USS Mayo (DD-422)

USS "Mayo" (DD-422) was a "Benson"-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Henry Thomas Mayo.

"Mayo" was laid down 16 May 1938 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Fore River, Massachusetts; launched 26 March 1940; sponsored by Mrs. C. G. Mayo, daughter-in-law of Admiral Mayo; and commissioned 18 September 1940, Lt. C. D. Emory in command.

"Mayo" joined the expanding Neutrality Patrol after shakedown and escorted Marines to Iceland in July 1941 as they took protective custody of that key island. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill agreed to the Atlantic Charter during the second week in August, "Mayo" guarded their meeting by patrolling off NS Argentia, Newfoundland.

The formal entrance of the United States into World War II lengthened her convoy assignment beyond the western Atlantic Ocean. Escort of slow merchant convoys out of Boston gave way in summer 1942 to duty with fast troop transports out of New York. U-boats and bad weather were not the only dangers to be encountered. When "Wakefield" caught fire 3 September, "Mayo" swiftly moved alongside the burning ship and removed 247 survivors. With the invasion of North Africa, "Mayo" appeared at Casablanca, Morocco, 12 November, 4 days after D‑Day, to protect the landing of reinforcements. A retraining period at the end of the year in Casco Bay, Maine, temporarily interrupted convoy assignments.

With DesRon 7, "Mayo" joined the 8th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea in August 1943. She gave fire and antiaircraft protection to the beachhead at Salerno, Italy, 8 September and again 22 to 24 January 1944 to the assault beaches at Anzio. At 20:01 on the 24th a sudden explosion killed seven and wounded 25 of her crew while almost breaking her in two. Despite a gaping hole at the waterline, starboard, she survived a tow back to Naples for a temporary patch, and 3 March began the long tow back to the States. Pulled into New York Navy Yard 5 April, "Mayo" required 4 months for repairs.

"Mayo" made a voyage to Trinidad and four to Europe before Germany surrendered. DesRon 7 sortied from New York 5 May 1945 for the western Pacific, and at Pearl Harbor joined fast carrier TG 12.4. Planes from this group struck Wake Island as a training gesture 20 June as the ships sailed on westward. Upon reaching Ulithi, "Mayo" began a series of escort missions to Okinawa. On 24 August she got underway escorting occupation troops which were landed on Honshū 2 September. She shepherded additional troops from the Philippines and Okinawa before sailing from Yokohama 5 November for San Diego, California and Charleston, South Carolina, arriving 7 December.

She decommissioned 18 March 1946 and went into reserve at Orange, Texas. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 December 1971, sold 8 May 1972 and broken up for scrap.

As of 2005, no other ship in the United States Navy has been named "Mayo".

Honors and awards

"Mayo" received two battle stars for World War II service.

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