USS ''Yarborough'' (DD-314) was a
''Clemson''-class destroyer in 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 ...
.
Namesake
George Hampton Yarborough, Jr. was born on 14 October 1895 in
Roxboro, North Carolina
Roxboro is a city and the county seat of Person County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 8,362 at the 2010 census. The city is north of Durham and is a part of the four-county Durham–Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical ...
. He graduated from
The Citadel
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...
in 1916 and enrolled in class no. 4,
United States Marine Corps Reserves
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 pe ...
, on 7 April 1917, the day after the United States entered
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After instruction at the Marine Barracks,
Parris Island, South Carolina
Parris Island is a district of the city of Port Royal, South Carolina on an island of the same name. It became part of the city with the annexation of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island on October 11, 2002. For statistical purposes, th ...
, he reported to the Marine Barracks at
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
on 4 June 1917 for duty with the 16th Company,
5th Marine Regiment. Taken to New York on , he embarked on on 14 June 1917 sailed for
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
that day; and reached
St. Nazaire on 27 June.
He was promoted to first lieutenant on 11 August 1917 and served two tours of detached duty while assigned to the 5th Regiment, first at
Cosne, France, between 8 December 1917 and 4 January 1918 and then at
Gondrecourt, between 22 February and 29 April 1918.
On 23 June 1918, the height of the
Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood (1–26 June 1918) occurred during the German spring offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S. 2nd (under the command of Major General Omar Bundy) and 3rd Divisi ...
, he arrived on the front lines. The next day, intense enemy fire from skillfully placed machine guns pinned down Yarborough's platoon in a support position in the American lines. He dashed from one shell hole to another, in the open, steadying his men, until a burst of machine gun fire hit him. Severely wounded, he refused aid until other wounded men in his unit received medical attention. Finally moved to shelter, he succumbed to his severe gunshot wounds on 26 June 1918. Cited for his bravery, He was posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries.
*Distinguished Service Cross (Australia)
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
and
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
''Yarborough'' was laid down on 27 February 1919 at
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 ...
, by the
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding C ...
's
Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries ...
plant; launched on 20 June 1919; sponsored by Miss Kate Burch, the fiancée of the late Lt. Yarborough; designated DD-314 on 17 July 1920; and commissioned at the
Mare Island Navy Yard
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 t ...
,
Vallejo, California
Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to th ...
, on 31 December 1920, Lieutenant Commander
Charles E. Rosendahl – later the Navy's pre-eminent authority on
airship
An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.
In early ...
s – in command.
Following commissioning, ''Yarborough'' was fitted out at Mare Island into late January 1921 and departed the yard on the 25th, bound for
Port Richmond, California, where she fueled. After trials in San Francisco Bay,
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...
, and
San Pedro Bay, the new destroyer tied up at the Reserve Dock at
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 Stat ...
, on 2 February. Outside a trip to San Pedro with liberty parties embarked, the ship remained pierside through mid-April.
One event was noteworthy during the ship's largely port-bound routine in 1921. She embarked
Marine detachments from the
cruisers and , both units under the command of 1st Lt. J. K. Martensteen, USMC, and transported them to
Santa Catalina Island on 18 April. Underway from San Diego at 0615 on the 18th, she stood into Isthmus Cove, Santa Catalina Island at 1145, anchoring at 1205. After landing the marines, she got underway and hove to briefly to embark a passenger - Capt. Franck T. Evans, the chief of staff to Commander, Destroyer Force,
Pacific Fleet and the son of the famous admiral
Robley D. ("Fighting Bob") Evans - before she resumed her passage. Unfortunately, ''Yarborough'' collided with a buoy at the entrance to San Pedro harbor - an embarrassing occurrence in view of the ship's high-ranking passenger. Fortunately, the ship sustained only minor damage to a propeller blade, and no disciplinary action was taken.
''Yarborough'' remained alongside the Santa Fe dock at San Diego until 30 June, when she headed for the Mare Island Navy Yard. After a drydocking, the destroyer ran trials off the southern California coast, during which she shipped heavy seas over the forecastle that caused some damage to her bridge on 11 July. Visiting San Francisco briefly, the destroyer returned to San Diego on the 13th, where she remained into mid-October.
''Yarborough'' subsequently ran gunnery exercises and drills in company with her sistership late in October, after receiving on board a large draft of men from . ''Yarborough'' apparently joined the operating segment of the "rotating reserves" at that point because the rest of her career was largely one of operational activity.
She spent the majority of 1922 operating from San Diego, touching at ports in the Pacific Northwest like
Port Angeles and
Seattle, Washington
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 region ...
, and familiar
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
ports like San Diego and San Pedro. Upon occasion, she operated with the
battleship forces and conducted drills and exercises in antisubmarine screening, torpedo firings, and, of course, the staple, gunnery.
