USS ''Picking'' (DD-685), a , was a ship of the United States Navy named for Sherwood Picking (1890–1941), a submarine commander during World War I.

Namesake

Sherwood Picking was born on 21 February 1890 in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1911. During World War I, Lieutenant Commander Picking 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 heroism as the commander of the submarine . During the inter-war period, he commanded the submarine base at

Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on t ...

, Canal Zone. He was promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 1 July 1939. He died on 1 September 1941 in a plane crash in Scotland en route to temporary duty in London.

Construction and commissioning

''Picking'' (DD–685) was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 24 November 1942 by

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succ ...

Co., Inc., Staten Island, N.Y.; launched on 1 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Sherwood Picking; and commissioned on 21 September 1943.

Service history

World War II

Following shakedown off

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 ...

, ''Picking'' proceeded via the Panama Canal to

Dutch Harbor, Alaska Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942, and was one of the few sites in the United States to be subjected to aerial bombardment by a foreign power during ...

, where she arrived 28 December 1943 to serve with the North Pacific Fleet, Destroyer Squadron 49. She bombarded

Paramushiro russian: Парамушир ja, 幌筵島 , native_name_link = , nickname = , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Island , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 2053 , length_km = 100 , width_km = 20 , ...

Kuriles The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in th ...

, 4 February 1944, Matsuwa Island, Kuriles, 13 June, and Paramushiro again 26 June. In August she steamed to

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 ...

for upkeep, and then to Hawaii, arriving Pearl Harbor on the 31st where she joined the 3rd Fleet. Escorting attack transports, she arrived at Manus Island 3 October. USS Picking (DD-685) at sea c1943

Assigned to the

7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of t ...

, she screened for the southern landings on Leyte 20 October. While escorting unloaded transports bound for Hollandia, New Guinea, she splashed one plane 24 October. Upon news of the

Battle off Samar The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. It was the only major ...

Island, ''Picking'' rushed to provide protection. She and splashed one plane on 25 October. After the

Battle for Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was f ...

, she escorted and to Manus Island and returned to Leyte 20 November to protect Allied

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s bringing reinforcements. Following replenishment at Manus, ''Picking'' provided antiaircraft protection for the beachhead at

Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balil ...

, Philippines on 9 January 1945. She screened landings at San Antonio, Philippines on 29 January and provided fire support and screen protection as troops went ashore on

Mariveles Mariveles, officially the Municipality of Mariveles ( tl, Bayan ng Mariveles), is a first class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 149,879 people. History Founded as a ''p ...

on 15 February, and on Corregidor 16 February. Following replenishment at Leyte, the destroyer arrived off

Kerama Retto The are a subtropical island group southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Geography Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island. The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami Villa ...

Ryukyus The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

on 26 March, and screened transports during landings that morning. Assigned to fire support duty on 1 April, she bombarded Japanese positions on Okinawa vigorously. She splashed two enemy planes on 6 April, another on 9 April, and saved one Navy aviator on 17 April. She rescued survivors from the destroyer , off Naha, Okinawa, 18 May. Relieved of fire support duties on 7 June, she served as a radar picket until 23 June when she sailed for

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 of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 es ...

. Following her return to San Francisco at the end of the war, ''Picking'' decommissioned 20 December 1945, and entered the

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

at San Diego.

1951 – 1969

In response to the Korean War, ''Picking'' recommissioned 26 January 1951. Following duty out of Newport, Rhode Island, she arrived at Yokosuka, Japan, 4 May 1953. Off Korea she operated with Task Forces 77 and 95, conducting shore bombardment with 95 and saved one naval aviator. Upon completion of Korean duty, she departed Sasebo, Japan on 5 August, and proceeded via the Suez Canal to

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- most p ...

arriving 2 October. Following stateside operations in 1954, she sailed 5 January 1955 for European and Mediterranean duty. Operating out of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Northern Ireland, she studied

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

convoy escort techniques, and then served with the

6th Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet i ...

, before returning to Newport 26 May. Transferred to the Pacific Fleet, she arrived at Long Beach, California, 15 April 1956. She departed 5 June for a tour of duty with the 7th Fleet, which included a Taiwan patrol, and returned to Long Beach 18 November. Departing Long Beach 13 August, she made another tour of the Far East, and returned 24 January 1958. On her next WestPac deployment, 8 October 1958 to 27 March 1959, she operated with an antisubmarine hunter-killer group led by 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 Carrier-based aircraft, carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a ...

. During this tour, she carried emergency supplies to the fire-damaged Japanese town of Koniya. In the fall she participated in antisubmarine exercises with

Canadian forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

off the west coast. From January to June 1960, and from August 1961 to February 1962, she made two more WestPac deployments. During the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United ...

of October 1962, she escorted the aircraft carrier . East coast operations and training filled 1963. Deployed to the 7th Fleet on 13 March 1964, she performed escort duty off Vietnam in response to the

Gulf of Tonkin incident The Gulf of Tonkin incident ( vi, Sự kiện Vịnh Bắc Bộ) was an international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War. It involved both a proven confrontation on August 2, 1964, carried out b ...

before returning to Long Beach 2 October. Sailing for WestPac 10 July 1965, she arrived at Dixie Station off Vietnam 11 September. During September and November, she bombarded enemy positions in South Vietnam. She returned to Long Beach 16 December. Following training and local operations in 1966, she departed for WestPac 27 December. She bombarded enemy military, naval, and logistical areas in North and South Vietnam, and destroyed several logistical craft in coastal waters off North Vietnam. Training off the west coast in

antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typi ...

and gunnery completed 1967. In February 1968 she departed for WestPac, and arrived at

Yankee Station Yankee Station (officially Point Yankee) was a fixed coordinate off the coast of Vietnam where U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and support ships operated in open waters over a nine-year period during the Vietnam War. The location was used primar ...

25 April. Following gunfire support duty off South Vietnam and a return to Yankee Station, she arrived Long Beach 17 August. Following duties with the Pacific Fleet in 1969, ''Picking'' decommissioned 6 September 1969 at Long Beach, Calif., 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 ...

.DANFS
Picking
She was stricken 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 author ...

1 March 1975, and sunk as a target 27 February 1997.

Honors and awards

''Picking'' received five

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s for World War II service. and one battle star for Korean service.

References

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Picking''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Picking (DD-685) World War II destroyers of the United States Cold War destroyers of the United States Korean War destroyers of the United States Vietnam War destroyers of the United States Ships built in Staten Island 1943 ships Fletcher-class destroyers of the United States Navy Ships sunk as targets Maritime incidents in 1997