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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Left Ship's Patch Courtesy of Nick Tiberio, Right Patch from Mike Smolinski
Ship's Name Tab Courtesy of Al Grazevich

USS Whitehurst (DE 634)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign:
N - T - V - D
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Clover Hill"
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
Second Row: American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 7 stars - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row: National Defense Service Medal w/star - Korean Service Medal w/ 3 stars - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Fourth Row: Philippine Liberation Medal - United Nations Korean Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal
Specifications:
Class: Buckley
Type: TE (turbine-electric drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1400 tons (light), 1740 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 9" (extreme)
Draft: 10' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 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: 15 / 198
Whitehurst (DE 634) Building and Operational Data:
  • 21 March 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard Corp., San Francisco, Cal.
  • 05 September 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Robie S. Whitehurst, the mother of Ensign Whitehurst
  • 19 November 1943: Commissioned at Pier 6, Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, Cal.; Lcdr. James R. Grey, USN, in command
  • 27 November 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 3 years of service
  • 01 September 1950: Recommissioned, Cmdr. Malcolm G. Evans in command, homeport changed to Pearl Harbor, Hi. as a unit of Escort Squadron 11 (CortDiv 112)
  • June-July 1957: Whitehurst and her crew starred in the 20th Century-Fox movie "The Enemy Below"
  • 04 October 1957: Assigned to NRT, 13th Naval District at Seattle, Wash. as a unit of Reserve Escort Squadron 1 (ResCortDiv 112)
  • 06 December 1958: Decommissioned at the U. S. Naval Supply Depot, Seattle, Wash., placed "in service", Lt. L. E. Mench, USN in command as Officer in Charge
  • 02 October 1961: Recommissioned for the Berlin Crisis at Seattle, Wash., Lcdr. Donald L. MacLane, USNR, in command, homeport changed to Pearl Harbor, Hi. as a unit of Escort Squadron 7
  • 01 August 1962: Decommissioned at the U. S. Naval Supply Depot, Seattle, Wash., placed "in service" as a Group II Naval Reserve training ship at Seattle, a unit of Destroyer Squadron 27 (ResDesDiv 273)
  • 20 October 1968: Homeport assignment changed to the U. S. Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Swan Island, Portland, Ore. to replace USS McGinty (DE 365) as resident NRT ship
  • 12 July 1969: Placed "out of service" at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., struck from the NVR with a total of 21 years and 10½ months of service
  • 28 April 1971: Sunk as target, torpedoed by USS Trigger (SS 564)
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Whitehurst
    0663401    		 23.9k Henry Purefoy Whitehurst, Jr. was born on 16 February 1920 at New Bern, N.C. He was appointed a midshipman on 14 July 1938 and, because of the exigencies of war, graduated with the Naval Academy's Class of 1942 on 19 December 1941. He reported to the heavy cruiser Astoria (CA 34) on the morning of 18 January 1942 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Whitehurst served as a junior watch and division officer in Astoria as the ship took part in the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, and was in the cruiser when she participated in the landings on Guadalcanal on 07 August 1942. The next day, Astoria screened the vital transports as they unloaded supplies and equipment for the marines ashore, and that evening stood out to a night retirement station off Savo Island.

    A little after 0152 on the morning of 09 August, a Japanese force under Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa, which had slipped undetected into the waters south of Savo Island, unleashed a devastating night attack on the Southern and Northern Forces. In the former, Chicago (CA 29) was damaged and the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra crippled so badly that she later sank. The Northern Force, unaware of the enemy's presence until too late, soon took staggering punishment. Vincennes (CA 44) and Quincy (CA 39) sank before daylight, but Astoria lingered on while her surviving officers and men labored to save their ship. However, the damage proved too great; and Astoria, like her two sister ships, eventually succumbed shortly after noon on 09 August. Among the dead suffered in the Battle of Savo Island was Ensign Whitehurst.

    USS Whitehurst (DE 634) (1943-1969) was the first ship named in his honor.

    (Photo from the The Citadel, Citadel History)    		 Bill Gonyo
    Downey, Cal.

    Assoc. Researcher
    Navsource
    Whitehurst
    0663417    		 186k mid-1943: at sea - USS Whitehurst (DE 634) as completed. The ship carries MS21 camouflage scheme.

    (U.S. Navy photo from the United States National Archives, Catalog No. Unknown)    		 Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Whitehurst
    0663416    		 515k 30 November 1943: Port broadside aerial view of destroyer escort USS Whitehurst (DE 634) in San Francisco Bay.

    (U.S. Navy National Archives photo #USN 200669 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Whitehurst
    0663403    		 93k 03 July 1945: Pearl Harbor, Hi. - undergoing Inclining tests

    (U.S. Navy photo, National Archives #19LCM-DE634-1)    		 Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Whitehurst
    0663404    		 110k 03 July 1945: Pearl Harbor, Hi. - undergoing Inclining tests

    (U.S. Navy photo, National Archives #19LCM-DE634-2)
    Whitehurst
    0663405    		 117k 03 July 1945: Pearl Harbor, Hi. - undergoing Inclining tests, TEG conversion is visable

    (U.S. Navy photo, National Archives #19LCM-DE634-3)
    Whitehurst
    0663406    		 70k 03 July 1945: Pearl Harbor, Hi. - undergoing Inclining tests

    (U.S. Navy photo, National Archives #19LCM-DE634-4)
    Whitehurst
    0663407    		 72k 03 July 1945: Pearl Harbor, Hi. - undergoing Inclining tests

    (U.S. Navy photo, National Archives #19LCM-DE634-5)
    Whitehurst
    0663418    		 544k 30 November 1949: location unknown - A port broadside aerial view of the destroyer escort USS Whitehurst (DE-634).

