USS Gilligan (DE-508)
Biography
USS Gilligan (DE-508) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort launched on February 22, 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. in Newark, New Jersey, and commissioned on May 12, 1944. She was named for Marine Corps Reserve Private John Joseph Gilligan Jr., who was mortally wounded with the First Marine Raider Battalion at Tulagi in August 1942. After shakedown off Bermuda, she sailed from Norfolk on August 5, 1944 escorting an LSD to Pearl Harbor. She escorted merchant ships to Eniwetok and Saipan, then moved on to Ulithi and Manus, and patrolled off Bougainville. In January 1945 she escorted troopships to Lingayen Gulf, arriving for the January 9 landings, and came under kamikaze attack on January 12. She then returned to antisubmarine convoy escort work and, from April 17, 1945, provided antiaircraft and antisubmarine screening off the western beaches of Okinawa. After repairs and convoy duty to Leyte and Hollandia, she was attached to the Philippine Sea Frontier at Manila. She earned one battle star for World War II service.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Frederick C. Lucas Papers
The Frederick C. Lucas Papers consist of ephemera, certificates, printed articles, a photograph, and copies of materials documenting Lucas’s service aboard the USS Gilligan (DE-508) during World War II.