USS ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' (DE-366) was a in service with the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
from 1944 to 1946 and from 1951 to 1968. She was finally sunk as a target in 1969.
Namesake
Alvin Chester Cockrell, Jr. was born on 18 September 1918 in
Hazlehurst, Mississippi
Hazlehurst is a city in and the county seat of Copiah County, Mississippi, United States, located about south of the state capital Jackson along Interstate 55. The population was 4,009 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan S ...
. He joined the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
and served as an enlisted man until accepting an appointment as 2nd lieutenant,
USMCR
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. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...
, on 25 June 1940. Over the next two years he served at Marine barracks at
Quantico,
Guantanamo Bay,
Parris Island
Parris is both a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Parris Afton Bonds, American novelist
* Parris Campbell (born 1997), American football player
* Parris Duffus (born 1970), retired American ice hockey go ...
and
New River.
He was appointed a 1st lieutenant on 2 December 1941. Assigned to Company "B",
1st Battalion, 7th Marines, Fleet Marine Force, he landed with the 7th Marines on
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
on his 24th birthday, 18 September 1942. Within a week, the 1/7th Marines, was to conduct a
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
in force of the region between the
Matanikau River
The Matanikau River of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, is located in the northwest part of the island. During the World War II Guadalcanal campaign, several significant engagements occurred between United States and Japanese forces near the rive ...
and the village of
Kokumbona, led by Lieutenant Colonel
Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller and departed the perimeter on 23 September. The point of Puller's battalion surprised elements of 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 ...
Oka Detachment as they were sitting down cooking rice on the slopes of Mount Austen (Mambulo), late on the afternoon of 24 September south of
Lunga Point
Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field. is also the name of a United States Navy escort carrier ...
. The sound of firing having alerted the enemy's main body, a brisk battle ensued; as it developed, Cockrell led his platoon in assaulting a strongly held Japanese position against heavy machine gun and rifle fire. He was killed in the ensuing action, one of seven marines who died in the engagement. He was posthumously awarded the
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...
.
History
The ship's
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
was laid down on 1 May 1944 at
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houst ...
, by the
Consolidated Steel
Consolidated Steel Corporation (formed 18 December 1928) was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas. It was created in 1929 by the merg ...
Corp.. ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' was
launched on 27 June 1944, sponsored by Mrs. James A. Perkins, the sister of the late 1st Lt. Cockrell. The destroyer escort was
commissioned on 7 August 1944 at her builder's yard.
World War II
After initial fitting out alongside the City Docks at Orange, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' shifted to
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
, arriving on 14 October, and continued fitting out at the Todd-Galveston Shipbuilding, Inc., yard. Completing these preparations for service on 25 October, she sailed for
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
that afternoon in company with her
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
, for
shakedown
Shakedown may refer to:
* Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation
* Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational
* Extortion, ...
training. Arriving at noon on the last day of October, the new destroyer escort carried out her shakedown training out of Bermuda until 29 November, after which time she sailed for
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...
and post-shakedown availability. Underway from
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts, on 10 December, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' arrived at
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, the following day.
On 15 December, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' sailed from Norfolk, and escorted the
attack transport
Attack transport is a United States Navy ship classification for a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from the merchant fleet – that rely on ...
to the
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
, arriving there on 20 December. Transiting the canal the same day, the destroyer escort then proceeded independently to
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, arriving there three days after
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
of 1944. She sailed thence for the
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
, reaching
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
on the afternoon of 7 January 1945.
''Alvin C. Cockrell'' then spent the next several days operating locally out of Pearl Harbor, conducting target practice, serving as a target for a division of motor
torpedo boats
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
, undergoing an availability alongside the
destroyer tender
A destroyer tender or destroyer depot ship is a type of depot ship: an auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of ...
, and carrying out gunnery exercises with student officers from the
Destroyers, Pacific, gunnery school manning gun control stations. On 17 January, the destroyer escort, accompanied by ''French'', sailed from Hawaiian waters for the
Marshalls
Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. Mar ...
as escort for convoy PD-256-T—one transport and five attack transports. Reaching
Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
on 25 January, the destroyer escort remained there only briefly, getting underway for the
Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
s the following day and convoying the same half-dozen ships she had shepherded from Hawaii. Detaching the transport to proceed independently to
Ulithi Atoll
Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap.
Overview
Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest ...
, the convoy proceeded on, reaching its destination,
Kossol Roads Kossol Roads is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob in northern Palau at .[Kossol Roads]
a ...
, on the last day of January.
Over the next several weeks, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' escorted convoys between Eniwetok,
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
,
Saipan
Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
, Ulithi, and
Kossel Roads, and, when required, served as harbor patrol and air-sea rescue vessel. She carried out her first air-sea rescue mission on 23 February 1945, when she sailed from Ulithi to go to the assistance of a
Martin PBM-3D Mariner flying boat from Patrol Bombing Squadron 22 that had been forced down by engine trouble. Underway at 1008, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' proceeded at flank speed, guided to the scene by a
"Dumbo" plane overhead.
