USS Edwards (DD-619)
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USS ''Edwards'' (DD-619) was a of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named "Edwards", and the first named for Lieutenant Commander Walter A. Edwards (1886–1926), who as commander of in 1922 rescued nearly five hundred people from the burning
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
transport ''Vinh-Long''. For his heroism Edwards was awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor, the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
'' Légion d'honneur'', and the British Distinguished Service Order. ''Edwards'' was launched on 19 July 1942 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. Edward Brayton, widow of Lieutenant Commander Edwards. The ship was commissioned on 18 September 1942.


Service history


1943

After brief service escorting convoys along the east coast and in the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, ''Edwards'' sailed from New York on 8 November 1942 to join the Pacific Fleet. She joined Task Force 18 (TF 18) at Nouméa on 4 January 1943, to cover a large troop convoy bound for
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
. On 29 January, they were attacked by a swarm of Japanese torpedo bombers off Rennell Island. Although most were driven off by the heavy accurate fire of the ships, enough broke through to put two torpedoes into . ''Edwards'' with four other destroyers was detached to screen the damaged
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
. On the following day, as the group sailed for Espiritu Santo, attacks continued. The destroyers put up a stout defense, but ''Chicago'' was torpedoed again and sank. ''Edwards'' rescued 224 of the 1,049 survivors. One of the other screening destroyers, , was also torpedoed. ''Edwards'' saw her safely to port before rejoining her task group. ''Edwards'' returned to Pearl Harbor on 27 March for overhaul, then set sail for the Aleutians on 15 April. She saw action bombarding Attu on 26 April, and as antiscreen for during the landings of 11 May. The following day she teamed with for a 10-hour
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
attack on a
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
which attempted to torpedo the
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
. was forced to the surface and badly damaged by ''Edwards'' guns before diving, only to be sunk by . ''Edwards'' continued to ply Aleutian waters on antisubmarine patrol. In June 1943, she joined the blockade patrol, which bombarded Kiska Island from 2–12 August, and covered the landings on 15 June. After overhaul, she returned to Espiritu Santo in October for training. On 8 November, ''Edwards'' sailed to screen
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s in air strikes on
Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...
on the 11th. A flight of Japanese planes attacked her task group at noon that day; ''Edwards'' and her companions drove off or splashed every plane before they could damage any American ship. She screened the support force at Tarawa from 19 November, then escorted transports to Pearl Harbor ''en route'' to the west coast for a brief overhaul.


1944

On 3 March, she arrived at Majuro off which she patrolled as well as screening strikes on Mili Atoll in the Marshall Islands and in the Palaus by
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s of the
5th Fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...
. In April, she guarded the carriers as they launched air attacks on New Guinea in coordination with the Hollandia landings. ''Edwards'' also featured in the attack on Truk of 29–30 April. From 12 May to 18 August, ''Edwards'' destroyer division formed the Eastern Marshalls Patrol Group. They patrolled off the Japanese-held atolls of Mili,
Jaluit Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large coral atoll of 91 islands in the Pacific Ocean and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon with an area of . Most ...
,
Maloelap The Maloelap Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) (also spelled Maleolap) is a coral atoll of 71 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is only , but that encloses a lagoon of ...
, and
Wotje Wotje Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 75 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Geography Wotje's land area of is one of the largest in the Marshall Islands, and en ...
to keep the enemy from receiving assistance or evacuating. On 22 May, she joined to put several enemy batteries on Wotje out of action. Again off Wotje on 27 June, she ignored shore fire to rescue downed aviators drifting toward shore. The rescued aviators were from a
Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...
F4U Corsair that had crashed into the ocean. A Navy PBY Catalina already had been shot down by Japanese fighter aircraft while attempting to rescue the Marines. In the face of fierce shore fire, a launch boat of six men from Edwards (Lieutenant, junior garde Harold Mann, CPhM Emery Pensak, MoMM1c Andrew Stein Elliott, SM2c John Joseph Crane, Coxswn James Joseph Gonsalves & S1c Richard Stanley) rescued the Marine Corsair aviators without casualty." These six men from the Edwards received the Navy & Marine Corps Medal for their heroism. After overhaul in Pearl Harbor in August 1944, ''Edwards'' reported arrival at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 30 October for patrol. She joined the assault force for the landings at Ormoc on 7 December. Here the destroyer splashed several of the attackers as well as aiding ships they had damaged. A resupply echelon to Ormoc met similar opposition but drove off the planes and got the convoy through. On 7 December, near Ormoc Bay, Philippines, ''Edwards'' removed casualties from while being bombed by Japanese planes. Ten minutes later, she shot down three of the Japanese planes. One of three Japanese planes, after being hit while attempting to dive on ''Edwards'', hit her fantail before crashing into the ocean, leaving a section of its wing on her fantail deck. From 11 to 12 December, ''Edwards'' took aboard casualties from , which had been set on fire by a Japanese '' kamikaze''. ''Edwards'' commanding officer (Lieutenant Commander Simon Everett Ramey USN) received the
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
Medal for this action. But enlisted personnel went undecorated. On 30 December, a Japanese aircraft dropped a bomb that landed about short of the ship, skipped above and over the ship between her smoke stacks, and fell into the water on the other side of the ship.


1945

''Edwards'' remained in the Philippines, shepherding supply convoys through to Mindoro,
Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balili ...
,
Polloc Harbor Parang, officially the Municipality of Parang (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Parang'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: ايڠايد نو ڤارڠ; Iranun language, Iranun: ''Inged a Parang'', ايڠايد ا ڤارڠ; tl, Bayan ng Parang), ...
, and Davao Gulf. On 9 May 1945, she arrived at
Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...
to participating in the invasion of Borneo, returning to Subic Bay on 12 July. She made one voyage to
Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...
, another to Okinawa to escort convoys, then sailed on 16 September for the United States.


Post-war

On 7 January 1946, ''Edwards'' arrived at
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, where she was placed out of commission in reserve on 11 April. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1971, ''Edwards'' was sold on 25 May 1973 and broken up for scrap.


Awards

''Edwards'' received 14 Battle Stars for her World War II service, a total surpassed by only nine other ships in World War II.


References


Further reading

*


External links


navsource.org: USS ''Edwards''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards (Dd-619) World War II destroyers of the United States Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1942 ships Gleaves-class destroyers of the United States Navy Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign