A History of USS CLAXTON DD571 Continued
1945
We left Manus on Dec.30 returning to Leyte on Jan. 2 and remained there until Jan. 9, leaving with a follow up convoy to Lingayen Gulf on Luzon where landings had been made earlier. We were attacked off Manila Bay by heavy air raid, some other ships were hit. In Lingayen Gulf we were assigned numerous fire support missions and were at general quarters for 108 hours. Departed there Jan. 16 to Leyte and entered a floating dry dock on the 18th for screw repairs, left Leyte on Jan. 27 to cover the landings at Nasugbu near entrance to Manila Bay on the 31st. That night there were attacks by numerous suicide boats, but with no success. For a few days, cover was provided for several convoys between the beach head and Mindora Island. On Feb. 9 the ship entered Subic Bay on Luzon Island until the 14th, and then covered landings on the south tip of the Bataan peninsular on the 15th. The following day, cover was provided for landings by paratroopers on Corregidor Island. From then until March 11 we provided call fire, escorted LST's and sank floating mines. On March 12, back to Subic and then to Lingayen and return to cover landings on Panay Island on March 17. There was no opposition there, and a convoy was covered back to Subic Bay and Lingayen Gulf. Then followed the landings on Negros Island. Again no opposition. The ship returned to Leyte on April 3rd and went into dock again for replacement of a screw, then leaving on the 13th to Mindora and on to Pollock Harbor, Mindanao Is. Landings were covered there on the 17th , then a stop at Zamboango on the 20th. The landings in Davao Gulf on Mindanao were covered from April 21 to May 1. We then returned to Leyte and went alongside the tender for maintenance leaving there on May 13 heading for Okinawa along with most of DESRON 23. Around Okinawa the Jap Kamikazes had been giving our Navy a terrible time. Numerous ships had been hit, the destroyers on radar picket duty had been taking a beating. The landings were made on April 1, and by the time we arrived on May 16 the worst was over, but they were still coming in. The CLAXTON was equipped as a fighter director ship and was in much demand on the picket stations. The remainder of May and all of June were spent on and off picket duty. We would be on station for three or four days then off for a few days. There was much Kamikaze action, one day our station shot down 8 of them. We were usually on station with two other DD's and several LCI's equipped with numerous AA guns. The station also had two planes for its own protection. This was a formidable group, and when used like that the casualty rate for DD's greatly diminished. On July 1 went alongside the tender HAMUL, until the 10th, in Kerama Retto. Then followed some patrolling and escorting and back to the tender HAMUL again on July 22 this time in Buckner Bay. The stay was interrupted on the 28th when all ships sortied to ride out a typhoon at sea. This lasted until Aug. 4 when we returned to the tender staying until the10th to repair boiler troubles. It was on the 10th that word was received that Japan was offering to surrender. There was a terrific celebration that night in Buckner Bay, much AA fire into the air and other pyrotechnics. We heard that a number of men were killed and wounded from falling shrapnel. On the CLAXTON we took cover. On Aug. 13 departed Okinawa and were at sea when news came on the 15th that the war was over. Arrived in Guam on Aug. 18 and were there until the 25th. Some men with high points were transferred heading home. The ship returned to Okinawa on Aug. 28 and departed from there on Sept. 10 heading for home with part of the 3rd fleet. Arriving Pearl Harbor on Sept. 20 and leaving on the 25th. The force arrived at the Panama Canal on Oct 8 and it took until the 12th to get them all through. The CLAXTON arrived at the Norfolk Navy Yard on Oct. 16, 1945 where many men were transferred off heading home. The CLAXTON moved to Washington D.C. the next day and on the 19th, along with the
AUSBURNE, DYSON AND CONVERSE were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. After an overhaul in New York, the ship was placed in reserve in Charleston S.C. on April 19, 1946. On Dec 15, 1959 she was loaned to the Federal Republic of Germany where she served as Z-4. In the 1980's the CLAXTON was sold to the Greek Navy and was docked and not put into service. In 1989 it was reported she was still operational and in reserve along with the DYSON and AULICK DD 569.
Recently it was reported that the ex CLAXTON was sighted in a Greek port under the name of A/S VELOS. This report came from Bernd Bielang, an ex sailor of the CLAXTON when she was Z4 in the West German Navy. He sighted her at the island of Poros near Athens in July 2000. The old girl was still going strong after 58 years.
Another ex sailor of the German Navy, Werner Thuenel, has reported he sighted the old CLAXTON at the Greek Island of Salamina and that she was underway. Date of the sighting is not known at this time.
A further report has been received from Bernd Bieling dated November 28, 2004 in which he states
that his report earlier that the Greek ship A/S VELOS was the old CLAXTON is not so. He states
that the VELOS was in fact the old USS CHARETTE DD581 and that the VELOS is to become
a museum ship and is currently in Athens Palio Faliron. His information is that the CLAXTON was
taken over by the Greek Navy on June 26, 1981 and was used as a source of spare parts for other
Fletchers. She was scrapped close to Salamis Greece, date unknown.
The proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute reported in a World Naval Review that the Mexican Navy had, on July 16, 2001, retired the Fletcher class destroyer CUITLAHUAC (ex- USS JOHN RODGERS DD 574). The report stated that it was the last remaining Fletcher in any navy. She was a close sister to the CLAXTON, built in Orange also and only two months younger.
This history has been compiled by Tom Clyce, a Chief Radio Technician aboard the CLAXTON, from a personal notebook. Also from the memoirs of Ervin "Boake" Carter, Yoeman 1/c, and a diary kept by Bob Horvath Firecontrolman 1/c. All three served aboard the CLAXTON during her entire war career.
Page revised Feb 28, 2005