USS ''Hale'' (DD-642), a , was the second ship 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 ...
to be named for
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Eugene Hale
Eugene Hale (June 9, 1836October 27, 1918) was an American politician who was a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senator from Maine.
Biography
Born in Turner, Maine, he was educated in local schools and at Maine's Hebr ...
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world's largest ...
,
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Bath is included in the Brunswick, Maine, Brunswick Micropolitan statistical area, micropolitan area. Bath has a 2024 population of 8,870. It is also the county seat of Sagadahoc County ...
; sponsored by Mrs. G. H. Chase, granddaughter of Senator Hale; and commissioned 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 ...
15 June 1943.
''Hale'' conducted shakedown training 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 ...
and training exercises on the East Coast before departing Halifax for the Pacific combat zone 21 September. She arrived
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 ...
via 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 ...
9 October 1943.
''Hale'' departed 8 November 1943 for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands, the first step in America's amphibious sweep across
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
. She screened
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
s in strikes on
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
Betio
Betio is the name of both an island and a township within the Tarawa Atoll, part of the Republic of Kiribati. Betio is the largest township of Kiribati's capital city, South Tarawa, and it is also the country's primary port. Betio is located on ...
Marines
Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
next day. During the air attacks that followed, ''Hales gunners accounted for several aircraft. After covering the retirement of damaged carrier ''Independence'' (CVL-22) for 2 days she rejoined the carrier striking force for attacks against the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The territory consists of 29 c ...
, next target of the Pacific amphibious forces.
1944
''Hale'' to Pearl Harbor 8 December to train the next assault and sailed 21 December for the
Ellice Islands
Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...
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 ...
atolls 29 January to 22 February, before and after the landings. Executive officer LT CDR D.W. Wilson assumed command 2 March. Underway from Kwajalein 11 March, she sailed to
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
to perform anti-submarine patrol during the loading operations, and departed 27 March escorting reinforcements to Cape Torokina, Bougainville.
After acting as antisubmarine screen and screening ship for
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 ...
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
, ''Hale'' returned to
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II. In German, "Seeadler" means sea eagle, pointing to German New Guinea, German colonial activi ...
4–7 May. She then steamed to the Solomons for the final rehearsals for the
Marianas campaign
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Campaign Plan Granite II, was an offensive launched by the United States against Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific between June and November 1944 during the Pacific War. The campaign ...
. The ship then took part in pre-invasion strikes on
Guam
Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, returned briefly to
Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...
14 July, to support the Guam landings 21 July.
''Hale'' returned to Eniwetok 4 August 1944, and departed 6 days later for assault and support operations in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
an waters preparatory to the Leyte landings. She got underway with troop transports bound for
Manus
Manus may refer to:
Relating to locations around New Guinea
*Manus Island, a Papua New Guinean island in the Admiralty Archipelago
** Manus languages, languages spoken on Manus and islands close by
** Manus Regional Processing Centre, an offshore ...
on 15 September, and departed 14 October with the Southern Attack Force bound for the
Philippines
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 ...
. On 18 October her group was joined by ''Nashville'' (CL-43), with General
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
embarked. ''Hale'' entered
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf, also known simply as the Leyte, is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the ...
early 20 October and helped troop units take Dulag airfield by providing accurate fire support. She then joined Rear Admiral Clifton A. F. Sprague's escort carriers 25 October after their valiant fight in the
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 ...
.
The destroyer next joined escort screening units for troop reinforcements at Morotai and landed them at
Tacloban
Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...
,
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 ...
, 14 November. After another such voyage from Hollandia to Leyte in November, aiding the buildup in the Philippines, ''Hale'' sailed 24 November via New Guinea, the Marshalls, and Pearl Harbor arriving San Francisco 22 December 1944.
1945
''Hale'' returned to the Pacific war in early 1945, arriving Pearl Harbor 25 February. Sailing to
Ulithi
Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State.
Name
The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...
, she departed 14 March with Rear Admiral
Forrest Sherman
Forrest Percival Sherman (October 30, 1896 – July 22, 1951) was an admiral in the United States Navy and the youngest person to serve as Chief of Naval Operations until Admiral Elmo Zumwalt in 1970. The and the airfield at Naval Air Stat ...
