USS Livermore (DD-429)
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USS ''Livermore'' (DD-429), a , was the 1st ship of the United States Navy to be named for
Samuel Livermore Samuel Livermore (May 14, 1732May 18, 1803) was a U.S. politician. He was a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire from 1793 to 1801 and served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1796 and again in 1799. Life and career Livermore ...
, the first naval
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
to be honored with a ship in his name. Originally planned as ''Grayson'', DD-429 was renamed ''Livermore'' 23 December 1938; laid down 6 March 1939 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; launched 3 August 1940; sponsored by Mrs. Everard M. Upjohn, a descendant of Chaplain Livermore; and commissioned 7 October 1940, Lieutenant Commander
Vernon Huber Vernon Huber (August 28, 1899 – June 17, 1967) was a United States Navy rear admiral, and the 36th governor of American Samoa from April 22, 1947, to June 15, 1949. He was born in Philadelphia, Illinois, and was appointed to the United Sta ...
in command.


Service history


Pre World War II

Launched in the aftermath of the fall of France, ''Livermore'', after a brief training period, was assigned 29 April 1941 to the neutrality patrol. With ships like the
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 ...
and sister destroyers, she escorted as far as Iceland convoys bound for England. There ensued a shadowy undeclared war with Nazi wolfpacks. She was on convoy duty with the destroyer when the latter was torpedoed on 17 October. The hazards of this duty for ''Livermore'' also included a temporary grounding on 24 November during a storm and having a friendly battery on Iceland fire across the ship.


1942

The attack on Pearl Harbor and full U.S. participation in World War II enlarged the scope of her actions. On 7 April 1942 ''Livermore'' departed New York for the first of many transatlantic escort missions. Completing her second voyage to
Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
, Scotland on 27 June, she began coastal patrol and convoy duty southward into 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 ...
. ''Livermore'' arrived off
Mehdia Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse. Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as ...
,
French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...
, 9 November for the north African invasion and was assigned antisubmarine, antiaircraft, and fire support duties. Five days later, the invasion force successfully established ashore, she sailed for Norfolk, arriving 26 November.


1943-1944

The year 1943 began with patrol duty off Recife, Brazil, and concluded with a series of five voyages from 14 April to 17 January 1944 between New York and
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, French Morocco. Her departure from
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
on 24 January foreshadowed a prolonged stay in the Mediterranean Sea. Two days earlier
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
forces had landed at Anzio, Italy. ''Livermore'' arrived off this embattled beachhead on 5 March. She provided both antiaircraft protection and shore bombardment support. After rotation to the convoy run between
Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
, Algeria, and Naples, Italy, she participated in the initial landing in southern France on 16 August. While supporting minesweepers on Cavallaire Bay with gunfire, ''Livermore'' was hit by a shore battery. The damage was slight, and her guns silenced the enemy guns. ''Livermore'' continued on duty in the western Mediterranean until 26 October when she steamed out of Oran for overhaul in
New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...
.


Convoys escorted


End of World War II and fate

The war ended in Europe while ''Livermore'' was on the third of a new series of escort crossings between the east coast and Oran. Completing her last transatlantic voyage 29 May, she prepared for duty in the Pacific. Though she departed New York on 22 June, V-J Day found her still training at Pearl Harbor. She reached
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
on 27 September escorting transports carrying soldiers of the Army's 98th Division for occupation duty. Her stay in the Orient was relatively brief; for, after several voyages between
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
, the Philippines, and Wakayama, Japan, ''Livermore'' sailed 3 November for the Aleutians. At Dutch Harbor and
Attu Island Attu ( ale, Atan, russian: Атту, link=no) is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is the westernmost point of the U.S. state of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabite ...
, Alaska, she embarked dischargees for passage to Seattle and San Francisco. Completing this duty 22 December 1945, she proceeded to the east coast, arriving 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 ...
on 18 January 1946. Designated for use in the Naval Reserve Training Program, she was placed in commission, in reserve 1 May 1946. ''Livermore'' then decommissioned and was placed "in service" 24 January 1947, and was assigned to Naval Reserve training in the 6th Naval District. She was reassigned to the
1st Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...
on 15 March 1949. While making one of her training cruises. she ran aground off southern Cape Cod on 30 July 1949. Refloated the next day she proceeded to Boston and was placed out of service 15 May 1950 and inactivated. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 19 July 1956. From 1956 to late 1958, her hull was used for spare parts and experimental purposes. During this time, she was anchored off Indianhead, Maryland. Upon conclusion of the experiments ''Livermore'' was sold 3 March 1961 to Potomac Shipwrecking Co., Pope's Creek, Maryland. She was towed away for scrapping 17 April 1961. ''Livermore'' received three battle stars for World War II service.


References

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External links


navsource.org: USS ''Livermore''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Livermore (DD-429) World War II destroyers of the United States Cold War destroyers of the United States Ships built in Bath, Maine 1940 ships Gleaves-class destroyers of the United States Navy