USS Haines ( APD - 84 ) USS " Haines " ( DE - 792 / APD - 84 ) , a , was launched by Consolidated Steel Shipbuilding Corp . , Orange , Texas , on 26 August 1943 . Its construction was sponsored by Mrs . Mary V . Haines , wife of the ship ' s name sake . The " Haines " was commissioned on 27 December 1943 with Lieutenant Commander Elmer C . Powell in command . " Haines " was named in honor of Lieutenant Richard Alexander Haines , who served aboard the when it suffered a devastating torpedo hit in the Battle of Tassafaronga on 30 November 1942 . Lieutenant Haines remained at his station to assist in controlling the damage until overcome by asphyxiating gas generated by the explosion . He had given his life to save his shipmates and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism . Service history . Destroyer escort , 1944 . " Haines " conducted shakedown training off Bermuda , and after final acceptance in February 1944 , performed various duties until April . These included escorting a Dutch submarine to the United States from the Netherlands , sailing with a troop convoy to Panama and back , and serving as a training ship for new destroyer escort crews at Norfolk , Virginia . Early in April , " Haines " assumed duty as a target towing ship at Quonset Point , Rhode Island , where she helped ready young pilots for duty with American squadrons overseas Overseas duty was not long in coming for " Haines " . She was soon assigned to a Mediterranean convoy , leaving from New York and arriving at Casablanca on 7 June 1944 . After returning to New York , " Haines " again sailed for the Mediterranean on 30 June 1944 , this time with a carrier task group . The group paused at Malta before proceeding to Alexandria , Egypt to guard against the Axis attack on that port . Detached from the task group , " Haines " next took an active part in the vast armada that invaded southern France . Departing Naples on 13 August , she escorted troop transports to the assault area , and later acted as a screening ship for the gunfire support group offshore . " Haines " continued her escort duties into September as the Allied advance gained momentum , acting as escort to an LST group ferrying supplies from Corsica to France . " Haines " completed her Mediterranean service on 1 November 1944 and sailed for the United States , via Oran . She arrived at New York on 11 December and immediately entered the Brooklyn Navy Yard for conversion into a high speed transport . High speed transport , 1945 . Completed on 1 March 1945 , " Haines " was re - designated APD - 84 . She then served for several months at Norfolk and in Chesapeake Bay as a training ship for fast transport and destroyer escort crews . Receiving orders to return to combat duty , " Haines " sailed from Norfolk for the Panama Canal on 8 August 1945 . She received word of the war ' s end while at Cristóbal , Canal Zone and proceeded to San Diego , California , where she continued to Pearl Harbor in early September . " Haines " was then designated to transport units of the strategic bombing survey team . One of the more significant things the crew of the ship had done was doing a report of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped . Crew member Thomas Magnifico said " The only thing standing was a concrete smoke stack . " After extensive preparations , " Haines " departed from Guam for Japan on 2 October 1945 . For the next two months , the ship stopped at various Japanese ports while technicians and analysts from the strategic bombing survey team gathered data on the effectiveness of the aerial bombardments . " Haines " was detached from this duty at Guam and departed on 6 December 1945 , filled with returning Marines . She arrived at San Diego on 24 December 1945 . Decommissioning and sale . Scheduled for deactivation , " Haines " sailed for the East Coast via the Panama Canal , arriving in Boston on 12 January 1946 . She subsequently sailed to Green Cove Springs , Florida , where she was decommissioned on 29 April 1946 , and went into reserve . " Haines " was struck from the Navy List on 1 June 1960 and was sold for scrap to North American Smelting Co . , on 19 May 1961 . Awards . " Haines " was awarded one battle star for service in World War II