USS ''Rogers Blood'' (APD-115), ex-DE-605, was a

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 ...

in commission from 1945 to 1946.

Namesake

Rogers Blood was born at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

on 29 January 1922. He attended

Manchester Central High School Manchester High School Central is a public high school in Manchester, New Hampshire. Located in the city's downtown, it has an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students. Students attend from Manchester Hooksett. The name was changed from Manc ...

in Manchester and was awarded the Rotary Cup in his senior year as the most outstanding student in his class. Rogers then entered

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

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, New Hampshire, as a member of the Class of 1944. He left Dartmouth and enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...

on 3 January 1942. He accepted a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

as second lieutenant on 13 January 1943, and was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

on 1 February 1944. He served at the Marine Barracks at

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, and at

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. From 21 May 1943, he served in the World War II Pacific Theater of Operations. On 18 February 1944 Blood was serving in the 22nd Marine Regiment when it landed on Engebi Island as part of the invasion of Eniwetok Atoll. While leading his

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

in a charge across open terrain in the face of severe

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ese machine-gun, mortar, and

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

fire to dislodge the heavily entrenched Japanese, he was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

. He was posthumously awarded 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 a ...

and the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

Construction and commissioning

Originally, ''Rogers Blood'' was planned to be the ''Rudderow''-class

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 ...

USS ''Rogers Blood'' (DE-605), and was laid down as such on 12 April 1945 by

Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard The Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard of Hingham, Massachusetts, was a shipyard in the United States from 1941 until 1945. Located on Weymouth Back River, it was owned by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company and operated by the nearby Fore River Shipyard. ...

at Hingham,

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. She was launched on 2 June 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Robert M. Blood. ''Rogers Blood'' was re-classified as a ''Crosley''-class fast transport and redesignated USS ''Rogers Blood'' (APD-115) on 17 July 1945. She was commissioned on 22 August 1945.

Service history

On 8 September 1945, ''Rogers Blood'' departed

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, for Guantanamo Bay,

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, where she completed a six-week

shakedown cruise Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair, refit or overhaul. The shakedown ...

, and was then ordered to

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, to participate with the

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 ...

USS ''Sabalo'' (SS-302) in

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ceremonies which brought approximately 40,000 persons as visitors. She was in the

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, from 31 October 1945 to 15 November 1945, then moved to

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, where she reported to the

Atlantic Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

. On 18 November 1945 she arrived at the

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in Florida for lay-up.

Decommissioning and disposal

''Rogers Blood'' was decommissioned and placed in

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

on 19 March 1946 and berthed at

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, Florida, where she remained until stricken from the

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on 1 June 1960. She was sold on 14 December 1961 to the

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for scrapping.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers Blood (APD-115) Crosley-class high speed transports Ships built in Hingham, Massachusetts 1945 ships