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USS Gleaves (DD-423) 

Please see below for item level images and donated collections containing photographs of USS Gleaves (DD-423) 

USS Gleaves (DD-423) was launched by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 9 December 1939; sponsored jointly by Miss Evelina Gleaves Van Metre and Miss Clotilda Florence Cohe, granddaughters of Admiral Gleaves; and commissioned 14 June 1940, at Boston Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. E. H. Pierce in command.

Departing for shakedown training soon after commissioning, USS Gleaves (DD-423) operated off the Atlantic coast and in Caribbean waters until returning to Boston 19 March 1941 to prepare for convoy duty. She departed Newport on her first voyage 23 June 1941, and saw her convoy arrive safely at Iceland. After patrolling in Icelandic waters for a time, she returned to Boston 23 July.

After returning to Boston 31 March 1942, USS Gleaves (DD-423) departed 10 May for participation in the Allied landings in Sicily. After engaging in support and convoy operations in the battle zone, USS Gleaves (DD-423) and USS Plunkett accepted the surrender of the Italian garrison on the island of Utica 5 August 1943, and later landed occupation troops on the island. USS Gleaves (DD-423) also drove off a group of five enemy E-boats attempting to attack shipping in the harbor of Palermo, Sicily. As Allied preparations for the invasion of Italy reached a climax, USS Gleaves (DD-423) bombarded the Italian mainland. In September 1943 she helped clear the way for the Alerno landing forces. Following the assault, USS Gleaves (DD-423) convoyed shipping in the Mediterranean area in support of the drive north from Salerno.

USS Gleaves (DD-423) next took part in the invasion of southern France in August 1944. She escorted the Rangers in their initial landings; bombarded shore installations in support of the main assault; and screened heavier units of the fleet off shore. n December 1944, USS Gleaves (DD-423) was assigned as fire support ship near Allied positions on the Franco-Italian frontier, and ably performed this duty until sailing for the United States in February 1945. After a period of outfitting at New York and training activities in the Caribbean, she departed 30 June 1945 from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the Pacific, arriving at Pearl Harbor 4 August.

While repairing her machinery at Adak, Alaska, 23 November, USS Gleaves (DD-423) received word that steamer Adabelle Lykes in the Pacific was suffering from a smallpox epidemic. Her duty in the North Pacific terminated, Gleaves transported 300 veterans from the Aleutians to Seattle, Wash., on "Magic Carpet" duty, arriving 10 December 1945. She then moved to San Francisco and on 2 January 1946 departed for Charleston, S.C. At Charleston, where she arrived 18 January 1946, USS Gleaves (DD-423) decommissioned 8 May 1946.

For a complete history of USS Gleaves (DD-423) please see its DANFS page.