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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive



Ship's patches courtesy
of Mike Smolinski

USS Douglas A. Munro (DE 422)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - T - Y - K
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - China Service Medal
Second Row: American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 4 stars- World War II Victory Medal
Third Row: National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal w/ 3 stars - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Fourth Row: Philippine Liberation Ribbon w/ 1 star- United Nations Korea Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal


Specifications:
Class: John C. Butler
Type: WGT (geared-turbine drive, 5" guns)
Displacement: 1350 tons (light), 1745 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 11' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 2 - 5"/38 cal. DP guns (2x1), 4 - 40mm AA (2x2), 10 - 20mm AA, 3 - 21" TT, 1 Mk10 Hedgehog, 8 Mk6 Depth Charge Projectors, 2 Mk9 Depth Charge Stern Racks
Complement: 14 / 201
Douglas A. Munro (DE 422) Building and Operational Data:
  • 31 January 1944: Keel laid by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.
  • 08 March 1944: Launched and christened, sponsored by Lt.(jg) Edith F. Munro, USCGR, mother of Signalman Munro
  • 11 July 1944: Commissioned, Lcdr G. G. Morris in command
  • 15 January 1947: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal. after 2 years and 6 months of service having steamed 86,682 miles
  • 27February 1947: Inactivation completed at San Diego, Cal., assigned to Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet
  • 28 February 1951: Recommissioned at San Diego, Cal., Lcdr J. A. Lindbeck in command
  • 24 June 1960: Decommissioned by Radm. L. E. Honsinger at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, Cal. after 9 years and 4 months of service;
  • Transferred to the custody of Commander, Mare Island Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet
  • 01 December 1965: Struck from the NVR with a total of 11 years and 10 months of service
  • .. January 1966: Sunk as target
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Douglas A. Munro
    0642201

    Douglas A. Munro
    59k Douglas Albert Munro was born on 11 October 1919 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in September 1939 and had achieved the rank of Signalman First Class by September 1942. On the 27th of September 1942, while leading a group of landing craft during the Guadalcanal Campaign, he participated in the evacuation of U.S. Marines from the beach at Guadalcanal's Point Cruz. Using his boat as a shield between the Japanese and the Marines, he enabled the operation to proceed successfully, but was killed by enemy gunfire. For his "extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry", Signalman First Class Munro was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He was the only Coast Guard member to be so honored during World War II.

    The escort ship USS Douglas A. Munro (DE 422) (1944-1960) was the first ship named in his honor.

    (U.S. Navy photo #NH102453 from the Naval History and Heritage Command) (Photo colored by Tom Kermen)
    Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    D. A. Munro
    0642202
    77k 08 March 1944: Houston, Tex. - Douglas Munro's mother, Edith F. Munro, is shown at the ship's christening. After Signalman Munro was killed in action his Mother joined the U.S. Coast Guard. Tom Kermen
    Beaverton, Ore.

    Photos courtesy of

    Dr. David Rosen,
    USCG Historian

    Originally supplied by
    Douglas J. Sheehan,
    Douglas A. Munro's nephew
    D. A. Munro
    0642203
    129k 08 March 1944: Houston, Tex. - Mrs. Munro prepares to break the ceremonial bottle of champagne that sends the ship sliding down the way.
    D. A. Munro
    0642204
    207k 08 March 1944: Houston, Tex. - Douglas A. Munro (DE 422) enters the waters of Houston Bay for the first time.
    D. A. Munro
    0642205
    150k undated post-war photo
    D. A. Munro
    0642213
    194k undated post-war photo (Note the "Homeward Bound" pennant streaming over the back of the ship. Douglas A. Munro departed Hong Kong on 05 Janary 1946 after serving in the Pacific since December of 1944. She arrived back in San Francisco on 01 February 1946.) Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    D. A. Munro
    0642214
    334k undated post-war image
    D. A. Munro
    0642212
    79k Nov. '51 / Feb. '52: Korean waters - - Douglas A. Munro (DE 422), photographed from HMAS Sydney III (R 17). This was the ship's first Korean War deployment, having been recommissioned in February, 1951.

