USS ''Joseph E. Connolly'' (DE-450) was a ''John C. Butler''-class destroyer escort acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket. Post-war she returned home with one battle star to her credit. ''Joseph E. Connolly'' (DE-450) was named in honor of Joseph Edward Connolly who was killed in the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

and was awarded the Navy Cross.

Namesake

Joseph Edward Connolly was born on 1 June 1904 in New York City. He served in the United States Navy from 1927 to 1930 before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps on 9 March 1936. He attained the grade of Corporal by 1942 and took part in the assault on Guadalcanal, first American

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 ...

operation of the war. On 9 October 1942 Connolly and his men bore the brunt of a heavy Japanese assault along 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 river. ...

. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Construction and commissioning

She was laid down 6 April 1944 by

Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Gov ...

Co., Newark, New Jersey; launched 6 August 1944; sponsored by Miss Cecilia C. Connolly, sister of Corporal Connolly; and commissioned 28 February 1945.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

Following

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 in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

''Joseph E. Connolly'' departed

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 ...

, 10 May 1945 for assignment to the Pacific Fleet. She transited the Panama Canal and steamed by way of San Diego, California, to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 6 June for additional intensive training. The ship then steamed to Eniwetok in early July to act as an escort ship during the final days of the Pacific war. ''Joseph E. Connolly'' served as screen ship to logistic-support units of the

U.S. 3rd Fleet The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...

during the final strikes on the Japanese mainland.

End-of-war operations

The escort vessel returned to Ulithi after war's end, arriving 31 August, and joined the screening unit for logistic support ships. She arrived Tokyo Bay 13 September and steamed to Jinsen, Korea, 22 September to assist in the occupation of Korea and North China, then the subject of critical contention between

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and Nationalist factions in China. ''Joseph E. Connolly'' spent 27 to 31 October at Shanghai in support of the

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

ashore, after which she joined a service squadron in supplying fuel and supplies to various Pacific island bases.

Post-war decommissioning

After patrol off

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 ...

in December, the ship sailed for the United States 4 January 1946, arriving Boston, Massachusetts, 17 February via San Diego and 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 ...

. She later steamed to Green Cove Springs, Florida, where she decommissioned 20 June 1946 and entered the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

. ''Joseph E. Connolly'' was struck from the Navy list on 1 June 1970 and, on 24 February 1972, she was sunk as a target.

Military awards

''Joseph E. Connolly'' received one battle star for World War II service.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive – USS Joseph E. Connolly (DE-450)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph E. Connolly John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1944 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States