USS Vance
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USS ''Vance'' (DE-387) was an ''Edsall''-class destroyer escort, named after Joseph Williams Vance, Jr.


Namesake

Joseph Williams Vance Jr. was born on 4 December 1918 in
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. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve on 26 July 1940 as an apprentice seaman. After serving at sea on the during the late summer and early fall, he was appointed midshipman on 22 November and reported to ''Prairie State'' (IX-15) for further training. Commissioned
ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
on 28 February 1941, Vance joined in the
Philippine Islands 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 16 April. Soon after the
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December (8 December west of the date line), ''Parrott'' joined the American-British-Dutch-Australian effort to stem the Japanese tide sweeping down from the north. During the 24 January 1942
Battle of Makassar Strait The Battle of Makassar Strait, also known as the Action of Madura Strait, the Action North of Lombok Strait and the Battle of the Flores Sea, was a naval battle of the Pacific theater of World War II. An American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA ...
, Vance was in charge of the destroyer's 12-tube battery of 21-inch torpedo tubes—in effect the ship's "main battery." On 23 January, DesDiv 58 began a final approach to the town of
Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...
, Borneo, captured only that day by the Japanese. On 24 January, in the initial phase of the Battle of Makassar Strait, three of ''Parrotts torpedoes sank the 3,500-ton transport ''Sumanoura Maru''. Within minutes, ''Parrott'' teamed up with and to sink ''Tatsukami Maru'' with torpedoes. For his gallantry during the first action, Vance was awarded the
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 ...
. He remained on ''Parrott'' through the spring, when he was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) on 15 June 1942. As Allied forces gathered for the assault on Japanese-held
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- ...
, Vance received orders to HMAS ''Canberra'' as a liaison officer with the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
. On 8 August, the Australian cruiser helped to screen American transports off the landing beaches. That night, ''Canberra'' was sunk in the
Battle of Savo Island The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and in Japanese sources as the , and colloquially among Allied Guadalcanal veterans as the Battle of the Five Sitting Ducks, was a Naval warfare, naval battle during the So ...
, and Vance was killed in action.


History

''Vance'' (DE-387) was laid down on 30 April 1943 at Houston, Tex., by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., launched 16 July 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Joseph W. Vance, mother of the late Lt. (jg.) Vance, and commissioned on 1 November 1943. Following shakedown off Bermuda, ''Vance'' became the flagship for Escort Division (CortDiv) 45, a Coast Guard-staffed unit, and convoyed a group of oil tankers from Norfolk, Va., to Port Arthur, Tex., and back. Upon its return to Norfolk, it served as a training ship for destroyer escort crews while awaiting the arrival of the rest of its division. In February 1944, the ship conducted local escort operations before joining the New York section of Convoy UGS-33, bound for Gibraltar. Its section rendezvoused off Norfolk with the remainder of the convoy and its flagship, '' Bibb (WPG-32)'', and set out across the Atlantic. On 7 March, ''Vance'' departed Casablanca with GUS-33 for the return voyage and put into the New York Navy Yard on 23 March for availability. ''Vance'' next got underway on 12 April with the other ships of CortDiv 45 and a destroyer escort division to screen the 102 merchantmen of convoy UGS-39 to Tunisia. Arriving at Bizerte on 3 May, the warship left Tunisian waters eight days later, bound for New York with GUS-39. Off Oran on 14 May, a German U-boat slipped through the screen of escorts and torpedoed two merchantmen. ''Vance'', holding the "whip" position of the screen (where the ship had the duty of shepherding stragglers) came up through the convoy, sighted the periscope, and attempted to ram. The U-boat "pulled the plug" and dove deeper, evading the onrushing escort's sharp bow. ''Vance'' remained on the scene for 10 hours, subjecting the U-boat to
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
and
hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...
attacks, until relieved by a squadron of Navy destroyers. Three days later, after an extensive hunt, the relief ships sank '' U-616''. Altogether, ''Vance'' made eight round-trip voyages to the western Mediterranean and followed each with availability at either Boston or New York. Four times the ship engaged in training exercises out of
Casco Bay Casco Bay is an bay, open bay of the Gulf of Maine on the coast of Maine in the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chart for Casco Bay marks the dividing line between the bay and the Gulf of Maine as running from ...
, sharpening the crew's antisubmarine and gunnery skills. On 14 July 1944, ''Vance'' helped to fight off a German air attack against an Allied convoy off Oran. During most of the voyages, the destroyer escort held the "whip" position in the convoy, a grueling and sometimes frustrating detail since merchantmen frequently displayed a lack of discipline and straggled behind the convoy. Carrying the division doctor on board, ''Vance'' on occasion would take on board men from other ships for medical treatment. On 2 May 1945, ''Vance'' departed New York with its last Mediterranean-bound convoy. On the morning of 11 May, four days after Germany had surrendered, ''Vance'' sighted a light up ahead in the convoy and rang down full speed to investigate. Upon closing on the light, the destroyer escort discovered a surfaced U-boat, , which had been at sea for 50 days. When the submarine began to run, ''Vance'' hailed the erstwhile enemy in German by bullhorn, ordering them to heave to. ''Vance'' placed a
prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. History Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew h ...
on board the U-boat who sailed it to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 16 May. ''Vance'' then underwent alterations to its antiaircraft armament and soon got underway for the Pacific. However, it arrived too late to participate in anything but training operations and returned to the east coast for decommissioning. In mid-October 1945, it underwent a pre-deactivation availability before proceeding south to Green Cove Springs, Fla. On 27 February 1946, ''Vance'' was decommissioned and placed in reserve.