    (Australian Navy Photo #P05890.038 from the Australian War Museum)
    Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    D. A. Munro
    0642211
    263k circa 1952 - 53: Hong Kong - Douglas A. Munro at anchor in Hong Kong Harbor.

    (Photo courtesy of Jim Sundine, former crewmember)
    Tom Kermen
    Beaverton, Ore.
    D. A. Munro
    0642216
    237k 21 April 1953: Pearl Harbor, Hi. - USS Douglas A. Munro (DE 422) at Pearl Harbor Naval Station.

    (U.S. Navy photo #80-G-630971 from the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md.)
    Rick E. Davis
    Springfield, Oh.
    D. A. Munro
    0642207
    108k February 1957: Pearl Harbor, Hi. - Douglas A. Munro in drydock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. These were Gary's first view of his new home, he was amazed at how many shades of primer could be on one ship. Gary Hanson
    DK2, 1957-1960
    D. A. Munro
    0642208
    103k
    D. A. Munro
    0642209
    395k circa 1957, 1958: Republic of the Philippines - Douglas A. Munro entering Manila Bay heading for the Subic Bay Naval Station.
    D. A. Munro
    0642206
    74k 01 February 1959: at Sydney, Australia

    (Photo © John C. Jeremy)
    John Jeremy
    D. A. Munro
    0642215
    552k 1959: USS Douglas A. Munro (DE 422).

    (U.S. Navy photo #USN 1043481 (National Archives); from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
    Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    D. A. Munro
    0642210
    59k The gravesite of Douglas Albert Munro in Cle Elum, Washington. I took the photo a couple of years ago and have shared it with other websites. Doug is the only person from the Coast Guard to win the Medal of Honor. He was born in Canada, but grew up in South Cle Elum, Washington where his father ran the substation for the Milwaukee Road. The old Milwaukee Depot at South Cle Elum has been renovated and they have a section there to honor their hometown hero. Tom Kermen
    Beaverton, Ore.

    Douglas A. Munro History
    View the USS Douglas A. Munro (DE 422) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Douglas A. Munro as submitted by the ship at war's end.

    Douglas A. Munro's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.)  07 Nov. 1944 – 15 May 1945Lcdr. Grinnell G. Morris, USNR
    2.)  15 May 1945 – 24 Nov. 1945Lcdr. Edward S. Stevens, USNR
    3.)  24 Nov. 1945 – .. Sep. 1946Lcdr. Earl Manuel Greer, USN (USNA ‘42) (Austin, Tex.)
    4.)  .. Sep. 1946 – 15 Jan. 1947Lt. Arthur Oliver Lueke, USN
    5.)  28 Feb. 1951 – .. Mar. 1953Lcdr. John August Lindbeck, USN (USNA ‘42) (Salem, Ore.)
    6.)  .. Mar. 1953 – 01 Jun. 1954Lcdr. Thomas Crockett Harbert, USN Jr. (USNA ‘42) (Trenton, Tenn.)
    7.)  01 Jun. 1954 – 12 May 1956Cmdr. Robert Nelson Adrian, USN (San Francisco, Cal.)
    8.)  12 May 1956 – 04 Jan. 1958Lt. / Lcdr. Samuel Lorenz Jr., USN (Okeene, Okla.)
    9.)  04 Jan. 1958 – 27 Jun. 1959Lcdr. / Cmdr. John Philip Wicks, USN
    10.) 27 Jun. 1959 – 24 Jun. 1960Lcdr. Richard Struyk, USN (USNA '48-B) (Paterson, N. J.)

    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Last Known Reunion: January 2017 at Orlando, Fla.
    Contact Name: Tony Nicita
    Address: 411750 Teapot Court
    City/State: Spring Hill, Fla. 34609
    Phone: (352) 799-1937
    E-mail: jcargomsgt at gmail.com
    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 or rosters 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
    The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
    The Destroyer History Foundation
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    This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
    All pages copyright Navsource Naval History
    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 13 June 2024