D . Sample , who was along on the flight to familiarize himself with the area . The special search mission continued on 8 October , and , with short breaks for refueling , continued over the ensuing days until the search was ordered abandoned on 17 October . Occupation duties . Proceeding to Yokosuka , Japan , " Alvin C . Cockrell " stood out of that port on 24 October as part of the screen for Siboney and as the carriers ' planes covered the occupation of Nagoya . The destroyer escort returned to Wakanoura Wan on 26 October , but sailed thence for Yokosuka the following day , arriving on the 28th . During November and December 1945 , " Alvin C . Cockrell " served as courier ship between Yokosuka , Kure , and Wakayama , shuttling passengers and mail between those ports . She interrupted this routine briefly on 10 and 11 November when she operated with Siboney as the escort carrier conducted gunnery drills and flight training . Post - war activities . Decommissioning . Relieved from duty with the 5th Fleet on 2 January 1946 , " Alvin C . Cockrell " sailed for the United States . She touched briefly at Pearl Harbor on 14 January , and later proceeded thence to the west coast , reaching San Francisco , California , on 22 January . Decommissioned and placed in reserve at San Diego , California , on 2 July 1946 , " Alvin C . Cockrell " remained inactive until returned to active duty with the buildup of the fleet during the Korean War . Korean War . Recommissioned on 27 June 1951 , Lt . Comdr . Thomas R . Pearson in command , " Alvin C . Cockrell " was assigned to Escort Squadron ( CortRon ) 3 , and over the next two years served as a training ship for the Fleet Sonar School , San Diego . She conducted antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) type - training exercises , and served as courier ship between San Diego and Long Beach , California . Deploying to the western Pacific ( WestPac ) for the first time since the end of World War II , " Alvin C . Cockrell " sailed for the Far East in August 1953 . She served as station ship at Hong Kong , for three months before she proceeded to the Philippine Islands and visited Sangley Point and Subic Bay . She also visited Bangkok , Thailand , during this deployment , and operated for two weeks in the Gulf of Siam , training sailors from the Thai Armed Forces Academy at Sattahip , in gunnery and engineering . Returning to San Diego by way of Guam , Midway Island , and Pearl Harbor , the destroyer escort reached San Diego in March 1954 , and operated locally into the autumn of 1955 . Her regular overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard , conducted during March and April 1955 , punctuated that period of local operations , and saw the ship being converted for service as a flagship . Deployed as CortRon 3 flagship . Deploying to the Far East again in October 1955 , " Alvin C . Cockrell " was designated flagship of CortRon 3 in December 1955 . During the course of this cruise , the ship participated in a wide variety of evolutions , ranging from hunter - killer exercises to covering U . S . Marine Corps amphibious landings and convoy escort duties . Her ports of call on this WestPac cruise encompassed Hong Kong , Keelung and Kaohsiung , Taiwan ; Okinawa ; and the Japanese ports of Atami , Sasebo and Yokosuka . Returning to San Diego at the end of March 1956 , " Alvin C . Cockrell " spent the next nine months engaged in local operations out of that port , serving as sonar school ship and participating in several minor ASW training operations . Highlighting the latter period was the ship ' s participation in a fleet review at San Diego on 14 September 1956 . During 1957 , " Alvin C . Cockrell " deployed to WestPac with CortRon 3 , visiting the southern and western Pacific . During the course of this cruise , she visited Kwajalein Atoll , in the Marshalls ; Auckland , New Zealand ; Manus , in the Bismarck Archipelago ; Yokosuka , Japan ; Okinawa ; Kaohsiung ; Singapore ; Hong Kong ; Corregidor , Subic Bay , and Manila . She participated in exercise " Beacon Hill " in the Philippines ; a SEATO ( South East Asia Treaty Organization ) exercise , " Astra " , in the Gulf of Siam and South China Sea with units of the British , Australian , New Zealand , French , and Thai Navies ; and spent a month on surveillance patrols in the Carolines , Marianas , and Bonins , visiting several islands famous in World War II : Guam , Ponape , Iwo Jima , Truk , Tinian , and Saipan . Returning to San Diego in early July , via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor , " Alvin C . Cockrell " underwent her regular overhaul at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard between October 1957 and January 1958 . For the first six months of 1958 , the destroyer escort deployed to the central and western Pacific ; her ports of call included Yokosuka , Hong Kong , and Subic Bay . She participated in a joint Air Force - Navy Operation Handclasp project , a U . S . 