USS Willis ( DE - 395 ) USS " Willis " ( DE – 395 ) is an , the first United States Navy ship so named . This ship was named for Ensign Walter Michael Willis ( 14 January 1917 – 7 December 1941 ) . He enlisted in the Naval Reserve as a seaman 2d class at Minneapolis . Willis received an appointment as reserve aviation cadet on 22 December 1939 . Six days later , he reported to Pensacola Naval Air Station for flight instruction and , on 14 August 1940 , emerged with his aviator ' s wings . Commissioned an ensign on 10 September , Willis soon joined Bombing Squadron ( VB ) 6 , based in , and flew Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers until early in December 1941 . On the morning of 7 December , as " Enterprise " was returning from Wake Island to Hawaii , the carrier sent up a flight of SBD ' s to scout the water ahead . Willis took off in one of these bombers for what was intended to be a routine flight to Ford Island , the naval air station at Pearl Harbor . However , instead of enjoying an ordinary scouting mission , these planes ran head - on into a war , for they arrived almost simultaneously with the start of the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor . In the ensuing aerial melee , Willis and his gunner were among the Americans shot down . Operational history . " Willis " ( DE - 395 ) was laid down on 17 July 1943 at Houston , Texas , by Brown Shipbuilding Co . ; launched on 14 September 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . Marie E . Willis , the mother of the late Ens . Willis ; and commissioned on 10 December 1943 , Lt . Comdr . G . R . Atterbury , USNR , in command . After fitting - out at Houston and loading ammunition at the San Jacinto Ordnance Depot , " Willis " departed Galveston , Texas , on 5 January 1944 in company with bound for the British West Indies and reached Bermuda on the 10th . Following shakedown , " Willis " departed Bermuda on 3 February - in company with " Kretchmer " and and arrived at Charleston , South Carolina , on the 6th . The destroyer escort underwent post - shakedown availability in the navy yard there over the ensuing week and sailed on 15 February for the Chesapeake Bay , escorting the merchantman to Hampton Roads where she arrived the next day . Two days later , " Willis " then proceeded - in company with to Staten Island , New York , and , upon arrival , reported for duty to Commander , Escort Division ( CortDiv ) 51 . Subsequently , " Willis " joined Task Group ( TG ) 21 . 11 at Hampton Roads on 26 February , the hunter - killer group formed around the escort carrier . Convoy Duty . That day , the task group put to sea for operations in the Central Atlantic that took its ships first to Casablanca - visited from 18 to 22 March - and then to the British West Indies in mid - April . Besides " Bogue " and " Willis " , the group was composed of , , , and . They scored their first success on 13 March when " Hobson " teamed with " Haverfield " , planes from " Bogue " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s Composite Squadron ( VC ) 95 , , and British aircraft to sink U - 575 . " Willis " continued to operate in " Bogue " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s screen into the summer , calling at Casablanca for a second time from 29 May to 2 June , before TG 22 . 2 moved to Bermuda . On 24 June , southwest of the Azores , TG 22 . 2 destroyed another Axis submersible when planes of " Bogue " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s VC - 69 sank the Japanese submarine " I - 52 " . The task group completed that stint of hunter - killer operations on 30 June when it arrived at Port Royal Bay , Bermuda . " Willis " departed Bermuda on 1 July and proceeded to Hampton Roads , where TG 22 . 2 was dissolved upon its arrival there on the 3rd . The destroyer escort then underwent repairs at Bayonne , New Jersey , from 4 to 14 July , after which time she joined CortDiv 51 for a period of refresher training out of Casco Bay , Maine . Proceeding back to Hampton Roads upon completion of those training evolutions , " Willis " moored at the Naval Operating Base ( NOB ) , Norfolk , Va . , on 22 July . The next day , the destroyer escort sailed for Bermuda , again as a unit of TG 22 . 