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USS HOLDER (DD-819)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NAYG

Tactical Voice Radio Call Sign (circa 1968) - HORSESHOE

CLASS - GEARING As Built.
Displacement 3460 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 390' 6"(oa) x 40' 10" x 14' 4" (Max)
Armament 6 x 5"/38AA (3x2), 12 x 40mm AA, 11 x 20mm AA, 10 x 21" tt.(2x5).
Machinery, 60,000 SHP; General Electric Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 36.8 Knots, Range 4500 NM@ 20 Knots, Crew 336.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Consolidated Steel,Orange Texas April 23 1945.
Launched August 25 1945 and commissioned May 18 1946.
Completed FRAM upgrade October 1963.
Decommissioned and Stricken October 1 1976.
To Ecuador February 23 1977, renamed Presidente Eloy Alfaro.
Fate Stricken and broken up for scrap in 1991.

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Size Image Description Contributed
By
Holder 86kRandolph Mitchell Holder was born on 20 September 1918 in Jackson, Mississippi. He was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy on 10 April 1940, following flight training. Reporting to Torpedo Squadron Six aboard the USS Enterprise (CV 6), he took part in the early carrier operations in the critical months following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then fought in the pivotal Battle of Midway, first of the great American successes in the War in the Pacific. In the gallant attack of the torpedo planes early on 4 June 1942, Holder and his comrades attacked the Japanese Fleet without fighter cover. Though Holder and many others were shot down while pressing this attack, they forced radical maneuvers and diverted Japanese air cover, so as to make the later raids lethal to the enemy fleet. Lieutenant (j.g.) Holder was presumed dead the next day, 5 June 1942, and was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroism. Photo Courtesy of the USS Holder Association thanks to Doug Dame.Robert M. Cieri/Bill Gonyo
Holder 32kUndated, location unknown.-
Holder 44kUndated, USS Rich (DD-820), USS Holder (DD-819) and USS New (DD-818) of DesRon 36.Edward H. Cleary
Holder 39kUndated, location unknown.Robert Hurst
Holder 77kUndated, location unknown.Robert Hurst
Holder 93kUndated, location unknown.Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
Holder 74kUSS Holder (DD-819) underway off Consolidated Steel, Orange, Texas, 29 May 1946. National Archives and Administration Photo # 19-N-116812.Robert Hurst
Holder 52kNew York, NY October 15 1946.Marc Piché
Holder 114kPages from a Welcome Aboard pamphlet printed May 8 1950.ENC(SW) Pete Skoutas NOSC New London CT SEL
Holder 92k1952 in Algiers, (L-R) USS Damato (DD-871), USS Holder (DD-819), USS Rich (DD-820), USS Basilone (DD-824) and USS Wilson (DD-847).Richard Miller, BMCS, USNR (Ret.)
Holder 55kCirca 1953, location unknown.Robert Hurst
Forrest
0581937
617k USS Holder (DD-819) as plane guard for the USS Antietam (CVS-36) during carrier qualifications for NAS Pensacola, Gulf of Mexico, circa July 1957.
University of West Florida photo
David Upton
Holder 129kUSS Valley Forge (CVS-45) steaming in formation with Destroyer Squadron 36, during anti-submarine exercises of the Atlantic Fleet's Task Group ALFA, 6 November 1958. The destroyers are ((from top): USS Basilone (DDE-824); USS Damato (DDE-871); USS Robert L. Wilson (DDE-847); USS Harold J. Ellison (DD-864); USS Holder (DDE-819) and USS New (DDE-818). Official U.S. Navy Photograph.Fred Weiss
Holder 127kUSS Valley Forge (CVS-45) steaming in formation with Destroyer Squadron 36, during anti-submarine exercises of the Atlantic Fleet's Task Group ALFA, 6 November 1958. The destroyers are ((from top): USS Basilone (DDE-824); USS Damato (DDE-871); USS Robert L. Wilson (DDE-847); USS Harold J. Ellison (DD-864); USS Holder (DDE-819) and USS New (DDE-818). Official U.S. Navy Photograph.Fred Weiss
Holder 98kCica 1960's, USS New (DD-818), USS Holder (DD-819) and USS RICH (DD-820) in Ponta Delgada, Azores.Carlos Manuel Estrela
Holder 70kChesapeake Bay, August 1964© Richard Leonhardt
Holder 138kUSS Holder (DD-819) underway in 1968, location unknown. United States Navy photo by PH1 C. A. Kompeida.Robert Hurst
Holder   Holder   Holder   Holder   Holder
Welcome Aboard pamphlet - circa 1968
Wolfgang Hechler
Holder   Holder   Holder
Welcome Aboard pamphlet - circa 1973 (part of a DesRon 28 pamphlet)
Wolfgang Hechler
Holder 204kIn Boston Navy Yard in 1974.Vince Venincasa
Holder 35kIn a Philadelphia dry dock in 1975.Frank F. Vosburgh III
Holder 42kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Holder 72kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Holder 68kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Holder 39kShip's Zippo.Tommy Trampp
Holder 138kShip's plaque.Mike Smolinski
On Ecuadorian Service
Holder 21k BAE Presidente Eloy Alfaro - José Eloy Alfaro Delgado (born on June 25, 1842; died on January 28, 1912) was the leader of the liberal revolution of Ecuador (1895-1924) and President of the Republic of Ecuador on two occasions, 1897-1901 and 1906-1911. For his central role in the battles of the revolution and for having fought conservatism for nearly 30 years, he is known as the "Viejo Luchador" ("Old Warrior.")Francisco Javier Santos Vazquez