She put her
whaleboat
A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the sh ...
over the side as she neared the Mariner, to take off the crew and attempt to take the aircraft in tow, and soon had seven of the nine enlisted men (two had remained on board to handle towlines), and the three officers from the crew on board. While the destroyer escort screened the operation, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' managed to get the plane under tow by 0910 the following day, after which time the destroyer escort set out for Ulithi. Unfortunately, soon after the remaining crewmen from the plane were taken on board, the towline parted. Further attempts at salvage by ''Manlove'' proved fruitless and, ultimately, the Mariner (one wing of which had been damaged in the initial attempt to get a line to it) had to be sunk by gunfire.
The next instance of rescue occurred on 22 March 1945, while the ship was stationed on harbor entrance patrol at
Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwa ...
, Guam. At 1540 on that day, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' received orders to depart from her patrol station for an air-sea rescue mission from
Orote Point. Once again guided by aircraft overhead, the destroyer escort spotted a life raft and its two occupants shortly before 1800, and by 1804 the ship had brought two members of the plane's crew. Transferring them to a picket boat sent out for that purpose, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' then resumed patrolling her station.
In June, while at
, in the Palaus, she was directed to put to sea to search for reported airplane wreckage. In company with the destroyer escort , she searched the assigned area on 14 June and the days following, but found nothing. A similar search conducted off
Peleliu
Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II.
H ...
during the waning days of July 1945 also yielded no trace of downed planes or pilots reported in her vicinity.
The final month of the war, August 1945, began with ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' operating with the
Palau Island Patrol and Escort Unit, keeping watch on the by-passed Palaus and the Japanese garrisons there. On 2 August, the ship departed her patrol station on orders to pick up two men from a raft reported by a patrol plane. The two turned out to be Japanese soldiers or laborers attempting to escape from
Babelthuap and hoping for an American ship to pick them up. ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' turned them over to a small boat for transfer ashore, and resumed her patrol.
On 5 August, however, while operating in the Peleliu-
Angaur
, or in Palauan, is an island and state in the island nation of Palau.
History
Angaur was traditionally divided among some eight clans. Traditional features within clan areas represent important symbols giving identity to families, clans an ...
antisubmarine
An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
screen, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' received orders to proceed at full speed to the scene of the sinking of the
heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...
. She arrived in the area at 0600, and commenced a search in company with the
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s , , and and the destroyer escort . One flying boat orbited overhead.
With each ship proceeding to cover an assigned sector, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' began finding grim evidence of the tragedy that had befallen the cruiser. She sighted two empty rubber rafts at 1007, and recovered an
unidentified body at 1115, quickly burying it at sea. A half-hour later, at 1145, the ship spotted several other corpses—six of which were given a burial soon thereafter. Only one of the six was identifiable, and the advanced state of decomposition in all indicated that they had been dead for several days.
Many had life jackets, and a few had clothing. The destroyer escort sighted very little debris or wreckage by that point, and "no signs of any live survivors." Eventually ordered to break off the search and return to her regular operating base, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' departed the area at 0622 on 6 August to return to Peleliu.
End-of-war activity
The end of the war in mid-August saw ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' still assigned local operations out of Peleliu. These lasted until 19 August, when she joined other units of
Escort Division
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the worl ...
(CortDiv) 86 at Ulithi. She then proceeded to
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
for duty with the
U.S. 3rd Fleet, reporting on 26 August.
''Alvin C. Cockrell'' departed
Buckner Bay
is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, all in ...
on 9 September 1945, bound for
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
with
Task Unit (TU) 56.5.2—one light cruiser, an
escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
, a dock landing ship, two
hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...
s, a
seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
and a
United States Coast Guard cutter
United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC.
Histor ...
; three destroyer escorts (including ''Alvin C. Cockrell'') and three fast transports (converted from destroyer escorts) rounded out the screen. Steaming for
Wakanoura Wan
file:Wakayama city hall03nt3200.jpg, Wakayama City Hall
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 households and a population density of ...
to evacuate
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
prisoners of war (POWs), the task unit reached
Kii Suido and entered Wakanoura Wan in the wake of the minesweeping group on 11 September. The task unit anchored at 1820 that day. With the completion of the evacuation—part of her ship's company serving on ashore during that time—on 15 September, the destroyer escort was assigned to
Task Force 51 the same day.
After riding out a
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
that swept through the area on 17 and 18 September, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' operated as one of four destroyer escorts serving as the mine screen for the
escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
s and , as those ships' planes covered the occupation of Wakayama on 24 to 26 September. During this period, the destroyer escort sank two Japanese
mines with gunfire.
