USS ''Heermann'' (DD-532) was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-era in the service of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. The ship entered service in 1943 and took part in several battles during

in the

Pacific theatre of operations The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, including the Philippines campaign,

Battle off Samar The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battle in history, largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar (island), Samar Island, in the Philippin ...

and the

Battle of Iwo Jima The was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, desi ...

among others. ''Heermann'' gained fame during the "last stand of the Tin Can Sailors" in which she and several other destroyers of Task Unit 77.4.3 ("Taffy 3") engaged a far superior Japanese task force during the

in October 1944. ''Heermann'' was the only American destroyer of "Taffy 3" to survive the engagement. Following the end of the war in 1945, the ship was placed in reserve from 1946 to 1951, when the destroyer was reactivated. ''Heermann'' remained in active service until 1957, when the ship was returned to the reserve. In 1961, ''Heerman'' was loaned to Argentina and was renamed ARA ''Almirante Brown'' (D-20) while in service with the Argentinian Navy. ''Almirante Brown'' remained in Argentinian service until 1982, when the ship was decommissioned.

Namesake

Lewis Heermann was born on 3 August 1779 in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He was commissioned as a Surgeon's Mate in the

on 8 February 1802. On 16 February 1804, during the

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Stephen Decatur Commodore (United States), Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was a United States Navy officer. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County. His father, Ste ...

left Heermann in command of the bomb ketch while he led a group of American seamen to board the captured

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

in Tripoli Harbor and set the frigate ablaze. When hostilities with the

Barbary States The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...

closed in 1805, Heermann returned to the United States but soon took leave of absence to study in Europe until 1808 when he returned to active duty in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. Largely due to his pleas for better medical care for the men of the Navy,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

passed a bill authorizing the construction of hospitals at several naval stations, but the first official U.S. Naval Hospitals were not actually built until after Dr. Heermann's death. He was transferred to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in August 1811; and, with the exception of a year in the North for his health and an assignment in 1830 in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

where he served for an unknown time as Fleet Surgeon of the Mediterranean Squadron, he remained there until he died in May 1833.

Description and design

The ''Fletcher''-class design departed from US destroyer design, having a larger

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

than previous classes and more extensive armament. The flush deck added to the strength, but the number of systems aboard the ship led to a cramped design. ''Heermann'' was among the ''Fletcher''-class ships that got a new

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

design. The standard ''Fletcher''-class ship had a standard displacement of and was at full load. The destroyers were long overall and long at the waterline with a beam of and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of at full load. The ''Fletcher'' class were powered by steam from four

Babcock & Wilcox Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. is an American energy technology and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Historically, the company is best known for their stea ...

boilers driving two

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

turbines turning two shafts rated at . The destroyers carried of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...

. The ships had a maximum speed of and a range of at . The ships had a

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

of 273 officers and enlisted personnel. The class were initially armed with five /38 caliber guns in Mk30 dual-purpose turrets for anti-aircraft and surface warfare, aligned along the centreline. Ten

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s were also equipped. Four single-mounted guns and four

20 mm cannon 20 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. The dividing line between smaller-caliber weapons, commonly called "guns", from larger-caliber "cannons" (e.g. machine gun vs. autocannon), is conventionally taken to be the 20 m ...

were equipped for

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

(AA) defense. For

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

defense, six

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

throwers and two depth charge racks were installed. Later, three twin-mounted 40 mm guns and the number of 20 mm cannon increased to eleven on ''Heermann''. This would later change again to five twin 40 mm gun mounts and seven 20 mm cannon. The destroyers also had some armor, with side armor and armor on the decks over the machinery.

Service history

''Heermann'' was launched on 5 December 1942 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co. of

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and sponsored by Mrs. Edward B. Briggs, wife of

E. B. Briggs, USCGR, great-grandson of the namesake. The destroyer was commissioned on 6 July 1943. After shakedown training out of

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, ''Heermann'' joined the 5th Fleet on 21 October 1943 for

Operation Galvanic The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Imperial Japanese Navy, Japan on Tarawa, Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly ...

, the assault on the

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...

