Service history
Following her commissioning, ''O'Brien'' operated along the East Coast of the United States, Eastern Seaboard of the United States.World War II
After drydocking and repairs during the fall of 1941, ''O'Brien'' left Norfolk, Virginia on 15 January 1942 along with the battleship and the destroyer , and then steamed for the Pacific Ocean. Transiting the Panama Canal on 20 January, the trio of ships arrived in San Francisco, California, on 31 January. ''O'Brien'' steamed with a convoy for the Western Pacific Ocean, Western Pacific on 4 February 1942, but she was forced to return when a collision with the destroyer damaged her port side. Following repairs at the Mare Island Navy Yard, the destroyer steamed out again on 20 February, bound for Pearl Harbor. There Commander Destroyer Division 4 shifted his flag to ''O’Brien'' on 5 March 1942. After operating out of Pearl Harbor and patrolling the Hawaiian atoll, French Frigate Shoals, ''O'Brien'' called at Midway Island in the latter part of March, escorting the seaplane tender there to evacuate civilians. The two warships returned to Pearl Harbor on 3 April. After an increase and improvement of her antiaircraft batteries, she embarked passengers for transportation to the Naval Air Station at Palmyra Atoll, and then steamed out on 18 April with the destroyers and . The destroyer then joined convoys from San Diego and San Francisco to escort them to American Samoa, arriving at Pago Pago on 28 April. ''O'Brien'' was retained at Pago Pago for local escort work. On 26 May, she supported the occupation of Wallis Island, previously taken over by the Free French, and then she joined the auxiliary vessel on 19 June for the return voyage to Pearl Harbor. Operating out of Pearl Harbor, the ship performed escort duty and acted as patrol and plane guard. She got underway on 17 August with Task Force 17 (TF 17) to reinforce the South Pacific Force, screening the tanker .Sinking
While escorting a convoy of Troopship, troop transports en route to Guadalcanal, the combined Task Forces 17 and 18 were attacked by the Japanese submarine on 15 September 1942. The aircraft carrier was sunk, and the battleship and ''O’Brien'' were damaged by a spread of six torpedoes from the submarine. At 1452, ''O’Brien'' sighted smoke coming from ''Wasp''. As a member of the aircraft carrier 's antisubmarine warfare, ASW screen, she made an emergency turn to the right. At about 1454, while accelerating and swinging right, her lookouts spotted a torpedo two points forward of the port beam, away. This torpedo then missed ''O'Brien'' close astern, but while her crew's attention was concentrated on it, another torpedo hit her port bow. This explosion did little obvious damage, but it set up severe structural stresses throughout the framework of ''O'Brien''. She was able to proceed under her own power, and on 16 September she reached Espiritu Santo, where the sailors from ''Curtiss'' made temporary repairs. ''O’Brien'' next steamed out on 21 September, bound for Noumea, New Caledonia, for further repairs by the repair ship . Then, she steamed out on 10 October, bound for San Francisco Bay. ''O'Brien'' made it to Suva in Fiji on 13 October, and then steamed out once more on 16 October. The rate of leakage of seawater into ''O'Brien'' continued to increase, and on 18 October it was necessary for ''O’Brien'' to head for the nearest anchorage (maritime), anchorage. Large amounts of topside weights were jettisoned, and preparations were made for abandoning the ship, but her captain still thought that she could be taken intact to Pago Pago. However, at about 0600 on 19 October, her bottom suddenly split open considerably, and her forward and after hull portions began to work independently. At 0630, all hands except for a small salvage crew abandoned, but half an hour later ''O'Brien'' was abandoned entirely. Just before 0800 she descended beneath the waves, and after steaming nearly since she had been torpedoed. All members of her crew were saved.Awards
USS ''O'Brien'' earned one battle star during World War II.References
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