USS ''Bigelow'' (DD-942) was a in the United States Navy. The ship was named for

Watertender A fireman, stoker or watertender is a person whose occupation it is to tend the fire for the running of a boiler, heating a building, or powering a steam engine. Much of the job is hard physical labor, such as shoveling fuel, typically coal, into ...

Second Class

Elmer Charles Bigelow Elmer Charles Bigelow (July 12, 1920 – February 15, 1945) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. Biography Elmer Charles Bigelow was born in Hebron, Illinois, on July 12 ...

(1920-1945), who was killed in action extinguishing a magazine fire while serving on board during action against enemy Japanese forces off

Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

in the Philippines on 14 February 1945. Bigelow was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. ''Bigelow'' was built by the Bath Iron Works Corporation at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in Maine. The ship was launched by Mrs. Verna B. Perry, mother of Elmer C. Bigelow. ''Bigelow'' was part of Combined Task Group CTG 136.1.1 tasked with blockading Cuba 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 S ...

. ''Bigelow'' received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for participating from 24 October 1962 to 21 November 1962. ''Bigelow'' saw extensive service in the Vietnam War and also served as a NASA recovery ship for the Mercury and Gemini III programs. While operating off Vietnam on 20 April 1967, an explosion in a gun mount injured six sailors, 1 killed. ''Bigelow'' served as a test platform for Phalanx CIWS in 1977. The mount was installed just aft of the aft radar gun director.

Glenn R. Brindel Glenn R. Brindel (born 1943) is a former United States Navy officer. He was the commanding officer of and was in command when the ship was attacked and struck by two Exocet missiles in the Persian Gulf on May 17, 1987. The incident review boar ...

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of during the 1987 missile attack, was

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

of ''Bigelow'' from 1978 to 1980.

Fate

''Bigelow'' decommissioned 5 November 1982. She was sold for scrap to the Fore River Shipyard and Iron Works at

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, on 11 December 1992. When the Fore River Shipyard went bankrupt she was resold to N. R. Acquisition Incorporated of New York City by the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court. She was re-acquired by the Navy for disposition as a target ship, stricken 1 June 1990 and was "Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise" (presumably sunk as a gunnery target) on or before 2 April 2003.N.V.R. indicates that the ship was disposed of on 2 April 2003. That date may be merely the date on which the N.V.R. updated its records; it is not indicated that the ship was sunk on that date.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bigelow (DD-942) Forrest Sherman-class destroyers Ships built in Bath, Maine 1957 ships Ships sunk as targets Cold War destroyers of the United States