USS ''French'' (DE-367) 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. She was scrapped in 1973. The ship was named in honor of Neldon Theo French who was 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 ...

for his actions during the Guadalcanal Campaign.

Namesake

Neldon Theo French was born on 25 July 1918 in Benton County, Tennessee. He enlisted in 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 ...

on 9 September 1940. He was killed in action on 9 October 1942 during the Guadalcanal Campaign. Corporal French was posthumously awarded the

for his heroism in fighting to his death in a defensive post on 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 shared in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded his division for its performance in the initial landings on Guadalcanal.

History

''French'' was launched on 17 June 1944 by

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. at their yard in

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 Hous ...

, sponsored by Mrs. Alma M. French, mother of Corporal French. The vessel was commissioned on 9 October 1944.

World War II

''French'' arrived at

San Diego 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 State ...

, California, 2 January 1945 for escort duty in the Pacific Ocean, ranging primarily between

Ulithi 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 larges ...

and

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 i ...

through April. Other ports of call during this period were

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 R ...

Kossol Roads Kossol Roads is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob in northern Palau at .Kossol Roads
a ...

, Saipan, and Iwo Jima. Arriving in Kossol Roads 6 May, ''French'' was assigned to patrol and air-sea rescue duty, as well as local screening. On 5 June she bombarded enemy-held

Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan. It is the capital of Upper Nile State, South Sudan, along the White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal county and it used to be the headquarter of Upper Nile Region from 1970s to late 1990s. ...

and Arakabesan Islands, then left

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 ...

to return to escort duty out of Ulithi. She called at

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 ...

on this assignment on 8 and 9 July. From 24 to 27 July 1945, ''French'' was in charge of rescue operations on a grounded

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

freighter at Helen Reef off the

Palaus 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 Car ...

. She lightened the grounded ship by removing some of her cargo so that the

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

could get the freighter off. Escorting the tug and her tow, ''French'' returned to Hollandia 31 July, then sailed back to

. Between 4 and 7 August she took part in the search for survivors of the cruiser which had been torpedoed and sunk, before returning to Peleliu. On 26 August 1945, ''French'' arrived at

, from which she sailed 9 September to cover landings in Japan. After voyaging to

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 ...

to bring occupation troops to Japan, she screened aircraft carriers flying patrols over Japan until 2 January 1946 when she sailed for the

U.S. West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

Post-war decommissioning

''French'' was decommissioned and placed in reserve at

, California, 29 May 1946. On 15 May 1972 she 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 ...

and, on 20 September 1973, she was sold for scrapping.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS French (DE-367)
{{DEFAULTSORT:French (DE-367) John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Ships built in Orange, Texas 1944 ships