Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By And/Or Copyright
	8k	Joseph Metcalf Hissem was born 31 December 1917 in Mt. Carroll, Ill. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve Aviation Cadet (V-5) program as a Seaman 2/c on 09 Jan 1941 in Chicago, Ill. He reported to Naval Reserve Air Base (NRAB) Glenview, Ill. in late February to begin his Elimination Flight training. After he completed that phase of training, he reported to Naval Air Station (NAS), Pensacola on 19 March 1941. He was discharged the same day in order to accept appointment as an aviation cadet. He completed his aviation training and was commissioned an Ensign, USNR, A-V(N) on 30 August 1941. He received basic training as a navigator and later qualified on board the PBY "Catalina" amphibious patrol aircraft. On 01 October 1941 he was assigned to Patrol Squadron Twenty Four (VP-24) in Oahu, Hi. On 08 December 1941 Ensign A-V(N) Joseph M. Hissem reported on board USS Harris (AP 8) as a passenger enroute to duty with Patrol Squadron 24 in Pearl Harbor. Though he was assigned to a patrol squadron in Hawaii, on 30 May 1942 in Pearl Harbor, Ensign Hissem and his squadron mate, Ens. Jack Winton Wilke, volunteered to provide pathfinder (navigation) services for a 1200 mile open ocean transit for Torpedo Squadron Eight's (VT-8) detachment of six new TBF-1 Avenger torpedo bomber aircraft being flown to NAS Midway on 01 June 1942 to augment the island's defenses. In the early morning hours of 04 June, he volunteered again to provide navigational assistance and act as a Radioman/Bombardier/tunnel gunner on one the TBF-1s in the detachment of VT-8 as it flew into battle against the numerically superior Japanese forces. Without fighter CAP support they were overwhelmed by Japanese fighters. However, they pressed forward in the face of withering fire. His aircraft with Ens. Oswald Gaynier as pilot and Seaman First Class (S1c) Howard William Pitt as turret gunner was shot down. Their remains were unrecoverable. They were missing in action on 04 June 1942 and presumed dead on 05 June 1943. He is listed Missing in Action or Buried at Sea on the Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial Cemetery, Honolulu, Hawaii. Ens. Hissem was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one battle star, and the World War II Victory Medal. USS Hissem (DE 400) (1944-1970) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (U.S. Navy photo from Steve Hissem)		Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal. and Gerry Lawton Commander, USN (ret.) Saluda, N.C.
	97k	undated wartime image		DESA Archives
	139k	from "All Hands" magazine, circa 1956		Stanley Svec
	67k	17 January 1957		-
	89k	undated, but more than likely prior to her transfer to Pearl Harbor		Carlos Manuel Estrela Ponta Delgada, Azores Islands
	374k	undated: USS Hissem (DER 400) at sea. (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 71284 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)		Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Archive Manager DE / FF / LCS Archive Navsource
	165k	July 1964: Charlestown, Mass. - Hissem in drydock at the Boston Naval Shipyard. She's undergoing overhaul prior to departing for her homeport change to Pearl Harbor.		Gary Taibbi SK1, USN (ret.)
	50k	28 July 1965: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - USS Kretchmer (DER 329), USS Camp (DER 251), and Hissem (DER 400) mooring at Pearl Harbor Naval Station. All three ships left Newport, R.I. on Wednesday 07 July 1965 headed for Operation Market Time in South Vietnam. (U.S. Navy Photo by PH3 Robert L. Ziesler)		Allan M. Wilson USS Kretchmer 1964 - 1968
	330k	19 October 1967: Pearl Harbor, Hi. - USS Hissem (DER 400) at the entrance to Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 71285 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)		Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Archive Manager DE / FF / LCS Archive Navsource
	79k	1967: Pearl Harbor		Ramon Jackson
	75k	date / location unknown		Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
	244k	20 September 1981: The former radar picket destroyer escort Hissem (DER 400) at anchor as target ship. At right is the British nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS Courageous (S50) as the submarine makes assessments of the Harpoon missile damage aboard Hissem during testing. (U.S. Navy photo VIRIN #DN-SC-82-09014 by Lewis Mitchell, USN, from U.S. Defense Imagery)
	156k	20 September 1981: The decommissioned radar picket destroyer escort ex-Hissem (DER 400) while in use as a target ship off California. Harpoon missile damage is being assessed aboard the ship during testing procedures. She was finally sunk on 24 February 1982. (U.S. Navy photo VIRIN #DN-SC-82-09015 by Lewis Mitchell, USN, from U.S. Defense Imagery)

Hissem Memorabilia
Ship's Emblem Courtesy of Gary Taibbi	Ship's Plaque Courtesy of Nick Tiberio	Viet Nam Cruise Patch Courtesy of Gary Taibbi	1965-66 Viet Nam Cruise Itinerary Courtesy of Gary Taibbi

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
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Additional Resources

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Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation
Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Hissem

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This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved. Page Last Updated: 29 February 2020