USS Young ( DD - 312 ) The first USS " Young " ( DD - 312 ) was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I . She was named for John Young . History . " Young " was laid down on 28 January 1919 at San Francisco , California , by the Union Iron Works Plant of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation ; launched on 8 May 1919 ; sponsored by Mrs . John R . Nolan ; designated DD - 312 on 17 July 1920 ; and commissioned on 29 November 1920 , Lieutenant H . J . Ray in command . " Young " fitted out at the Mare Island Navy Yard into December . Assigned to Division 34 , Squadron 2 , Pacific Fleet Destroyer Force , the destroyer remained inactive in the San Diego , California area through the end of 1921 . " Young " departed San Diego on 14 January 1922 , bound for Bremerton , Washington , and , proceeding via San Francisco , California , reached the Puget Sound Navy Yard on the 18th . Overhauled at Puget Sound , the destroyer departed the yard on 3 April and arrived at her home port , San Diego , on the 8th . The remainder of the year passed fairly uneventfully , with the destroyer continuing her largely anchored existence in San Diego harbor . However , she did fire short - range battle practices , operated briefly off the Mexican Coronados Islands , and recovered torpedoes for during the autumn of the year 1922 . The in - port routine changed the following year , when " Young " departed San Diego on 6 February 1923 and headed for Panama . En route , she stopped briefly at Magdalena Bay , the traditional target practice grounds for the Pacific Fleet , and fueled from before proceeding on south to the Pacific side of the Panama Canal Zone . " Young " participated in Fleet Problem I over the ensuing weeks . In this , the first Fleet Problem held by the United States Navy , the Battle Fleet was pitted against the Scouting Fleet augmented by a division of battleships . During the war games , " Young " performed antisubmarine screening for the dreadnoughts of the Battle Fleet and , when the scenario of exercises called for it , dashed in and made simulated torpedo attacks on the " enemy " battlewagons of the augmented Scouting Fleet . Upon completion of one phase of the exercises , she was present in Panama Bay when Secretary of the Navy Edwin C . Denby , accompanied by a party of congressmen embarked in the transport , reviewed the Fleet on 14 March . " Young " later departed Panamanian waters on 31 March and arrived back at San Diego on 11 April . She remained there until 25 June , when she headed north . She called at San Francisco from the 27th to the 29th and arrived at Tacoma , Washington , on 2 July . Two days later , in keeping with the occasion , " Young " sent her landing force ashore to march in Tacoma ' s Independence Day parade . After shifting to Seattle , " Young " underwent a period of upkeep alongside between 16 July and 17 August . During that time ; , on 23 July , President Warren G . Harding , on a cruise to Alaska in " Henderson " , reviewed the Fleet - one of his last official acts before his death a short time later . After spending a few days at Lake Washington following her upkeep period alongside " Melville " , " Young " underwent a brief yard period at the Puget Sound Navy Yard before she sailed south , escorting Battle Division 4 to San Francisco Bay at the end of August . En route , " Young " practiced torpedo attacks through smoke screens as part of the slate of tactical exercises . Following a brief period moored at Pier 15 , San Francisco , Division 11 got underway to return to San Diego on the morning of 8 September . As the ships made passage down the California coast , they conducted tactical and gunnery exercises in the course of what was also a competitive speed run of . Ultimately , when the weather worsened , the ships formed column on the squadron leader , . Unfortunately , through an error in navigation , the column swung east at about 2100 , unaware of the danger that lurked in the fog dead ahead of them . At 2105 , " Delphy " - still steaming at - ran hard aground off Padernales Point , followed , in succession , by 6 other ships steaming in follow - the - leader fashion . Only quick action by the ships farthest astern prevented the total loss of the entire group . " Young " , however , became one of the casualties . Her hull was torn by a jagged pinnacle , but she also ran into the still revolving propellers of the which did further damage to her hull . She swiftly capsized , heeling over on her starboard side within a minute and a half , trapping many of her engine and fire room personnel below . Lt . Cmdr . William L . Calhoun , " Young ' s " commanding officer , knew that there was no time to launch boats or rafts as the ship ' s list increased alarmingly following the grounding . Calhoun accordingly passed the word , through his executive officer , Lt . E . C . Herzinger , and Chief Boatswain ' s Mate Arthur Peterson , to make for the port side , to stick with the ship , and to not jump . While the survivors clung to their precarious , oily , surf - battered refuge , Boatswain ' s Mate Peterson proposed to swim 100 yards to a rocky outcropping to the eastward known as Bridge Rock . Before he could do so , however , providentially grounded between " Young " and Bridge Rock , shortening the escape route considerably . The two ships were about 75 yards apart . At that juncture , Peterson dived into the sea and swam through the tumbling surf with a line to the nearby " Chauncey " , which was also aground but in a far better predicament since she had remained on a comparatively even keel . The crew of " Chauncey " hauled Peterson aboard and made the line fast . Soon , a seven - man life raft from the " Chauncey " was on its way to " Young " as a makeshift ferry . The raft ultimately made 11 trips bringing the 70 " Young " survivors to safety . By 2330 , the last men of the crew were on board " Chauncey " ; at that point , Lt . Cmdr . Calhoun and Lt . Herzinger ( the latter having returned to the ship after having been in the first raft across ) left ' Young ' s ' battered hull . In the subsequent investigation of the Honda Point Disaster the Board of Investigation commended Lt . Cmdr . Calhoun for his " coolness , intelligence , and seamanlike ability " that was directly responsible for the " greatly reduced loss of life . " The Board also cited Boatswain ' s Mate Peterson for his " extraordinary heroism " in swimming through the turbulent seas with a line to Chauncey ; Lt . Herzinger drew praise for his " especially meritorious conduct " in helping to save the majority of the ship ' s crew . Rear Admiral S . E . W . Kittelle , Commander , Destroyer Squadrons , subsequently cited Lt . Cmdr . Calhoun ' s display of leadership and personality that saved " three - quarters of the crew of the " Young " " and Lt . Herzinger for his " coolness and great assistance in the face of grave danger . " Also commended by the admiral was Fireman First Class J . T . Scott , who attempted to close off the master oil valve to prevent a boiler explosion , volunteering to go below to the fireroom and go below the floor plates . The water , rapidly rising through the gashes in the ship ' s hull , however , prevented Scott from completing the task . He survived . Twenty men were lost in " Young " , the highest death toll of any of the ships lost in the disaster at Point Honda . Decommissioned on 26 October 1923 , " Young " was stricken from the Navy list on 20 November 1923 and ordered sold as a hulk .