USS HOLDER DD-819 History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The hazegray Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)

Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves


CDR Barry Kennedy Atkins    May 18 1946 - Aug 13 1947 (Later RADM)

CDR Charles Loenard Frazier    Aug 13 1947 - 1948

CDR Franklin Duerr Buckley    1948 - Apr 6 1951

CDR George Levick Street III    Apr 6 1951 - Apr 22 1952

CDR Robert Gwathmey Merritt    Apr 22 1952 - May 1 1953

CAPT Elmore Fitzpatrick Higgins Jr.    May 1 1953 - 1954

CDR Roland George Mayer Jr.    1954 - Dec 27 1955

CDR William Clyde Vickrey Jr.    Dec 27 1955 - Sep 25 1957

CDR Woodbury Appleton    Sep 25 1957 - 1959

CDR Ellery Eugene Tyler    1959 - Feb 1961

CDR James Albert Hooper Jr.    Feb 1961 - 1962

CDR Edwin Paul Smith    1962 - Dec 1962

LCDR Roger Alan Chapman    Dec 1962 - Aug 26 1963

CDR Charles Anthony Rankowski    Aug 26 1963 - Sep 1964

CDR Robert Studebaker Smith    Sep 1964 - Jul 17 1965 (Later RADM)

CDR William Luke King Jr.    Jul 17 1965 - Nov 4 1967

CDR Thomas Edward Wynkoop    Nov 4 1967 - Aug 27 1969

LCDR Stanley Davis Clark Sr.    Aug 27 1969 - Jun 26 1971

CDR Ace Freeman Trask    Jun 26 1971 - Sep 6 1972

CDR Herbert Aloysius Ellis Jr.    Sep 6 1972 - Mar 16 1974

CDR Joseph Harold (Jay) Maston III    Mar 16 1974 - Aug 1976

CDR Leonard L. Manderfield    Aug 1976 - Oct 1 1976


Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Contact Name: Jim de Barrios
Address: 120 Ross Street, Santa Cruz, Ca 95060-2636
Phone: 831-458-9062
E-mail: None


Note About Contacts.

The contact listed, Was the contact at the time for this ship when located. If another person now is the contact, E-mail me and I will update this entry. These contacts are compiled from various sources over a long period of time and may or may not be correct. Every effort has been made to list the newest contact if more than one contact was found.


Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Destroyers Online Website
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website

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This page was created by Fred Willishaw (ex ARG-4, AS-11 & DD-692) and is maintained by David L. Wright
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Last Updated 06 March 2021