USS Downes (DD-375)
Biography
USS Downes (DD-375) was a Mahan-class destroyer commissioned 15 January 1937 at the Norfolk Navy Yard. The ship was in drydock with USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack of 7 December 1941, when a bomb landed between the two destroyers and ignited fires fed by ruptured fuel tanks, leading to Downes's decommissioning on 20 June 1942. Salvaged machinery was used to rebuild the ship at Mare Island Navy Yard, and Downes was recommissioned there on 15 November 1943. During the remainder of the war, the ship served primarily in the Pacific theater, blockading Wotje Atoll, serving as harbor entrance control vessel at Eniwetok, and supporting the invasions of Tinian and Saipan with escort and fire support duty, including the bombardment of Aguijan and Marcus Islands. Downes screened carriers during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 and, following an overhaul at Pearl Harbor, returned to the Marianas and Iwo Jima in 1945 for patrol, air-sea rescue, and escort duty. The ship received four battle stars for World War II service and was decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia, on 17 December 1945.