USS ''Eugene A. Greene'' (DD/DDR-711) was a of 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 ...

, named for Ensign Eugene A. Greene (1921–1942), 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 ...

for his heroism in the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

Namesake

Eugene A. Greene was born on 21 November 1914 in Smithtown,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Greene grew up in Smithtown and Mineola, New York, graduating from St. Francis High School in 1932. He graduated Rhode Island State College, now Rhode Island University, in June 1940, before enlisting in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

on 13 January 1941, and after

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

training, was commissioned

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

on 30 August 1941. On 4 June 1942 during the

Greene was piloting a

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/dive ...

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

Bombing Squadron 6 A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanic ...

(VB-6) based on the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. He broke through heavy

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

fighter and

antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

opposition to dive-bomb the aircraft carrier ''Kaga''. Greene survived the attack on the ''Kaga'', ENS Lewis Hopkins said his plane formed up with him on his wing. Eventually Greene's aircraft ran out of fuel and he was forced to ditch in the ocean. He and his gunner were never seen again. Greene was posthumously awarded the

. In 1943, the name ''Eugene A. Greene'' was assigned to the U.S. Navy

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

USS ''Eugene A. Greene'' (DE-549), but its construction was cancelled in 1944 before completion.

Service history

''Eugene A. Greene'' was launched on 18 March 1945 by

Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. 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. Go ...

, Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Mrs. Anita M. Greene, widow of Ensign Greene; and commissioned on 8 June 1945.

US Navy, 1945–1972

''Eugene A. Greene'' operated along the east coast and 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 ...

on shakedown training, acting as

plane guard A plane guard is a warship (commonly a destroyer or frigate) or helicopter tasked to recover the aircrew of planes or helicopters which ditch or crash in the water during aircraft carrier flight operations. Ships For ships, the plane guard is po ...

during the qualification of pilots in

carrier Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

operations, and training men for the crews of new destroyers. From her home port in

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 ...

, she sailed to Guantanamo Bay for training early in 1947, and on 13 February sailed in a task group bound for

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay, to participate in the festivities accompanying the inauguration of Uruguay's President Berres. The group also paid a good will visit to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

before returning to Norfolk on 31 March. On 10 November 1947 ''Eugene A. Greene'' sailed on the first of nine

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

cruises made over the next thirteen years. Voyages to northern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

varied the routine of overseas deployment. ''Eugene A. Greene'' was placed out of commission from 1 April 1952 to 1 December 1952, during which period she was being converted to a

radar picket A radar picket is a radar-equipped station, ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a nation or military (including naval) force to protect it from surprise attack, typically air attack, or from cr ...

destroyer. She was redesignated DDR-711 on 18 July 1952. ''Greene'' reverted to DD-711 on 15 March 1963. On 18 June 1970 the ''Greene'' and the oiler were in a minor collision in the eastern Mediterranean during refueling operations. ''Eugene A. Greene'' was decommissioned on 31 August 1972 at Norfolk, and, along with four other destroyers, was loaned to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Spanish Navy, 1972–1991

The ship was commissioned in the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

as ''Churruca'' (D61), named after Lieutenant General

Cosme Damián de Churruca y Elorza Cosme Damián de Churruca y Elorza (27 September 1761 – 21 October 1805) was a Basque Spanish noble, admiral of the Royal Spanish Armada, naval scientist and Mayor of Motrico. During the Battle of Trafalgar, he was the commander of the sh ...

(1761–1805), who died during the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

. ''Churruca'' was decommissioned on 15 September 1989; she was sunk as a target on 12 December 1991.

Footnotes

References

External links

destroyers.org: USS ''Eugene A. Greene''
*

The sinking of the ''Churruca'' (YouTube – part 1)

The sinking of the ''Churruca'' (YouTube – part 2)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugene A. Greene (DD-711) Gearing-class destroyers of the United States Navy Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1945 ships World War II destroyers of the United States Cold War destroyers of the United States Gearing-class destroyers of the Spanish Navy Ships sunk as targets Maritime incidents in 1991