The following year, however, ''Yarborough'' began her voyages beyond what had become the usual west coast routine. After maneuvers out of San Pedro with the
Battle Fleet
The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the United States Navy from 1922 to 1941.
The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. This f ...
, ''Yarborough'' departed that port on 9 February 1923, bound for
Magdalena Bay
Magdalena Bay ( es, Bahía Magdalena) is a long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the unpopulated sandy barrier islands of Isla Magdalena ...
, Mexico. Arriving there on the 6th, in company with Destroyer Squadrons 11 and 12 and the destroyer tender , she was underway again two days later this time bound for
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
.
In the succeeding days that February, ''Yarborough'' took part in the first of the large United States Fleet exercises -
Fleet Problem I. Staged off the coast of Panama, Fleet Problem I pitted the Battle Fleet against an augmented
Scouting Fleet
The Scouting Fleet was created in 1922 as part of a major, post-World War I reorganization of the United States Navy. The Atlantic and Pacific fleets, which comprised a significant portion of the ships in the United States Navy, were combined into ...
. ''Yarborough'' screened the Battle Fleet's dreadnoughts, often serving as a picket in a special defensive screen arrangement ahead of the heavy units. The exercise continued into March; and, during a lull in the maneuvers,
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
Edwin C. Denby
Edwin Denby (February 18, 1870 – February 8, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of the Navy in the administrations of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge from 1921 to 1924. He also played a notable role in th ...
, embarked in , reviewed the assembled forces on 14 March.
After further exercises, ''Yarborough'' departed the Panama area on 31 March as part of the screen for the northward-bound battleships. She arrived at San Diego on 11 April. For the remainder of the year, her schedule remained routine, operations within the vicinity of San Diego, San Francisco, or San Pedro, with a period under repairs at Mare Island and dry-docked on a marine railway at San Diego.
On 2 January 1924, ''Yarborough'' got underway for Panama to participate in the next series of fleet exercises - Fleet Problems II, III, and IV - conducted concurrently.
Problem II simulated the first leg of a westward advance across the Pacific;
Problem III tested the Caribbean defenses and the transit facilities of the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
; and
Problem IV simulated the movement from a main base in the western Pacific to the Japanese home islands—represented in that case by islands, cities, and countries surrounding the Caribbean.
''Yarborough's'' role in the maneuvers was similar to those she had performed before. However, there was one exception because, during one phase of the exercises, she operated with —the Navy's first
aircraft carrier. She screened Langley on 25 January and witnessed an air attack upon the ship by planes of the "black" fleet. The destroyer also performed those tasks for which she had been designed (torpedo attacks and screening maneuvers) both with and against battleships. ''Yarborough'' and her sister-ships participated in the intensive exercises through late February, after which the destroyer paid a brief call upon
, her only visit ever to that port, between 1 March and 11 March.
After further exercises off
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, ''Yarborough'' headed for home; transited the Panama Canal on 8 April; and arrived at San Diego on the 22d. For the remainder of the year, she operated in and around her home port.
The Scouting Fleet once more "battled" the Battle Fleet in March 1925, in
Fleet Problem V, off the coast of
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
. After that series of exercises which trained the Fleet in protective screening, seizing and occupying an unfortified anchorage, fueling at sea, and conducting submarine attacks, the Fleet set its course westward.
''Yarborough'' departed San Francisco as part of this movement on 15 April 1925. Her log noted: "underway in company with the
United States Fleet
The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The acronym CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This was replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 ...
to engage in joint
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and Navy Problem No. 3 and proceed to the Hawaiian Islands." Screening Battleship Division 5, as a unit of Destroyer Division 34, she proceeded via Mamala Bay,
Oahu
Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
, and arrived at
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
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 28 April. When the Fleet later concentrated in
Lahaina Roads
Lahaina Roads, also called the Lahaina Roadstead, is an anchorage in the ʻAuʻau Channel lying off the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in the Hawaiian archipelago and U.S. state of Hawaii. It lies in the lee of the West Maui Mountai ...
,
Maui, ''Yarborough'' served a brief tour as guardship, patrolling off the entrance to the Fleet anchorage.
During subsequent maneuvers out of Lahaina, ''Yarborough'' and her mates performed as "Cruiser Division 1" for the sake of the exercise, acting in that guise from 19 to 29 May, before returning to Pearl Harbor for upkeep.
After visiting
Hilo, ''Yarborough'' departed Pearl Harbor on 1 July 1925, bound for the South Pacific as part of the Fleet's Australian cruise. ''Yarborough'' subsequently visited
Pago Pago
Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...
, Samoa, from 10 to 11 July;
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia, from 23 to 30 July;
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton (Māori: ''Ōhinehou'') is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
As a landing ...