. She arrived off

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Harry W. Hill's Southern Attack Force on 20 November. Her guns sank a small enemy craft inside the lagoon and the next two days assisted troops ashore with close-in fire support. With the island secured, she returned to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

for repairs and training which ended on 23 January when she sailed in the screen of an attack transport reserve force. After the American assault on Kwajalein on 31 January ''Heermann'' spent two weeks patrolling off the island and operated in the screen of

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

s which were launching strikes in support of troops ashore, followed up by a visit to Eniwetok Atoll and then bombardment duties of Japan and Parry Island. Following the invasion, the destroyer performed fire support and patrol operations off the atoll during mop-up operations. ''Heermann'' was then assigned to the Third Fleet and Task Force 39 on 18 March 1944 after stopping at Majuro Lagoon and then Port Purvis on Florida Island, in the Solomons. For the next month the destroyer escorted

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s which were occupying Emirau Island and seeking out enemy supply

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

s along the coast of New Hanover. Following a stop at Purvis on 3 June, ''Heermann'' took part in the bombardment of a tank farm on Fangelawa Bay, New Ireland on 11 June, and then performed ASW patrols from the Solomons towards the Admiralty, Caroline, and

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

islands until 26 June. In mid-1944, ''Heermann'' escorted merchant shipping from

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...

and

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. The destroyer returned to Port Purvis and departed on 6 September 1944 with Rear Admiral William Sample's escort carrier force, providing escort during the invasion of the

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

Islands. Following this, the destroyer was detached for operations in the

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Battle off Samar: October 1944

''Heermann'' screened transports and landing ships to the beaches of

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

under the command of recently promoted Commander Amos T. Hathaway, then joined Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague's Escort Carrier Group (Task Group 77.4) which was made up of three escort carrier task units, known as the "Three Taffies" because of their voice calls: "Taffy 1", "Taffy 2", and "Taffy 3". Destroyers and joined her in screening Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague's unit, "Taffy 3" which also included his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

and five other escort carriers. On 25 October 1944 found the task group east of

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

steaming north as the Northern Air Support Group. At 06:45 lookouts observed anti-aircraft fire to the north and within three minutes, were under heavy fire from Japanese Admiral

Takeo Kurita was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Kurita commanded IJN 2nd Fleet, the main Japanese attack force during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. Biography Early life Takeo Kurit ...

's Center Force of four

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

s, six

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

s, two

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s, and 11 destroyers. In an effort to withdraw away to the south from Kurita's force, the escorts began to make

smoke screen A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships. Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...

s to mask the movement of the larger ships. ''Heermann'', on the opposite side of the carriers from the Japanese force at the opening of the battle, steamed into the action at flank speed through the escort carriers which, after launching their planes, formed a rough circle as they made for Leyte Gulf. Smoke and intermittent rain squalls reduced visibility to less than which led to near collisions, with ''Heermann'' forced to avoid the

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

and destroyer ''Hoel''. As the escorts began torpedo runs at the Japanese force, ''Heermann'' began firing her 5-inch guns at one heavy cruiser, , while directing torpedoes at . ''Heermann'' then changed course to engage a column of four battleships whose shells began falling around the destroyer. ''Heermann'' targeted , the column's leader, at which the destroyer launched three torpedoes. Then ''Heermann'' switched targets to , and fired three torpedoes, which were launched from only . The destroyer retreated after believing one of the torpedoes had struck a target. Japanese records claim that the battleship successfully evaded all of the torpedoes from ''Heermann'', but they were slowed in their pursuit of the American carriers. The battleship was forced out of the action altogether after reversing course when caught between two spreads. ''Heermann'' laid another smoke screen along the starboard quarter of the carrier formation and then returned to engage the Japanese force of four heavy cruisers. Here the destroyer dueled with ''Chikuma''. A series of hits stuck the forward section of the destroyer, flooding it and pulling the bow down so far that the anchors were dragging in the water. One of the 5-inch guns was put out of action but in conjunction with strikes from the carrier aircraft forced ''Chikuma'' to withdraw, and the Japanese cruiser sank during her retreat. ''Chikuma''s sister ship took up her sister's battle and engaged ''Heermann'' until the destroyer withdrew to lay more smoke. At this point, support from "Taffy 2" arrived to aid the escorts and aircraft attacked ''Tone'' forcing the cruiser to withdraw. As more support arrived, the Japanese withdrew. For his skillful maneuvering and leadership ''Heermann''s Commanding Officer, Commander Amos Hathaway, was awarded the Navy Cross.