Soon thereafter, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' departed Wakanoura Wan in company with French and screening the escort carrier , putting to sea with a search group on 7 October to rendezvous with other ships looking for a PBM believed down at sea; among the Mariner's passengers was
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
William D. Sample, who was along on the flight to familiarize himself with the area. The special search mission continued on 8 October, and, with short breaks for refueling, continued over the ensuing days until the search was ordered abandoned on 17 October.
Occupation duties and decommissioning
Proceeding to
Yokosuka, Japan
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
, the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region.
The city ...
, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' stood out of that port on 24 October as part of the screen for ''Siboney'' and as the carriers' planes covered the occupation of
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
. The destroyer escort returned to Wakanoura Wan on 26 October, but sailed thence for Yokosuka the following day, arriving on the 28th. During November and December 1945, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' served as courier ship between Yokosuka,
Kure
is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan M ...
, and
Wakayama Wakayama may refer to:
*Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan
*Wakayama (city)
Wakayama City Hall
is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 househol ...
, shuttling passengers and mail between those ports. She interrupted this routine briefly on 10 and 11 November when she operated with Siboney as the escort carrier conducted gunnery drills and flight training.
Relieved from duty with the 5th Fleet on 2 January 1946, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' sailed for the United States. She touched briefly at Pearl Harbor on 14 January, and later proceeded thence to the west coast, reaching
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, on 22 January. Decommissioned and placed in reserve at San Diego,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, on 2 July 1946, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' remained inactive until returned to active duty with the buildup of the fleet during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.
Korean War
Recommissioned on 27 June 1951, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' was assigned to
Escort Squadron (CortRon) 3, and over the next two years served as a training ship for the Fleet
Sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
School, San Diego. She conducted antisubmarine warfare (ASW) type-training exercises, and served as courier ship between San Diego and
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
.
Deploying to the western Pacific (WestPac) for the first time since the end of World War II, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' sailed for the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
in August 1953. She served as station ship at
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, for three months before she proceeded to the
Philippine Islands
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and visited
Sangley Point
Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...
and
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...
. She also visited
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
, Thailand, during this deployment, and operated for two weeks in the
Gulf of Siam, training sailors from the Thai Armed Forces Academy at
Sattahip
Sattahip ( th, สัตหีบ, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in Chonburi province, Thailand. It is at the southern tip of the province southeast of Bangkok. In 2014, the district had a population of 157,000 in an area of 348,122 km2.
Geogr ...
, in gunnery and engineering. Returning to San Diego by way of Guam,
Midway Island
Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...
, and Pearl Harbor, the destroyer escort reached San Diego in March 1954, and operated locally into the autumn of 1955. Her regular overhaul at the
Long Beach Naval Shipyard
The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International ...
, conducted during March and April 1955, punctuated that period of local operations, and saw the ship being converted for service as a
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
.
Deployed as CortRon 3 flagship
Deploying to the Far East again in October 1955, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' was designated flagship of
CortRon 3 in December 1955. During the course of this cruise, the ship participated in a wide variety of evolutions, ranging from
hunter-killer Hunter-killer may refer to:
Military terminology
* Hunter-killer team, a team that separates the tasks of "hunting" and "killing" to two or more individuals
* Hunter-killer armored-vehicle team, scout vehicles and tanks operating in concert as "hun ...
exercises to covering
U.S. Marine Corps amphibious
Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:
Animals
* Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water)
* Amphibious caterpillar
* Amphibious fish, a fish ...
landings and convoy escort duties. Her ports of call on this WestPac cruise encompassed Hong Kong,
Keelung
Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipe ...
and
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
; Okinawa; and the Japanese ports of
Atami
is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households and a population density of 600 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Atami is located in the far ea ...
,
Sasebo
is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...
and Yokosuka. Returning to San Diego at the end of March 1956, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' spent the next nine months engaged in local operations out of that port, serving as sonar
school ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...
and participating in several minor
ASW training operations. Highlighting the latter period was the ship's participation in a fleet review at San Diego on 14 September 1956.
During 1957, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' deployed to WestPac with CortRon 3, visiting the southern and western Pacific. During the course of this cruise, she visited
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...
Atoll, in the Marshalls;
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand;
Manus, in the
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km.
History
The first inhabitants o ...
; Yokosuka, Japan; Okinawa; Kaohsiung;
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
; Hong Kong;
Corregidor
Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
, Subic Bay, and
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
. She participated in exercise "Beacon Hill" in the Philippines; a SEATO (
South East Asia Treaty Organization
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, the Philipp ...
