USS Cassin (DD-372)
Biography
USS Cassin (DD-372) was a Mahan-class destroyer commissioned 21 August 1936 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The ship was in drydock with USS Downes (DD-375) and USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack of 7 December 1941, when an incendiary bomb ignited fuel from the Downes and caused uncontrollable fires aboard both destroyers, leading to Cassin's decommissioning that same day. Salvaged machinery and equipment were used to rebuild the ship at Mare Island Navy Yard, and Cassin was recommissioned on 5 February 1944. During the remainder of the war, the ship served primarily in the Pacific theater, participating in the consolidation of Tinian and escort duty from Saipan, the bombardment of Marcus Island, operations supporting the Leyte landings and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and pre-invasion bombardment and radar picket duty at Iwo Jima. Cassin also boarded and searched a Japanese hospital ship on 7 August 1945 to verify compliance with international law before the vessel's release, and following the end of the war supported air-sea rescue operations off Iwo Jima and the evacuation of released prisoners of war from Japan. The ship received six battle stars for World War II service and was decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia, on 17 December 1945.