- USS McGinty (DE-365)
The USS "McGinty" (DE-365) was a "John C. Butler"-class
destroyer escort . She was named for Sonarman Third ClassFranklin Alexander McGinty , who was killed aboard the gunboat USS "Plymouth" (PG-57) on5 August 1943 . He was posthumously awarded theNavy Cross for extraordinary heroism without regard for his own safety."McGinty" was laid down by the
Consolidated Steel Corporation ofOrange, Texas on3 May 1944 . She was launched on5 August 1944 , sponsored by Mrs. Perrillah Atkinson Malone; and commissioned at Orange on25 September 1944, withLieutenant Commander William H. Harrison in command.After shakedown off
Bermuda and training along the east coast, "McGinty" departedNorfolk, Virginia , on4 December for escort duty in the westernPacific . As flagship forEscort Division 86 , she touched atSan Diego, California , andPearl Harbor and reached Eniwetok on16 January 1945 . Later that day she continued on toGuam asconvoy escort. During the next 3 months she escorted ships fromEniwetok to Guam andUlithi . She completed three round trips between Eniwetok and Guam and two between Eniwetok and Ulithi, escorting tankers,transport s, escort carriers, and merchant ships."McGinty" arrived at Ulithi on
27 April and served there as patrol ship until15 June . After a run to Guam and back, she sailed in convoy forOkinawa on1 July . She returned to Ulithi viaSaipan the 12th, and completed a similar run to the Palaus and back on23 July . She departed on a second Okinawa run on4 August and returned to Ulithi on V-J Day. Thence between 22 and26 August she sailed to Okinawa for duty with the5th Fleet .On
9 September , "McGinty" sailed in the screen of aminesweeping and evacuation force bound for Japan. She arrived inWakayama ,Honshū , on the 11th and supported the evacuation ofPOWs before sailing for Okinawa on the 18th. She returned to Wakayama a week later and resumed her support of occupation operations along the Honshū coast. During the next 2 months she escorted ships between theInland Sea andTokyo Bay , served as a harbor entrance control ship in the swept channel ofBungo Suido , and made courier runs out of Wakayama. Departing Japan on2 January 1946 , "McGinty" sailed via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor to San Francisco where she arrived on22 January . She steamed to San Diego 23 and24 March , was decommissioned there on15 January 1947 , and was berthed in the San Diego Group,Pacific Reserve Fleet .Following the outbreak of
Communist aggression inSouth Korea , "McGinty" was recommissioned at San Diego on28 March 1951 , with Lieutenant Commander Frederick W. Pennoyer in command. She carried out intensive training along the west coast and at Pearl Harbor. Then, as flagship ofEscort Squadron 11 , she sailed east on29 October . Arriving in Korean waters on21 November , she beganblockade andpatrol duty inWonsan Harbor and conducted numerous shore bombardments of Communist-held positions. She returned to Japan in mid-December, and joined the7th Flee t’s patrols in theStraits of Formosa on6 January 1952 . She returned to the east coast of the war-torn Korean Peninsula, and between5 March and29 April carried out two moreblockade and bombardment deployments atWonsan . She departed Japan on15 May and returned to her home port at Pearl Harbor the 24th.During the next year "McGinty" prepared for additional westerm Pacific duty. After arriving in
Sasebo, Japan on20 May 1953 , she resumed patrol duty along the east coast of Korea and screened ships during sea replenishment operations. Following the cessation of hostilities, she continued peacekeeping patrols and took part inanti-submarine warfare exercises. Once done, she departed Korean waters.On
17 November 1954 "McGinty" sailed on her thirdcold war deployment to theFar East . During the remainder of the year she patrolled theSea of Japan off Korea, and on1 January 1955 she transferred this peacekeeping duty to ships of the Republic of Korea’s Navy in a ceremony atPusan . She continued to support “keeping the peace” missions of the7th Fleet . In February she served in the screen for theMobile Replenishment Group which supported the 7th Fleet during the timely and successful evacuation of theTachen Islands . This display of U.S. seapower permitted the removal ofChinese Nationalists from an untenable position on the coastal islands along the mainland of China and was called “the most forthright U.S. action against communism since the Korean War.”"McGinty" returned to Pearl Harbor from the westerm Pacific on
23 May and conducted type and squadron operations out of Pearl Harbor during the rest of 1955. Between April and July 1956 she supported United States nuclear testing programs in theMarshall Islands , serving both as a survey and asearch and rescue ship. She then returned to Pearl Harbor for duty in the Hawaiian area until17 June 1957 , when she sailed to rejoin the 7th Fleet. For more than 4 months she ranged the western Pacific from theMarianas and thePhilippines toAustralia and Japan. She arrived back at Pearl Harbor on5 November .On
7 June 1958 "McGinty" began her fifth Far East deployment of the decade. While operating in the Marianas, she joinedEscort Squadron 7 on1 July . Between15 September and12 October she patrolled the northern station of the Taiwan Strait with other ships of the 7th Fleet. This timely demonstration thwarted the possible Communist invasion of the Chinese Nationalist islands ofQuemoy andMatsu ."McGinty" steamed to
Seattle, Washington from 3 to9 January 1959 . She decommissioned atPortland, Oregon , on19 September 1959 and was assigned to ResCortDiv 13. She was placed in service as a group II selected reserve destroyer escort. Manned by a reserve crew, she performed vital training duty for Naval Reserves. In response to overt Communist pressures byEast Germany againstWest Berlin , "McGinty" was mobilized by Presidential order on25 August 1961 and recommissioned on2 October 1961 , withCommander Jerome E. Aakhus in command."McGinty" sailed to Pearl Harbor, and as flagship for Escort Squadron 7, trained in Hawaiian waters until departing for the western Pacific on
10 February 1962 . She bolstered the peacekeeping efforts of the versatile 7th Fleet while cruising the Far East from theSouth China Sea to the Sea of Japan. She returned to Portland on17 July , decommissioned on1 August 1962 , and resumed in service duty as a training ship for Naval Reserves.Operating out of Portland, "McGinty" provided valuable service as a training ground to maintain the operational and combat readiness of reservists. In addition, she took part in summer training exercises in Hawaiian waters and along the west coast. While remaining ready to meet the threats to world peace from Communist aggression and subversion, she also responded promptly to the menace of natural disasters. During a
flood which affected much ofOregon and portions of northern California in late December1964 , she provided material assistance to emergency teams andlifesaving missions in the stricken areas."McGinty" was transferred to the
Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility inBremerton, Washington , on23 September 1968 . Her name was struck from the Navy list the same day, and she was sold for scrapping27 October 1969 ."McGinty" received three
battle star s for herKorean War service.References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m7/mcginty.htm
External links
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/365.htm navsource.org: USS "McGinty"]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/escorts/de365.txt hazegray.org: USS "McGinty"]
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