) exercise, "Astra", in the Gulf of Siam and
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
with units of the British, Australian, New Zealand, French, and Thai Navies; and spent a month on surveillance patrols in the
Carolines,
Marianas
The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
, and
Bonins, visiting several islands famous in World War II: Guam,
Ponape
Ponape may refer to:
* Pohnpei, an island in the Federated States of Micronesia
* ''Ponape'' (barque), a German sailing ship
{{disambiguation ...
,
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high.
...
,
Truk,
Tinian
Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of th ...
, and Saipan. Returning to San Diego in early July, via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' underwent her regular overhaul at the
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...
between October 1957 and January 1958.
For the first six months of 1958, the destroyer escort deployed to the central and western Pacific; her ports of call included Yokosuka, Hong Kong, and Subic Bay. She participated in a joint Air Force-Navy
Operation Handclasp project, a
U.S. 7th Fleet weapons demonstration for Asian political and military leaders, and spent two of the six months in the Carolines, Marianas, and Bonins, on surveillance patrol. She returned to San Diego in mid-June 1958, via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor as in previous deployments.
Reserve training and Berlin Crisis
After she had brought her fourth WestPac deployment to a close, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' was assigned Naval Reserve Training (NRT) ship duties with Reserve Escort Squadron 1, on 1 July 1958, home-ported at San Francisco. Decommissioned on 17 January 1959, the ship was designated a Group II destroyer escort in the ASW surface component of the selected reserve and remained "in service" to provide underway training for her own selected reserve crew of inactive reserve officers and men. Two active duty officers and 36 enlisted men maintained the ship, and on the third weekend of each month, a reserve crew of 161 officers and men would embark to steam and train their own ship. For two weeks each year the reserve crew would embark, and, integrated with the active duty men, would carry out a two-week reserve training cruise. In May 1959, the ship moved to her new home port, the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Training Center at
Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...
.
For the next two years the ship maintained this routine, until the
Berlin crisis in the autumn of 1961 resulted in a call-up of reserve units. In September 1961, President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
directed that all ASW surface components of the selected reserve forces report for active duty on 1 October 1961. Accordingly, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' was recommissioned on 1 October 1961, Comdr. Robert A. Bush in command. After the ship underwent a routine overhaul, her home port was changed to Pearl Harbor. She sailed for Hawaii on 2 January 1962, and took part in a large-scale, opposed-entry exercise at Pearl Harbor ten days later.
Increased tensions in the Far East soon resulted in ''Alvin C. Cockrell''s sailing for that area; following refresher training, the destroyer escort departed Hawaiian waters on 24 February 1962 with
CortDiv
The structure of the United States Navy consists of four main bodies: the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the operating forces (described below), and the Shore Establishment.
Office of the Chief of ...
72, which consisted of ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' (flagship), and destroyer escorts , and . Proceeding to Subic Bay via Guam and Midway Island, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' reported for duty with Task Force 72 upon arrival at Subic on 11 March 1962.
Vietnam War
One week later, on 18 March, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' sailed for
Da Nang
Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
,
Republic of Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, for operations with units of the South Vietnamese Navy. She conducted intensive training assistance with units of that force, improving general ship-to-shore communications and providing on-the-job training for Vietnamese sailors.
Visiting Hong Kong from 5 to 11 April 1962, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' then proceeded to Subic Bay, for tender availability alongside the
repair ship
A repair ship is a naval auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to warships. Repair ships provide similar services to destroyer, submarine and seaplane tenders or depot ships, but may offer a broader range of repair capability incl ...
. Following that period of repairs and upkeep, the destroyer escort sailed for the Gulf of Siam, and conducted operations there between 20 April and 2 May. She conducted a four-day port visit to
Saigon
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
, the capital of
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, and then returned to Subic Bay. ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' ultimately sailed for Yokosuka on 21 May, and then participated in exercises the first week of June. Proceeding via Midway Island, the destroyer escort reached Pearl Harbor on 18 June 1962, and commenced a two-week availability alongside the destroyer tender .
Reserve duty and fate
Sailing thence for San Francisco, California, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' reached her destination on 17 July 1962, and was decommissioned on 1 August 1962, reverting to "in service" status as a Group II NRT ship. She remained in that status for the rest of her career. During 1963 her two-week active training cruise took her to Hawaiian waters. In 1964 she conducted intensive refresher training at San Diego, California. The cruise for August 1965 found the ship visiting the Canadian ports of
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and
Esquimalt, British Columbia
The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...
. In 1966 she operated out of San Diego. In the summer of 1967, the ship visited Vancouver and
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, in the course of her two-week cruise.
Decommissioned on 20 September 1968, ''Alvin C. Cockrell'' was struck from the
Naval Vessel Register
The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
on 23 September 1968. Her hulk was subsequently utilized in weapons testing, and she was sunk on 19 September 1969.
References
*
External links
NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS Alvin C. Cockrell (DE 366)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvin C. Cockrell
John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts
1944 ships