USS ''Bearss'' (DD-654) 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

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Hiram I. Bearss Hiram Iddings Bearss (April 13, 1875 – August 27, 1938) was an officer of the United States Marine Corps who received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Philippine–American War and the Distinguished Service Cross for his valor in W ...

(1875–1938),

USMC 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 co ...

, who was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for actions during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

. ''Bearss'' was launched 25 July 1943 by Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Ala., sponsored by Mrs. Louise Bearss, widow of General Bearss; and commissioned 12 April 1944.

Service history

World War II

''Bearss'' reported to the Pacific Fleet and operated in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

an waters during July 1944. On 9 August 1944, she arrived at Adak, Alaska, and served with Task Force 92 (TF 92) and TF 94 in anti-shipping sweeps and bombardments in the

Kuril Islands 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 the ...

, as well as patrolling in the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...

until the end of the war. She took part in the bombardments of

Matsuwa Matua (russian: Матуа, ja, 松輪島, Matsuwa-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean, across Golovnin Strait from Raikoke. Its name is derived ...

(21 November 1944, 16 March, and 11–12 June 1945), Suribachi Wan (5 January and 19 May 1945); Kurabu Wan (18 February 1945); and the anti-shipping sweeps (19 May, 25 June, 17–19, 22 July, and 11 August 1945). ''Bearss'' arrived at Ominato,

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

, 8 September 1945 and patrolled along the southern coast of

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

until returning to the United States. She arrived at Charleston, S.C., 22 December 1945; went into commission in reserve 12 July 1946; and out of commission in reserve 31 January 1947. She was also the ship assigned to Lt.

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...

, the future award winning actor.Jimmy Stewart, A World At War, And Why 'It's A Wonderful Life' Was Almost A Little Less Wonderful: Part I

Post war

''Bearss'' was recommissioned 7 September 1951 and joined Destroyer Division 322 (DesDiv 322),

Destroyer Squadron 32 In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1 ...

(DesRon 32), Atlantic Fleet. She served along the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

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 normal peacetime operations. She made two

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 and one

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

ern cruise (April–October 1954), which took her around the world. In August and September 1958, the ''Bearss'' was part of ''Navy Task Force 88'' (TF 88), during

Operation Argus Operation Argus was a series of United States low-yield, high-altitude nuclear weapons tests and missile tests secretly conducted from 27 August to 9 September 1958 over the South Atlantic Ocean. The tests were performed by the Defense Nucle ...

, which was involved in conducting nuclear tests in the very high atmosphere. Homeported in Norfolk, ''Bearss'' was transferred to duty as a "reserve destroyer" in 1960 or 61, with a skeleton crew of active duty Navy personnel and a reserve crew that drilled aboard one weekend a month. The reserve crew was called to active duty (as a result of the Cuban missile crisis???) and reported onboard 23 Oct. 1961, left shortly thereafter for "refresher training" at the Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and returned to Norfolk in January 1962. She operated as a part of the First Fleet's Task Force Bravo, with frequent at-sea periods screening carriers and taking part antisubmarine warfare training off the Virginia Capes. Her reserve crew was released from active duty 1 Aug. 1962. Her commanding officer for that period was CDR William Savage, USNR. ''Bearss'' was decommissioned on 30 December 1963. She was stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 1 December 1974. The ship was sold 14 April 1976 and broken up for scrap.

Awards

''Bearss'' received one

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 ...

for her

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

service.

References

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Bearss''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bearss (Dd-654) World War II destroyers of the United States Cold War destroyers of the United States Ships built in Chickasaw, Alabama 1943 ships Fletcher-class destroyers of the United States Navy