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 1943 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1973.
Construction
The ''Acree'' was named for John White Acree, a
LTJG
Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies.
United States
Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...
serving aboard the . Acree died while leading a damage-control party on 26 October 1942 during the
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...
. The ship was laid down on 30 November 1942 by the
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
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. Gov ...
,
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684,New York Navy Yard on 19 July 1943.
Service history
After 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 =
, es ...
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
on 5 October, stopped briefly at the Galapagos Islands three days later, and steamed on independently to
Bora Bora
Bora Bora (French: ''Bora-Bora''; Tahitian: ''Pora Pora'') is an island group in the Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands comprise the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, which is an overseas collectivity of the French R ...
in the
Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the ...
, where she arrived on the 18th. After refueling, ''Acree'' rendezvoused with SS ''Mormactern'' on 25 October and escorted her to
Nouméa
Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and ...
, New Caledonia.
As a member of Escort Division 11, ''Acree'' carried out numerous convoy and anti-submarine patrol operations in the South Pacific during the next six months. Her stops included
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Geography
The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...
in the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
Fiji Islands
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
Nouméa
Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and ...
Russell Islands :''See also Russell Island (disambiguation).''
The Russell Islands are two small islands ( Pavuvu and Mbanika), as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands. They are located approximately northwest o ...
. This routine was broken on 28 April 1944 when the ship joined the anti-submarine screen of Task Group (TG) 50.17, which was formed to refuel Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher's Fast Carrier Task Force, TF 58. She completed this assignment on 3 May, sailed back to Purvis Bay, and began antisubmarine patrol duty off that port.
On 9 June, ''Acree'' became a member of TG 53.19 slated to take part in the invasion of the Marianas. She arrived off the southern end of
Tinian
Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...
Island on 7 July and provided illuminating and harassing fire on Tinian Town. The destroyer escort opened fire at 1905 and continued firing at 40-minute intervals throughout the night. She moved to Saipan Harbor the next day and later joined the anti-submarine screen off Saipan.
For the next four months, ''Acree'' carried out escort and patrol duties in the central Pacific. On 13 November, ''Acree'' departed
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 ...
bound for the United States. She stopped at
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 ...
on the 21st and arrived at San Francisco on 3 December 1944 and, the following day entered the United Engineering Co., Ltd., shipyard at
Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...
, for overhaul.
The destroyer escort got underway for sea trials on 31 January 1945; sailed for
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 state ...
on 4 February; and, following her arrival at Pearl Harbor on the 10th, participated in training exercises north of the Hawaiian Islands in company with the destroyer escort and escort carrier . ''Acree'' returned to
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 ...
on 24 March and spent the remainder of the war escorting convoys and acting as a barrier patrol off Pacific islands such as
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 ...
, Eniwetok,
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 ...
Japan's surrender
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...
, the ship got underway from
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civil ...
on 15 September, bound for home. After a one-day stop at Pearl Harbor, she resumed her eastward voyage and reached
San Diego, California
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 Stat ...
, on 28 September. On 6 October, she sailed for the east coast and, after transiting the Panama Canal, arrived at New York on 20 October to begin a pre-inactivation availability. On 29 November, the destroyer escort arrived at
Green Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908.
The city is named after the portio ...
, where she was decommissioned on 1 April 1946.
''Acree'' was struck 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 July 1972 and sold on 19 July 1973 to the Boston Metals Co., of Baltimore, Maryland, for scrapping.