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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Mills (DE 383)

N - J - U - T
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Fever Breaker"

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon
Second Row: Navy Expeditionary Medal - China Service Medal - American Campaign Medal
Third Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - World War II Victory Medal
Fourth Row: National Defense Service Medal - Antarctica Service Ribbon - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

Specifications:
Class: Edsall
Type: FMR (geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1200 tons (light), 1590 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 20' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38d81/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 21 kts
Range: 9,100 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 3 x 3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 twin 40mm Mk1 AA, 8 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 3 x 21" Mk15 TT (3x1), 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks
Complement: 8 / 201

Mills (DE 383) Building and Operational Data:

26 March 1943: Keel laid by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.

26 May 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. James E. Mills

12 October 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr J. S. Muzzy, USCG, in command

14 June 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 8 months of service

01 November 1956: Reclassified as DER 383, conversion commenced at the Boston Naval Shipyard

03 October 1957: Recommissioned, Lcdr. Joseph E. Feaster in command, assigned to Newport, R.I. as a unit of Escort Squadron 16 (radar picket, North American Continental Air Defense System)

01 September 1968: Shifted administrative control at Key West, Fla. from Commander, Destroyer Division 601 to Commander, Reserve Destroyer Squadron 34

26 September 1968: Decommissioned, placed "in service" at Norfolk, Va. as NRT ship, Washington Naval District at Baltimore, Md.

20 October 1968: Arrived in Baltimore, assumed duties as NRT ship, Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md. as a unit of Reserve Destroyer Squadron 34 (ResDesDiv 342)

27 October 1970: Decommissioned at the U.S. Naval Reserve Training Center, Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md. after 13 years and ¾ month of service

01 August 1974: Struck from the NVR with a total of 15 years and 8¾ months of service

12 March 1975: Sold for scrapping

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0638301	48k	Born 03 July 1917 at Rock Springs, Wyo., Lloyd Jones Mills, was born to James Edley and Mable Alice (Jones) Mills. At some point the family moved to Walla Walla, Wash. where Lloyd was employed by the Baker Boyer Bank. He enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a seaman second class on 04 December 1940. He was appointed aviation cadet on 06 March 1941, naval aviator on 22 August 1941, and commissioned ensign on 19 September 1941. Ensign Mills was killed 30 July 1942 in an airplane crash during the Aleutian Islands campaign, and was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement in action from 01 to 15 June 1942. USS *Mills* (DE 383) (1943-1946, 1957-1970) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo from the Sweetwater News, Sweetwater, Wyo.)	Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Manager, Navsource DE / FF / LCS Archive
0638307	106k	undated wartime image (This photo of the USS *Mills, DE383, is from my Dad's photo album. He (John Kingeter) was a plank holder on the Mills* and did 9 trips across the Atlantic in WWII.)	John Kingeter
0638309	524k	undated: location unknown - USS *Mills* poses for a portrait. (U.S. Navy National Archives photo #USN 1146811* from the* Naval History and Heritage Command)	Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Manager, Navsource DE / FF / LCS Archive
0638302	139k	August 1960: Boston Naval Shipyard (Photo © Richard Leonhardt)	Richard Leonhardt
0638310	468k	30 March 1964: Boston,Mass. - USS *Mills* underway in Boston Harbor. *Mills* is on sea trials after being in the Bromfield Corp. Shipyard in East Boston, Mass. since 24 January. *Mills* had been drydocked at the James S. Munro Shipyard in Chelsea, Mass. from 09 January to 24 January when she moved to Bromfield for the remainder of her repairs. (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 107603, Photographer: N. Metta, from the Naval History and Heritage Command)	Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Manager, Navsource DE / FF / LCS Archive
0638308	207k	circa mid-1960's: Key West, Fla. - USS *Mills* returning to Key West from an Antarctica deployment. In 1964, *Mills* was assigned to operation "Deep Freeze," the U.S. Naval Force supporting scientific research in Antarctica. During the austral summer seasons of 1964‑65, and 1966‑67, and 1967‑68, *Mills* took station to provide weather information and electronic navigational aid to aircraft ferrying men and equipment between Christchurch, New Zealand, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Each of these seasonal deployments required an 11,000‑mile voyage via the Panama Canal to Dunedin, New Zealand, Mills- base of operations with "Deep Freeze." At the end of each deployment, *Mills* completed a round‑the‑world cruise by returning to Newport via Suez. (Photo #MM00041306x by Don Pinder, courtesy of the Florida Keys Public Libraries)	Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
0638303	49k	April 1967: Italy (Photo © Richard McNamara)	Richard McNamara
0638304	31k	late 1960's: in New York Harbor, with the statue of Liberty off the starboard bow.	Bob Yellen
0638305	301k	Winter 1972 - Spring 1973: Philadelphia, Pa. - Two views of decommissioned *Mills* at the Inactive Ship Basin of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility.	Jim Cunliffe Frederica, Del.
0638306	290k		Jim Cunliffe Frederica, Del.
0624410	405k	October 1973: Philadelphia, Pa. - The decommissioned USS *Mills* (DER 383), far right, nested in a group of mothballed destroyer escorts at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, U.S. Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia Pa. On *Mills's starboard side is the decommissioned USS Otterstetter* (DER 244), the decommissioned USS *Chambers* (DER 391) and the decommissioned USS *Wagner* (DER 539). (Heilenday photo #III 0424A from the Heilenday Collection)	Mark Heilenday Virginia Beach, Va, Captain, USN (ret.) June 1974 - July 2004