3 and screening " Bogue " . Other ships in the escort carrier ' s screen included " Haverfield " ( with Commander , CortDiv 51 embarked ) " Swenning " , " Janssen " , and . The group conducted antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) training exercises and gunnery drills en route to Bermuda and arrived there on 29 July . " Bogue " and her escorts resumed hunter - killer operations on 2 August . Four days later , " Willis " obtained a sonar contact at 1353 and fired a full " hedgehog " pattern which produced no positive results . A little over a week later , the ship participated in a futile search for a lost plane from " Bogue " . Four days later , however , " Bogue " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s planes scored again : aircraft from VC - 42 found and destroyed U - 1229 . " Willis " arrived on the scene in time to take part in the search for possible survivors but obtained only oil samples from the extensive slick covering the waters in the area . Soon after the search for survivors was discontinued at 1730 , she rejoined " Bogue " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s screen . Four days later , TG 22 . 3 reached the Naval Air Base at Argentia , Newfoundland , for a brief period of in - port upkeep . The group subsequently resumed hunter - killer operations soon thereafter ; and , during the ensuing patrols , " Willis " obtained a sonar contact at 1147 on 14 September . She fired a pattern of " hedgehogs " and made two depth charge runs before she laid a sonobuoy pattern . " Swenning " joined the search at 1600 , and the two destroyer escorts made a coordinated attack . " Willis " and her sistership then combed the area thoroughly throughout the night but finally gave up the hunt at 1906 the following day . The next day , " Willis " contacted a lost carrier plane and vectored her back to her ship . The radio operator on duty in " Willis " was subsequently commended for his action that enabled a lost aircraft and her crew to reach home safely . " Willis " arrived at the New York Navy Yard on 25 September for repairs and got underway again on 7 October , bound for New London , Conn . , in company with most of CortDiv 51 . The destroyer escorts conducted ASW exercises out of New London for a week before they moved to Norfolk ; whence , on 23 October they joined TG 22 . 3 and headed for Bermuda , their base for gunnery and ASW exercises from 25 October to 20 November . " Willis " proceeded back to New York for an emergency availability period late in November , reaching the navy yard there on the 25th . Shortly before she left the yard to shift to Pier 92 , New York , on 28 November 1944 , the ship received the Presidential Unit Citation " for outstanding performance in combat as an escort vessel in two task groups with USS " Bogue " during the periods : 26 February to 19 April 1944 , and 4 May to 3 July 1944 . " The destroyer escort sailed on 4 December for ASW operations with TG 22 . 3 , again formed around the now famous " Bogue " . In ensuing days , the group operated off the northeastern seaboard , running into rough weather over a week after their departure from New York . At 1030 on 13 December , the wheelhouse inclinometer in Willis registered one roll of 62 degrees . The ships did not experience good hunting but investigated numerous sonar and radar contacts with negative results . On 16 December , " Willis " moored at the convoy escort piers , Norfolk , where she remained through Christmas . Underway for the British West Indies on 26 December , " Willis " and the rest of TG 22 . 3 operated out of Bermuda , conducting ASW exercises from 28 December 1944 to 14 January 1945 before heading north and touching at New York City en route to Casco Bay for gunnery and ASW maneuvers . " Willis " planeguarded for " Bogue " in the carrier qualification areas off Quonset Point and Narragansett Bay before the destroyer escort put into the New York Navy Yard for availability . She returned north upon completion of those repairs and alterations and resumed her training out of Casco Bay . After another brief , unscheduled availability - this time at the Boston Navy Yard , " Willis " again resumed training in Casco Bay before she shifted south to conduct ASW exercises out of New London . At the end of March , she became part of Task Unit ( TU ) 22 . 3 . 1 to conduct further training exercises before joining TG 22 . 14 on the last day of the month . For most of the first week of April , " Willis " carried out a scouting patrol well off the eastern seaboard before proceeding to Hampton Roads , arriving at Norfolk on 8 April . Underway again two days later , the destroyer escort shifted north , honing her ASW skills in exercises conducted in company with " Bogue " off the coast of Rhode Island , putting into Melville , R . I . , in mid - April . On 16 April , " Willis " cleared Melville as part of TG 22 . 