Repairs and return to service

''Heermann'' sailed to Kossol Passage for temporary repairs before making for

Mare Island Mare Island (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait junc ...

and overhaul, which was completed on 15 January 1945. The destroyer was then assigned to fast carrier task forces in the western Pacific. During the

, ''Heermann'' performed

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

and anti-submarine picket duty. On 20 March 1945 the destroyer sank a small surface vessel and rescued seven Japanese crew. Seven days later she took part in the night bombardment of Minami Daito Jima. During the

Okinawa campaign The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

she took several enemy planes under fire as she guarded carriers. On 18 April in collaboration with destroyers , , , and and planes from aircraft carrier , ''Heermann'' sank , a carrier of the ''kaiten''s—human-guided torpedoes. She continued to support carrier operations off

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

until sailing to Leyte Gulf for replenishment and repairs in late June. On 1 July she helped to screen the fast carrier force that devoted the ensuing five weeks to almost continuous air strikes and bombardment. On 15 August 1945 ''Heermann'' was on radar picket station some southeast of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

when, several hours after the announcement of the end of hostilities, a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

emerged from a cloud bank and began to dive in ''Heermann''s direction—only to be splashed by the destroyer's gunners in one of the final naval actions of World War II. In the following weeks ''Heermann'' operated in the screen of the fast carrier task force providing air cover and air-sea rescue service. The destroyer entered

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

on 16 September 1945 and remained in the area to support the occupation forces until 7 October when she sailed for the United States. ''Heermann'' was decommissioned at San Diego on 12 June 1946.

1951–1957

''Heermann'' remained in reserve at San Diego until re-commissioning on 12 September 1951. After training in local waters off California, she departed San Diego on 4 January 1952 for her new base, NS Newport, Rhode Island, where she arrived on 23 January. She spent 1952 training along the eastern coast from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

to the

Virginia Capes The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America. The importance of the Chesapeake Bay in American history has lo ...

, followed by ASW and fleet problems during winter months in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. The destroyer returned to Newport for operations along the Northeastern seaboard. After a voyage to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, England, in June and July 1953, she participated in antisubmarine maneuvers between Newport and the Virginia Capes. ''Heermann'' departed on a world cruise 3 December 1953. First she sailed for

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

, Japan, by way of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, San Diego, and the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

. After a two-day replenishment in Yokosuka, she set course for Okinawa where she acted as part of the escort for 3d Marine Division amphibious warfare landings and conducted barrier patrol in support of the exercise. After more maneuvers took her to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

, and the South Coast of Japan, she returned to Yokosuka which she cleared 22 May 1954 to resume her world cruise, calling at

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

on her way to the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

. In the

she visited

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Villefranche, and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

before returning to Newport 17 July 1954. For the next year and a half ''Heermann'' participated in training exercises along the Atlantic coast. On 1 February she sailed to join the 6th Fleet in exercises along the coast of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. In April she was invited by Prince Rainier to be in port for his wedding to Miss

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...

from 19 to 24 April 1956. ''Heermann'' furnished a 40-man honor guard for the occasion. From

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

she joined the 6th Fleet off

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and then departed for

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

, where she arrived 28 May 1956. ''Heermann'' operated out of Newport until 6 November, when she sailed for the Mediterranean where she proved to be a first-rate antisubmarine ship in joint exercises with the

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

. After revisiting Monaco at the invitation of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, she returned to Fall River 20 February 1957. She served as gunnery school-ship out of Newport until 30 June when she joined in the screen of antisubmarine warfare carrier for two weeks of air operations for the training of

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

midshipmen. She decommissioned at

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

20 December 1957 and was assigned to the Boston Group of the U.S. Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

Argentine service

On 10 August 1961, the ship was commissioned into the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

. On 14 August 1961 ''Heermann'' was formally transferred on a loan basis to the government of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

under terms of the Military Assistance Program. She served in the Argentine Navy under the name ''Brown'' (D-20). The ship was decommissioned in 1982.

Awards

In addition to the United States Presidential Unit Citation, ''Heermann'' received the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and nine

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

s for World War II service.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

*
The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf website by Robert Jon Cox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heermann (DD-532) Fletcher-class destroyers of the United States Navy Ships built in San Francisco 1942 ships World War II destroyers of the United States Cold War destroyers of the United States

Almirante Brown William Brown (also known in Spanish as Guillermo Brown or ''Almirante'' Brown) (22 June 1777 – 3 March 1857) was an Irish sailor, merchant, and naval commander who served in the Argentine Navy during the wars of the early 19th century. Brown ...

Cold War destroyers of Argentina