Destroyer Squadron 23 (DESRON 23) is a squadron of

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 ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s based out of

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 ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The squadron is best known for its actions during World War II, most notably the

Battle of Cape St. George The Battle of Cape St. George was a naval battle of the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II fought on 25 November 1943, between Cape St. George, New Ireland (island), New Ireland, and Buka Island (now part of the North Solomons Provin ...

, under the command of then-Commodore

Arleigh Burke Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during th ...

. Currently, the DESRON is assigned to

Carrier Strike Group Nine Carrier Strike Group 9 (CSG-9 or CARSTRKGRU 9) is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. Commander Carrier Strike Group 9 (COMCARSTRKGRU 9 or CCSG 9) is responsible for unit-level training, integrated training, and material readiness for the ships an ...

, which includes , USS ''Chosin'' (CG-65), USS ''Lake Erie'' (CG-70), and

Carrier Air Wing Eleven Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier .

Composition

The current composition of the squadron includes: * Squadron Headquarters, at

Naval Base San Diego Naval Base San Diego is a United States Navy base in San Diego, California. It is the world's second largest surface ship naval base. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the United States Pacific Fleet, consisting of over 50 ships ...

* USS ''John S. McCain'' (DDG-56) * USS ''Russell'' (DDG-59) * USS ''Chafee'' (DDG-90) * USS ''Pinckney'' (DDG-91) * USS ''Halsey'' (DDG-97) * USS ''Daniel Inouye'' (DDG-118)

History

Destroyer Squadron 23 was activated 11 May 1943, at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

, with Captain M.J. Gillan II in command. The original vessels of the squadron were , , , , , , and . On 29 June 1943, Destroyer Squadron 23 became part of Admiral

William F. Halsey William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (30 October 1882 – 16 August 1959) was an American Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the others be ...

's Third Fleet. Less USS ''Aulick'', Destroyer Squadron 23 assumed duty on patrol and escort in the Southwest Pacific. Destroyer Squadron 23 earned its reputation—and a Presidential Unit Citation—under its second commodore, Captain

, who assumed command on 23 October 1943. On 24 November 1943, during the

, the squadron engaged two enemy destroyers and three destroyer transports. In what has been described by tacticians as "near perfect surface actions", the squadron sank three enemy destroyers, and damaged one, without damage to themselves. In the period November 1943 – February 1944, the Little Beavers fought in 22 separate engagements and were credited with destroying one Japanese

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 ...

, nine

s, one

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 ...

, several smaller ships, and approximately 30 aircraft. Destroyer Squadron 23's operations in the Pacific continued through the Liberation of the Philippines. The squadron returned to the United States on 19 October 1945, and were presented the Presidential Unit Citation by Admiral Burke and Secretary of the Navy

James Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet (government), cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle-cla ...

. In February 1946, the squadron was inactivated and the ships were sent to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

for lay-up. On 4 April 1956, the squadron was reactivated as Destroyer Division 231 under the command of Captain E. K. Wakefield, with , , , and . The squadron was rededicated as the "Little Beavers" on 12 December 1956, by Rear Admiral Chester Wood, Commander Cruiser Destroyer Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet in ceremonies at

Long Beach, California 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 ...

. was part of the squadron in 1986. was part of the squadron until her decommissioning in 2015. It is part of

Mascot

The mascot of Destroyer Squadron 23 was Little Beaver, a character made famous by Fred Harman's

Red Ryder ''Red Ryder'' is a Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman which served as the basis for a wide array of character merchandising. Syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, the strip ran from Sunday, Novem ...

cartoon strip. This cartoon was very popular during the squadron's operations in World War II. Due to the high tempo of operations during the squadron's operations in the South Pacific, the ships' crews often said they were busy as beavers. This sentiment led to an illustrated painting by a crewman named James Bowler on the side of one of USS ''Claxton's'' torpedo tubes. The painting depicted Little Beaver shooting an arrow at Japan's Prime Minister Tōjō. During an inspection of USS ''Claxton'', then-Commodore Arleigh Burke observed the painting. He liked it so much that he adopted the logo (minus Tojo) for use by the entire squadron and it remained in use until 2021. Shortly after receiving complaints of the racist caricature remaining in use, submissions were accepted for a new logo. On January 1, 2021, the official Facebook changed its profile to the new logo. Now displaying a large "23", with an arrow crossing behind, and "The Little Beavers" enclosed by a circle, with "Destroyer Squadron" below. Soon after, ships within the DESRON, along with the Headquarters began shifting to new logo.

Commodores

Commodores of the Little Beavers over the years: * M. J. Gillan II (May 1943 – October 1943) * Arleigh A. Burke, (October 1943 – March 1944), later Chief of Naval Operations * T. B. Duncan (March 1944 – July 1945) * W. C. Ford (August 1945 – February 1946) * Decommissioned (February 1946 – April 1956) * E. K. Wakefield (April 1956 – April 1957)
Harry D. Sturr
World War II submarine commander (April 1957 – April 1958) * J. E. Smith (April 1958 – May 1959) * T. H. Morton (May 1959 – February 1960) * T. D. Cunningham (February 1960 – July 1960) * J. L. Kelly, Jr. (July 1960 – June 1961) * F. E. McIntire (June 1961 – September 1962) * Robert A. Schelling (September 1962 – July 1963) * C. R. Dwyer (July 1963 – December 1964) * J. C. Hill (December 1964 – November 1965) * L. E. Davis, Jr. (November 1965 – July 1967) * R. E. Spreen (July 1967 – July 1968) (Later Chief of Naval Ordinance and rank of Rear Admiral) * J. J. Doak (July 1968 – January 1970) * W. H. Rogers (January 1970 – May 1971) * G. M. Neely (May 1971 – February 1973) * Conolly (February 1973 – June 1974) * Donald P. Roane (June 1974 – October 1976) * Stuart D. Landersman (October 1976 – November 1978) * M. L. Treiber (November 1978 – March 1981) * G. C. Flynn (March 1981 – April 1983) * W. H. Kersting (April 1983 – June 1985) * T. A. Barthold (June 1985 – May 1987) * William E. Kelley (May 1987 – March 1989) * W. R. Schmidt (March 1989 – March 1991) * R. L. Miller (March 1991 – December 1992) * Thomas E. Utegaard (December 1992 – July 1994) * K. P. Green (July 1994 – July 1995) * Barry M. Costello (July 1995 – February 1997) * P. M. Garrett (February 1997 – July 1998) * C. W. Patten (July 1998 – July 2000) * R. S. Riche (July 2000 – July 2002) * Charles W. Martoglio (July 2002 – September 2003) * Gordan E. Van Hook,

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

recipient for his actions on (September 2003 – July 2005) * Michael E. Smith (July 2005 – November 2006) * Adam S. Levitt (November 2006 – May 2008) * Troy A. Stoner (May 2008 – July 2009) * James L. Autrey (July 2009 – December 2010) * Jesse Wilson (December 2010 – May 2012) * William J. Parker III (May 2012 − April 2013) * H. Thomas Workman (April 2013 – August 2014) * Paul H. Hogue, Jr.(August 2014 – February 2016) * Tom Williams (February 2016 – March 2017) * William Rockwell Daly (March 2017 – July 2018) * David E. Fowler (July 2018 - October 2019) * Jeffrey Heames (October 2019 – November 2020) * Steven McDowell (November 2020—March 2022) * P.H. O'Mahoney (March 2022—present)

References

External links