- USS Newman K. Perry (DD-883)
USS "Newman K. Perry" (DD–883/DDR–883), a sclass|Gearing|destroyer was the only ship of the
United States Navy named for Ensign Newman K. Perry, USN (1880–1905), who was killed in a boiler explosion board USS|Bennington|PG-4|2 on21 July 1905 ."Perry" was laid down by the
Consolidated Steel Corporation atOrange, Texas 10 October 1944 , launched on17 March 1945 by Mrs. Laura P. Gunter, sister of Ensign Perry and commissioned on26 July 1945 , Commander Norman E. Smith in command.Following shakedown, "Newman K. Perry" served briefly with the
Atlantic Fleet . On7 November 1945 , she got underway forPearl Harbor , whence she sailed toJapan for three month's occupation duty. She returned to Pearl Harbor28 March 1946 and was assigned to Joint Task Force 1 forOperation Crossroads , the 1946 atomic bomb test series at Bikini. Sailing for theMarshall Islands 27 May, she witnessed tests "Able" and "Baker" and, in August, steamed for the United States.On 18 August she arrived at
San Diego whence she operated until25 August 1947 . Then, withDesDiv 132, she headed west, arriving atYokosuka 13 September. Three days later she sailed toTsingtao to commence a series of patrol, escort, search and rescue, ASW, and hydrographic survey missions and exercises along theChina coast and offTaiwan andOkinawa . Relieved5 May 1948 , she returned to San Diego, trained naval reservists through the summer and in October entered theMare Island Naval Shipyard for overhaul.The destroyer departed
San Francisco 15 January 1949 and until April conducted exercises off the west coast. On 4 April, she departed San Diego with DesDiv 182 forNewport, Rhode Island , her new homeport, arriving 21 April.After her return to Destroyer Forces, Atlantic Fleet, she rotated tours with the
6th Fleet in theMediterranean Sea andmidshipmen and reservist training cruises, and fleet, squadron and type training exercises with the2nd Fleet . Redesignated aradar picket destroyer in 1950, she conducted her scheduled operations as DDR–883 until 1964 when she resumed the designation DD–883. A change in operations in 1959 took her toCharleston, South Carolina , which served as her homeport for several years before she resumed operations out of Newport.A second change in operations took her to the Western Pacific for her overseas deployment in 1966. Departing Newport with DesDiv 201, 4 October, she transited the
Panama Canal , stopped inHawaii , Japan, Okinawa and thePhilippines , and arrived on station in theMekong Delta ofSouth Viet Nam 23 November. Assigned to fire support duties, she shelled enemy coastal storage areas until the 28th. She then shifted to Phu Quoc island, off theCambodia n-South Viet Namese border, to support Viet Namese andSpecial Forces units for five days, returning to the Delta area in December. Other assignments on that tour with the7th Fleet took her along the coast to the DMZ and then to theGulf of Tonkin for planeguard and search and rescue missions. On8 March 1967 , she departed the combat zone forHong Kong before returning toSubic Bay for the last time. On the 27th she departed the Philippines for the Mediterranean and Newport, arriving 8 May.After overhaul at Boston, "Newman K. Perry" began 1968, with Caribbean exercises and on 4 April departed Newport for the Mediterranean to resume her annual deployments with the 6th Fleet.
"Newman K. Perry" was decommissioned and stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register on27 February 1981 , transferred toSouth Korea and renamed "Kyong Kai".ROKS Kyong Kai
The ROKS "Kyong Kai", formerly the USS "Newman K. Perry", was transferred to the
Republic of Korea Navy in 1981. It was decommissioned by South Korea in 1997, then later damaged by fire and scrapped in 1999.
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