3 to conduct hunter - killer operations - known as Operation " Teardrop " - on " barrier patrol " to prevent the penetration of U - boats to the east coast of the United States . Four days out of Melville , TG 22 . 3 rendezvoused with TG 22 . 4 . At 0840 on 24 April , U - 546 torpedoed and sank , one of the other escort destroyers in combined screen . A search immediately began ; and a covey of escorts flushed out the enemy submersible and sank her in a determined attack . Three days later , " Willis " picked up a sonar contact and decided that it was " a possible enemy submarine . " The destroyer escort fired a " hedgehog " pattern and was soon joined by , who likewise fired her " hedgehogs " at 2138 . Both ships then began a retiring search in which they were soon joined by " Swenning " and " Janssen " . At 0040 the next day , the 28th , , , and joined forces with the four escorts already searching the area , but none of the ships achieved positive results . On 30 April " Willis " , in company with " Swenning " , TU 22 . 7 . 1 and TG 22 . 8 , left the screen of the task group to investigate a disappearing radar contact reported by aircraft from . Rejoining TG 22 . 3 on 1 May , " Willis " suffered minor storm damage when a heavy wave tore loose her number 1 gun shield , ripping a hole in the deck ; but a damage control party patched the tear as the ship proceeded independently to Bayonne , N . J . , for permanent repairs . While the destroyer escort was there , Germany surrendered at Reims , France , on 7 May , ending the war in Europe . Upon completion of the repairs , " Willis " , now earmarked for service in the Pacific , a theater of war - underwent a month - long availability at the Norfolk Navy Yard before sailing for Guantanamo Bay , Cuba to conduct refresher training . From 2 to 15 July , the ship carried out those evolutions , after which time she sailed in company with most of the ships in CortDiv 7 for the Canal Zone . Transfer to the Pacific . Transiting the Panama Canal between 17 and 19 July , " Willis " reached San Diego , Calif . , on 26 July and pushed on toward Hawaii at the end of the month . She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 7 August and reported for duty to the Commander , Destroyers , Pacific Fleet . For " Willis " , however , there were to be no more active combat operations - because a week later , Japan - reeling under the unexpected power of a pair of atomic bombs - capitulated . World War II was over . Post War Activity . " Willis " trained in the Hawaiian Islands until 20 August and then departed Pearl Harbor , bound for the Marianas as part of TU 12 . 5 . 1 . She reached Saipan on 30 August but got underway again the next day , escorting to the Marshalls . The ships reached Eniwetok Atoll on 3 September . " Willis " subsequently escorted the attack transport to Saipan between 6 and 9 September and , on 13 September , proceeded from Saipan to Guam , reporting for duty upon arrival to Commander , Submarines , Pacific Fleet . She remained on operations out of Guam , probably as a target vessel for submarines , through the end of the year . She ultimately departed Apra Harbor , Guam , on 10 January , bound for home . Reaching San Pedro on 28 January , via Pearl Harbor , " Willis " transited the Panama Canal on 19 and 20 February and reached Houston on the 26th . From there , she pushed on to Green Cove Springs , Fla . Decommissioned on 14 June 1946 , " Willis " was placed in reserve and berthed at Mayport , Fla . Reserve Status , Decommissioning , and Final Status . " Willis " remained inactive for the next decade in Florida waters until transferred to the Philadelphia group of the Reserve Fleet on 29 August 1957 . She remained there into the 1970s . Never modernized , " Willis " was considered " unessential to the defense of the United States " by mid - 1972 ; and , on 1 July of that year , her name was struck from the Navy list . She was stripped and , on 17 August 1973 , was sold to Edward O . Sanchez , of New Bedford , Mass . , and scrapped . Awards and Citations . " Willis " was awarded one battle star for her World War II service and three Presidential Unit Citations for her work with " Bogue " in the Battle of the Atlantic .