Postwar refit

The ship remained in "mothballs" for the next six years, (''Vance'' was USCGC WDE-487 from April, 1952 to 3 April 54) before it was towed to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in November 1955 for conversion to a radar picket destroyer escort. The extensive alterations involved the addition of: improved air-search radar, extensive communications equipment, and complete facilities for fighter-direction operations. It also entailed the enclosing of the entire main deck areas amidships to provide accommodations for officers and men. Designated DER-387, ''Vance'' was recommissioned on 5 October 1956 at Mare Island. Between March 1957 and the end of the year, ''Vance'' was homeported at Seattle, Wash., as a unit of CortDiv 5 and completed eight patrols on various stations of the Radar Early Warning System in the northern Pacific. Each tour lasted approximately 17 days, and the ship maintained a round-the-clock vigil, with air-search radars, tracking and reporting every aircraft entering or approaching the air space of the northwestern United States. On Labor Day 1957, ''Vance'' drew emergency duty—an engineering casualty prevented the assigned ship from going out—and got underway in a fast 75 minutes. Although it was only staffed at 60 percent of its complement (because many of its officers and men were ashore on leave or liberty and could not be notified in time to return to the ship before it weighed anchor) ''Vance'' was deployed for 12 days and completed a successful mission. On 1 June 1958, the radar picket escort ship's home port was changed to Pearl Harbor; and it began operating with CortRon 7. One month later, it departed Hawaiian waters for a 29-day patrol on the mid-ocean picket lines which provided radar coverage from Alaska to Midway Atoll. ''Vance'' thus became the first ship on the
Distant Early Warning Line The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the north coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska (see List o ...
(DEW line) in the Pacific and the first to sail under the newly organized Pacific barrier patrol. In mid-January 1959. following routine overhaul and refresher training at Pearl Harbor, ''Vance'' again took station on the mid-Pacific stretch of ocean on its second DEW-line deployment. ''Vance'' continued to conduct regular DEW-line patrols until May 1960, when CortRon 7 was dissolved. At that time, it rejoined CortDiv 5 and served with its old unit into 1961. On occasion, the picket ship took Russian trawlers under surveillance—undoubtedly while the communist vessel was returning the compliment. Early in 1961, ''Vances communications capabilities were extensively augmented during an overhaul at Pearl Harbor. After resuming DEW-line patrols late in the spring, the ship received orders in August 1961 designating it an ocean station vessel with TF-43, Operation "Deepfreeze 62." Temporarily based at Dunedin, New Zealand, ''Vance'' served as a communication relay ship for aircraft bringing in vital supplies to the Antarctic stations from New Zealand. The ship remained on station in the cold, bleak, southern waters into March 1962, when it headed home via Melbourne, Australia, and Papeete, Tahiti, to Pearl Harbor. The ship soon resumed duties on the DEW-line and, but for periodic interruptions for maintenance, replenishment, and training, was devoted to the task of operating mainly off the Aleutian Islands through February 1965.


