USS ''Cassin'' (DD-372) was a in 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 ...

before and during

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 opposing ...

. She was the second ship named for

Stephen Cassin Stephen Cassin (16 February 1783 – 29 August 1857) was an officer in the United States Navy during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812. Early life and military career Born in Philadelphia, the son of naval officer John Cassin, Cassin e ...

, an officer in the United States Navy. ''Cassin'' was launched at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

on 28 October 1935. She was sponsored by Stephen Cassin's great granddaughter, Mrs. Helen Cassin Carusi Lombard, and commissioned 21 August 1936, with

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

A. G. Noble in command. Mrs. Lombard, at age nine, had also sponsored the first in 1913.

Service history

''Cassin'' underwent alterations until March 1937, then cruised to the Caribbean and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. On 18 August 1937 the ''Cassin'' was in dry dock #2 at the

when she suffered a ruptured steam line. Four civilians in the engine room were killed. Ten more, both sailors and civilians were injured. In April 1938 she joined the fleet 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 ...

for the annual fleet exercises in the Hawaiian Islands and the Panama Canal Zone. During 1939, she operated on the West Coast with torpedo and gunnery schools, and on 1 April 1940 was assigned to the Hawaiian Detachment. ''Cassin'' sailed on maneuvers and patrol in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, cruising from February to April 1941 to

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

, Australia, and Fiji. Fall of 1941 found her calling at West Coast ports.

World War II

''Cassin'' was in drydock with and at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. During the attack, a low order detonation by a bomb on ''Downes'' ruptured her fuel tanks, causing uncontrollable fires on board both ''Downes'' and ''Cassin''. ''Cassin'' slipped from her keel blocks and rested against ''Downes''. Both ships were considered lost, and ''Cassin'' was decommissioned as of 7 December 1941. Both ship's hulls were damaged beyond repair but machinery and equipment were salvaged and sent to

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates t ...

where entirely new ships were built around the salvaged material and given the wrecked ship's names and hull numbers. Recommissioned 5 February 1944, ''Cassin'' reported at Pearl Harbor 22 April, and was assigned escort duty from

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

until August. By shooting out caves and bombarding

Aguijan Aguiguan (also Aguigan and Aguihan, based on the Spanish rendition of the native name, Aguijan, which is still used) is a small bean-shaped coralline island in the Northern Mariana Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean. It is situated south-west of ...

, she aided in the consolidation 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 ...

from 15 – 25 August, and then assumed escort duties out of Saipan. She took part in the bombardment of

Marcus Island , also known as Marcus Island, is an isolated Japanese coral atoll in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located some southeast of Tokyo and east of the closest Japanese island, South Iwo Jima of the Ogasawara Islands, and nearly on a straight l ...

on 9 October. With the same force which had struck at Marcus, ''Cassin'' sailed on to join TG 38.1 on 16 October. ''Cassin'' steamed northeast of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

during the

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

landings, and when the landings had been successfully launched, was dispatched with her group to refuel and replenish at

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 ...

. However, when TF 38 made contact with the Japanese Center Force rounding the southern cape of

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

, bound for its part in 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 fo ...

, ''Cassin''s group was recalled to join the approaching action. In the afternoon of 25 October, her group at last reached position to launch aircraft which attacked the Japanese ships in one of the longest-range carrier strikes of the war. ''Cassin''s next assignment was to the preparations for the assault on Iwo Jima. On the night of 11–12 November 1944, and again on 24 January 1945, she bombarded the island, and otherwise engaged in patrol, escort, and radar picket duties around Saipan. On 23 February, she sailed from Saipan to escort an ammunition ship to newly invaded Iwo Jima, returning to

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 ...

28 February with a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...

. She returned to Iwo Jima in mid-March for radar picket and air-sea rescue duty. With periods at Guam and Saipan for replenishment and repairs, she continued on this duty through most of the remainder of the war. ''Cassin'' endured a

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

on 6 June 1945, losing one of her men (and a motor

whaleboat A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the sh ...

) overboard. On 20 July, she bombarded Kita-Iwō-jima, and on 7 August, she boarded and searched a Japanese hospital ship to ensure compliance with international law. Since there were no violations, she allowed the ship to proceed on its way. With the war over, ''Cassin'' continued air-sea rescue off Iwo Jima, guarding the air evacuation of released prisoners of war from Japan.

Fate

She returned to Norfolk, Virginia, 1 November 1945, and was decommissioned there 17 December 1945. ''Cassin'' was sold for scrap on 25 November 1947. The Ensign that was flying on the ship during the attack on Pearl Harbor is currently displayed in the Jerry Falwell Library on the campus of

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia ( Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Lib ...

. Her ship's bell resides at the

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serve ...

in Suitland, MD.

Awards

''Cassin'' received six

battle stars 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 World War II service.

Citations

References

* * *Daniel Madsen ''Resurrection-Salvaging the Battle Fleet at Pearl Harbor''. U. S. Naval Institute Press. 2003

External links

Navsource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassin (Dd-372) Mahan-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United States Attack on Pearl Harbor Ships present during the attack on Pearl Harbor Maritime incidents in December 1941 Ships built in Philadelphia 1935 ships