's ''Essex'' (CV-9) carrier task force to attack enemy air installations prior to the landings on Okinawa. The group suffered casualties, including ''Franklin'' (CV-13) and ''Wasp'' (CV-18) from air attack 19–21 March as ''Hales gunners shot down several of the attackers. Departing the seas off
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
proper, the carrier force screened by ''Hale'' and other destroyers turned to
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 ...
, flying close support and bombardment missions before, during, and after the initial assault 1 April. During the harrowing period off Okinawa ''Hale'' rescued two fighter pilots, drove off innumerable
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 ...
attacks and survived a near miss during a bombing attack. The veteran destroyer departed Okinawa 11 April and after stops at Ulithi and Guam arrived Leyte Gulf in the screen of ''South Dakota'' (BB-57) 1 June 1945. She then escorted ''Washington'' (BB-56) to Guam and met tug ''Munsee'' (AT-107), towing the bow section of
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 operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
typhoon
A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
off Okinawa, and brought her to
Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwat ...
. The ship then sailed to join the 3d Fleet at Leyte Gulf 21 June.
''Hale'' departed as a unit of Admiral
Marc Mitscher
Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during World War II.
E ...
's famed
Task Force 38
The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...
, 1 July 1945, bound for crippling strike against Japan itself. ''Hale'' took part in shore bombardment of factories at
Hamamatsu
is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...
29 July.
As the war against Japan ended 15 August, ''Hale'' tool up duties as air-sea rescue ship offshore during the landing of occupation forces. She 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 ...
16 September 1945, and departed 1 October for the United States carrying 100 veterans. She arrived
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
19 October 1945 and was placed in commission in reserve at
San Diego
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 ...
until decommissioning 15 January 1947.
1951 – 1960
With the outbreak of the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
and the increase of tension throughout the world, ''Hale'' was taken out of reserve, commissioning at
Long Beach
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
24 March 1951. After a shakedown cruise she sailed via the Panama Canal to her new home port, Newport, R.I., arriving 11 July 1951. After refresher training she departed 22 April 1952 to serve with the 6th Fleet in
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 ...
waters in support of American diplomacy in this vital and troubled region. After stopping at 16 ports in the course of her operations, ''Hale'' returned to Newport 23 October 1952. For the next 1½ years the destroyer performed a variety of tasks: antisubmarine training and development exercises off the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
coast, plane guard duty or carrier operations in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
, and a training cruise for
midshipmen
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afric ...
of the
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 ...
.
After a modernization overhaul at
Philadelphia Navy Yard
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries.
Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...
, September 1953 to January 1954, ''Hale'' departed 1 June 1954 for a world cruise. Transiting the Panama Canal and entering the Pacific she proceeded to the Far East. She formed a part of America's ever-present naval strength lending stability to the area. Transiting 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 ...
17 November 1954, she visited many ports in 6th Fleet waters before returning to Newport 18 December 1954.
''Hale'' continued her vital pattern of readiness exercises including serving as the Destroyer Force Gunnery School Ship at Newport, until 6 November 1956. Getting underway for the Mediterranean once more, she rendezvoused with 6th Fleet ships and stood by in the eastern Mediterranean during the
Suez crisis
The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
, helping to avert a larger conflict and protecting American interests. She returned to Newport 20 February 1957.
In June ''Hale'' participated in one of the greatest international naval reviews in history, joining some 60 U.S. ships and vessels of 17 other nations in the 350th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. A second Midshipman cruise and
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
exercises in the North Atlantic closed out 1957. She began her second world cruise 23 July 1958, sailing to
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 ...
, through the Suez Canal to
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and Japan, and back to San Diego after operations with the 7th Fleet off
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. She returned to Newport port via the Panama Canal 24 November 1958.
In the Mediterranean from August 1959 – February 1960 ''Hale'' continued a peace-keeping and goodwill role. She returned to Newport 26 February 1959. After a period of important experimental work in
antisubmarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...
with nuclear
submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s, ''Hale'' decommissioned at Boston 30 July 1960.
''Hale'' received six
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
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 ...
service.
ARC ''Antioquia'' (DD-01)
''Hale'' was transferred to
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
23 January 1961 under the Military Assistance Program and served as ARC ''Antioquia'' (DD-01). ''Antioquia'' was stricken 20 December 1973 and broken up for scrap.