Mills Memorabilia
Ashtray Courtesy of Mike Smolinski	Ship's Plaque Courtesy of Mike Smolinski

Mills History
View the USS Mills (DE 383) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
View the official War History of USS Mills as submitted by the ship at war's end.

Mills' Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 12 Oct. 1943 – 04 May 1944	Lcdr. James Schoolcraft Muzzy, USCG (USCGA '36)
2.) 04 May 1944 – 15 Aug. 1945	Lcdr. Victor Pfeiffer, USCG (USCGA '39)
3.) 15 Aug. 1945 - .. .... 1945	Lt. Henry E. Ringling, USCGR
4.) .. .... 1945 – 14 Jun. 1946	Lcdr. Douglas Davis Vosler, USCG (USCGA '43)
5.) 03 Oct. 1957 - 03. Jul. 1958	Lcdr. Joseph Eugene Feaster, USN (Bath, S.C.)
6.) 03 Jul. 1958 - 23 Oct. 1959	Lcdr. "L" "B" Loudermilk, USN (Anadarko, Okla.)
7.) 23 Oct. 1959 - 13 May 1961	Lcdr. William Maddox McDonald, USN (NROTC '45) (Arlington, Va.)
8.) 13 May 1961 - 19 Nov. 1962	Lcdr. Deming Waite Smith, USN (USNA ‘48-A) (Worcester, Mass.)
9.) 19 Nov. 1962 – 11 Nov. 1964	Lcdr. Robert Dale Hoffman, USN (USNA '50) (Burlington, Wis.)
10.) 11 Nov. 1964 – 25 Oct. 1966	Lcdr. Henry Clay Morris Jr., USN (McCamey, Tex.)
11.) 25 Oct. 1966 – 26 Sep. 1968	Cdr. Joseph Albert Felt, USN (Buffalo, N.Y.)
12.) 26 Sep. 1968 – 25 Feb. 1970	Lt. Thomas Edward Blundell, USN (OinC) (Chadron, Nebr.)
13.) 25 Feb. 1970 – 27 Oct. 1970	Lt. Fred Dennis Dyches, USN (OinC)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Contact Name: Jack Merkle
Address: 12403 Madeley Lane / Bowie MD 20715
Phone: (301) 262-4288
E-mail: Jack Merkle

Note About Contacts

Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has been
made to list the newest contact. However, our entry is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list only
a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the
Frequently Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.

Additional Resources

Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation

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