A new mission

In the mid-1960s, with the advent of improved radar and early-warning capabilities, the radar picket escort ship was rapidly approaching obsolescence. However, as the United States stepped up its efforts to aid the South Vietnamese government, the ship received a new lease on life. In Vietnam, a ship of this nature could be invaluable for coastal patrol work. Accordingly, in February 1965, ''Vance'' was ordered to the Western Pacific (WestPac). On 25 March 1965, it sailed from Pearl Harbor, in company with and , as Task Group (TG) 52.8, bound for the Philippines. En route from Subic Bay to waters off the coast of Vietnam, ''Vance'' rescued Capt. Leland D. Holcomb, USAF, who had ejected from a burning
F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...
fighter plane. ''Vance'' took station in
Operation Market Time Operation Market Time was the United States Navy, Republic of Vietnam Navy and Royal Australian Navy operation begun in 1965 to stop the flow of troops, war material, and supplies by sea, coast, and rivers, from North Vietnam into parts of Sout ...
on 11 April 1965. Up until 24 April, it operated near the 17th parallel as a part of Task Unit (TU) 71.1.1 During the assignment, the ship maintained communications between airborne EC-121K and Commander, TU 71.1.1, in . Subsequently, from 15 May to 4 June, ''Vance'' returned to "Market Time" surface surveillance, this time in the Gulf of Thailand near the border dividing South Vietnam from Cambodia. It operated in company with small minesweepers (MOSs) and embarked a Vietnamese Navy liaison officer to aid in the ship's "visit and search" activities. The crew continued these activities until sailing for Hawaii early in September and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 18 June. ''Vance'', under the command of Marcus Aurelius Arnheiter, returned to "Market Time" station in mid-January 1966. On 15 January 1967, ''Vance'' returned to the Far East for another 7th Fleet deployment and relieved off the mouth of the Saigon River. Once again, ''Vances duties involved hunting for craft attempting to infiltrate from the north to deliver their cargoes to the
Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...
. ''Vance'' tracked all ocean-sized vessels and stopped and searched
junks A junk () is a type of Chinese sailing ship characterized by a central rudder, an overhanging flat transom, watertight bulkheads, and a flat-bottomed design. They are also characteristically built using iron nails and clamps. The term applie ...
and
sampan A sampan is a relatively flat-bottomed wooden boat found in East, Southeast, and South Asia. It is possibly of Chinese or Austronesian origin. Some sampans include a small shelter on board and may be used as a permanent habitation on in ...
s; tedious and frustrating but vital work. Arnheiter was, somewhat notoriously, relieved from command after only 99 days. The ship conducted two more "Market Time" patrols during its third WestPac deployment and, between missions, underwent a tender availability at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, rest and recreation at Hong Kong and upkeep at Subic Bay. At the end of its last "Market Time" assignment, the ship patrolled the Taiwan Strait between communist China and Taiwan before returning to Pearl Harbor for routine overhaul. In late 1967, the ship began its final WestPac deployment in which its duties were similar to those of its third deployment. It subsequently returned to the west coast of the United States late in 1968 for inactivation.


Disposition

Placed in reserve at the Inactive Ship Facility, Vallejo, ''Vance'' was decommissioned on 10 October 1969, struck from the Navy list on 1 June 1975. The ship was sunk as a target in 1985.


Awards

*
Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) is a United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or surface combat." Coast ...
*
American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had per ...
* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal *
World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal was a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. Histo ...
*
National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...
(1 star) *
Antarctic Service Medal The Antarctica Service Medal (ASM) was established by the United States Congress on July 7, 1960, under s:Public Law 86-600, Public Law 600 of the 86th United States Congress, 86th Congress. The medal was intended as a awards and decorations of ...
*
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...
*
Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...
(7 campaign stars) * Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (3 stars) *
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal (), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949 and awarded during the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War ...


References

*


External links


USS ''Vance'' Association


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vance (DE-387) Edsall-class destroyer escorts Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Coast Guard World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Ships built in Houston 1943 ships