, from 11 to 21 August; and
Wellington, New Zealand
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, from 22 to 24 August. Returning via Pago Pago, ''Yarborough'' and her division mates were pressed into service on 7 September as part of the dragnet searching for the downed
PN-9 No. 1 - a flying boat which attempted to make a flight from the west coast to Hawaii. Destroyer Division 34's ships steamed at eight-mile (13 km) intervals in a scouting line and searched over the next three days before word reached them that PN-9 No. 1 had been found, her crew having stripped the plane's lower wings and used the fabric to rig a sail that had taken them close to Oahu.
''Yarborough'' eventually returned via Pearl Harbor to San Diego on 19 September and remained in the vicinity of her home port for the remainder of 1925. Early the following year, 1926, she took part in
Fleet Problem VI, off the west coast of Central America, operating with the Battle Fleet and its train convoy against the "enemy" forces as represented by the Scouting Fleet and
Control Force. ''Yarborough'' later visited
Port Aberdeen, Port Angeles, Washington, and the
Puget Sound Navy Yard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...
before she rounded out the year operating locally from San Diego.
The year 1927 proved to be a busy one for ''Yarborough'', one that she began, as usual, at San Diego. Departing that port on 17 February, the destroyer transited the Panama Canal on 5 March, Atlantic-bound. The loss of the German steamship , however, forced a change in plans. ''Yarborough'' re-transited the canal four days later, on 9 March, and headed for the
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...
in company with the rest of Destroyer Division 34. Forming a scouting line, the flush-deckers combed the seas for survivors of the ''Albatross''. During the search, ''Yarborough'' often operated in sight of her sisterships and but found nothing. Abandoning the search on the 13th, the ship retransmitted the canal and rejoined the Fleet.
Participating in
Fleet Problem VII later that month, ''Yarborough'' operated off
Gonaïves
Gonaïves (; ht, Gonayiv, ) is a List of communes of Haiti, commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite (department), Artibonite Departments of Haiti, department of Haiti. It has a population of about 300,000 people, but current ...
, Haiti, and visited
Staten Island and New York late in May and early in June. While in the New York area, the destroyer participated in the presidential review, when President
Calvin Coolidge inspected the Fleet from the decks of his presidential yacht, ''Mayflower'', on 4 June.
''Yarborough'' subsequently headed for Panama, arriving at Colon on 9 June. She shifted to
Puerto Cabezas
Puerto Cabezas (; en, Bragman's Bluff; miq, Bilwi) is a municipality and city in Nicaragua. It is the capital of Miskito nation in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region.
The municipality and the entire region are native American lands. ...
, Nicaragua, soon thereafter, due to an outbreak of unrest there. She joined and in guarding American interests in that port before heading back to Colon, retransiting the Panama Canal, and undergoing a drydocking at Balboa. She returned to Puerto Cabezas on 9 July and found and ''Shirk'' in port.
''Yarborough'' remained at Puerto Cabezas into early August, drilling her landing force in light marching order early in the deployment to be ready for any emergency. The destroyer sailed for the Panama Canal on 5 August, transited the canal on the 7th, and arrived at San Diego on the 23rd. She exercised out of San Diego and off San Clemente Island for the rest of 1927.
The following spring, ''Yarborough'' again operated in Hawaiian waters, taking part in
Fleet Problem VIII which was staged between San Francisco and Honolulu. Returning to the west coast upon completion of that group of maneuvers, the destroyer continued her regular schedule of operations in tactics and gunnery out of Port Angeles, San Diego, and San Pedro.
''Yarborough'' participated in her final large-scale maneuvers in January 1929, operating between San Diego and the westward side of the Panama Canal Zone, in
Fleet Problem IX. That problem - significant in that the new aircraft carrier participated in the Fleet's war games for the first time - pitted the Battle Fleet (less submarines and ''Lexington'') against a combination of forces including the Scouting Force (augmented by ''Lexington''), the Control Forces, Train Squadron 1, and 15th Naval District and local Army defense forces. The scenario studied the effects of an attack upon the Panama Canal and conducted the operations necessary to carry out such an eventuality. As before, ''Yarborough's'' role was with the Battle Fleet, screening the dreadnoughts of the battle line.
After alternating periods in port and operating locally, ''Yarborough'' was moored at the Destroyer Base at San Diego that autumn and prepared for decommissioning. Simultaneously, she participated in the reactivation of ships that had been in reserve during the past few years. Two of those ships were and .
Fate
''Yarborough'' was decommissioned on 29 May 1930; and, on 3 November 1930, her name was struck from the
Navy List
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
. Scrapped on 20 December of the same year, her remains were sold as scrap metal on 25 February 1932.
As of 2019, no other ships have been named ''Yarborough''.
References
*
External links
DD-314 Photo*http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/314.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarborough (DD-314)
Clemson-class destroyers
Ships built in San Francisco
1919 ships