7th Fleet weapons demonstration for Asian political and military leaders , and spent two of the six months in the Carolines , Marianas , and Bonins , on surveillance patrol . She returned to San Diego in mid - June 1958 , via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor as in previous deployments . Reassigned to Naval Reserve Training ship duties . After she had brought her fourth WestPac deployment to a close , " Alvin C . Cockrell " was assigned Naval Reserve Training ( NRT ) ship duties with Reserve Escort Squadron 1 , on 1 July 1958 , home - ported at San Francisco . Decommissioned on 17 January 1959 , the ship was designated a Group II destroyer escort in the ASW surface component of the selected reserve and remained " in service " to provide underway training for her own selected reserve crew of inactive reserve officers and men . Two active duty officers and 36 enlisted men maintained the ship , and on the third weekend of each month , a reserve crew of 161 officers and men would embark to steam and train their own ship . For two weeks each year the reserve crew would embark , and , integrated with the active duty men , would carry out a two week reserve training cruise . In May 1959 , the ship moved to her new home port , the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Training Center at Alameda , California . Recommissioned for Berlin Crisis of 1961 . For the next two years the ship maintained this routine , until the Berlin crisis in the autumn of 1961 resulted in a call - up of reserve units . In September 1961 , President John F . Kennedy directed that all ASW surface components of the selected reserve forces report for active duty on 1 October 1961 . Accordingly , " Alvin C . Cockrell " was recommissioned on 1 October 1961 , Comdr . Robert A . Bush in command . After the ship underwent a routine overhaul , her home port was changed to Pearl Harbor . She sailed for Hawaii on 2 January 1962 , and took part in a large - scale , opposed - entry exercise at Pearl Harbor ten days later . Increased tensions in the Far East soon resulted in " Alvin C . Cockrell ' s " sailing for that area of the globe ; following refresher training , the destroyer escort departed Hawaiian waters on 24 February 1962 with CortDiv 72 , which consisted of " Alvin C . Cockrell " ( flagship ) , , and . Proceeding to Subic Bay via Guam and Midway Island , " Alvin C . Cockrell " reported for duty with Task Force 72 upon arrival at Subic on 11 March 1962 . Vietnam War . One week later , on 18 March , " Alvin C . Cockrell " sailed for Da Nang , Republic of Vietnam , for operations with units of the South Vietnamese Navy . She conducted intensive training assistance with units of that force , improving general ship - to - shore communications and providing on - the - job training for Vietnamese sailors . Visiting Hong Kong from 5 to 11 April 1962 , " Alvin C . Cockrell " then proceeded to Subic Bay , for tender availability alongside . Following that period of repairs and upkeep , the destroyer escort sailed for the Gulf of Siam , and conducted operations there between 20 April and 2 May . She conducted a four - day port visit to Saigon , the capital of South Vietnam , and then returned to Subic Bay . " Alvin C . Cockrell " ultimately sailed for Yokosuka on 21 May , and then participated in exercises the first week of June . Proceeding via Midway Island , the destroyer escort reached Pearl Harbor on 18 June 1962 , and commenced a two - week availability alongside the destroyer tender . Return to reserve duties . Sailing thence for San Francisco , California , " Alvin C . Cockrell " reached her destination on 17 July 1962 , and was decommissioned on 1 August 1962 , reverting to " in service " status as a Group II NRT ship . She remained in that status for the rest of her career . During 1963 her two - week active training cruise took her to Hawaiian waters . In 1964 she conducted intensive refresher training at San Diego , California . The cruise for August 1965 found the ship visiting the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Esquimalt . In 1966 she operated out of San Diego . In the summer of 1967 , the ship visited Vancouver and Seattle , Washington , in the course of her two - week cruise . Final inactivation and decommissioning . Decommissioned on 20 September 1968 , " Alvin C . Cockrell " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 23 September 1968 . Her hulk was subsequently utilized in weapons testing , and she was sunk on 19 September 1969 .