    (U.S. Navy National Archives photo #USN 200669 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Manager, Navsource
    DE / FF / LCS Archive
    Whitehurst
    0663408    		 128k 15 March 1952: Mare Island Naval Shipyard - Change of command ceremonies aboard USS Whitehurst (DE 634) at Mare Island. Lieutenant Commander Marvin D. Jones relieved Commander Malcolm G. Evans as commanding officer.

    (U.S. Navy photo #DE-634 12347-3-52)    		 Darryl Baker
    PNCM, USNR (ret.)

    Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum
    Whitehurst
    0663409    		 65k undated postwar image (appears to be a Marine Photo and Publishing ship portrait taken while departing San Diego) Jerry Church
    Whitehurst
    0663410    		 126k circa 1952: Point Loma at the mouth of San Diego Bay

    (hand colored print of previous photo)    		 Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Whitehurst
    0663414    		 223k Undated Postwar Image
    Whitehurst
    0663412    		 284k 15 September 1962: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - USS Whitehurst (DE 634) standing off, preparing to moor while on a port visit to Vancouver.

    (Photograph by Walter E. Frost) (Photo #CVA 447-8946 from the City of Vancouver Archives)    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE / FF / LCS
    Archive Manager
    Whitehurst
    0663413    		 311k 31 July 1965: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - USS Whitehurst appears to be breasting out from the pier as she prepares to get underway after a port visit to Vancouver.

    (Photograph by Walter E. Frost) (Photo #CVA 447-8946.1 from the City of Vancouver Archives)
    Whitehurst
    0663415    		 305k undated: Seattle, Wash. - USS Whitehurst (DE 634) slowly backing away from Pier 91 in Seattle where she was based as a Naval Reserve training ship in the early to mid-1960's.

    (Location of photo provided by Tom Falley)    		 Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Whitehurst
    0663411    		 195k 28 April 1971: at sea - Final moments of the target vessel ex-USS Whitehurst (DE 634), as seen through the periscope of the USS Trigger (SS 564).

    (U.S. Navy photo by RM3(SS) Tom Boyer, 1971-1973, courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com)    		 Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Whitehurst
    Memorabilia
    Ship's Plaque
    Whitehurst
    Courtesy of
    Tommy Trampp
    Whitehurst History
    View the USS Whitehurst (DE 634) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Whitehurst's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.)  19 Nov. 1943 – 01 Sep. 1944Lcdr. James Robert Gray, USN (Comm. CO) (USNA ‘37) (Army Jr. / Belleville, N.J.)
    2.)  01 Sep. 1944 – 05 Dec. 1945Lcdr. Jack C. Horton, USNR (Camden, Tex.)
    3.)  05 Dec. 1945 – 27 Nov. 1946Lt.(jg) Clair Hildreth Gannon, USN (Dallas, Tex.)
    4.)  01 Sep. 1950 – 15 Jan. 1952Cdr. Malcolm Glenmore Evans, USN (Recomm. CO) (Texarkana, Tex.)
    5.)  15 Jan. 1952 – 15 Sep. 1954Lcdr. Marvin Dauvard Jones, USN (Tomnolen, Miss.)
    6.)  15 Sep. 1954 – .. Oct. 1955Cdr. William Richard Easton, USN (USNA ‘42) (Covina, Cal.)
    7.)  .. Oct. 1955 – 02 Nov. 1957Lcdr. Walter Richard Smith, USN
    8.)  02 Nov. 1957 – 04 Nov. 1958Lcdr. Russell Kaye Prout, USN (Burlington, Wis.)
    9.)  04 Nov. 1958 – 19 May 1959Lt. / Lcdr. Leland Eisen Mench, USN (OinC)
    10.) 19 May 1959 – 30 Sep. 1960Lt. Charles Earsom Reeves, USNR (OinC)
    11.) 30 Sep. 1960 – 02 Oct. 1961Lt. Elmer Francis Poyet, USNR (OinC)
    12.) 02 Oct. 1961 – 01 Aug. 1962Lcdr. Donald L. MacLane, USNR (Baltimore, Md.)
    13.) 01 Aug. 1962 – 01 Oct. 1962Lcdr. / Cmdr. Donald L. MacLane, USNR (OinC) (Baltimore, Md.)
    14.) 01 Oct. 1962 – 21 Aug. 1964Lt. Benjamin Henry Field, USN (OinC) (Tampa, Fla.)
    15.) 21 Aug. 1964 – 25 May 1967Lt. Elmer William Endter Jr., USN (OinC) (El Paso, Tex.)
    16.) 25 May 1967 – 02 Oct. 1967Lt. Marcellus Peter Steffens, USN (OinC) (hospitalized) (Cheney, Kan.)
    17.) 02 Oct. 1967 – 28 Dec. 1967Lt. Robert Wayne Hotz, USN (OinC)
    18.) 28 Dec. 1967 – 12 Jul. 1969Lt. James Partsch Harris, USN (OinC) (St. Louis, Mo.)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Annual Reunion of WWII Veterans
    Wed. to Fri. of the last full week in June each year
    at the Clarion Inn, Knoxville, Tenn.
    Reunion Contact: Jim Lawrence
    Address: 120 Ryan Drive
    City/State: Goose Creek SC 29445
    Phone: (843) 533-1908
    E-mail: Jim Lawrence
    25th Reunion of Post-War Crews
    11 - 14 September 2011
    at the Holiday Inn on the Bay, San Diego, Cal.
    Reunion Contact: Max Crow
    E-mail: Max Crow
    USS Whitehurst Association
    Crew Contact: Max Crow - Association Yeoman
    Address: 10817 Jack Fleck Drive
    City/State: El Paso TX 79935
    Phone: (915) 598-2606
    E-mail: Max Crow
    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
    Max Crow's USS Whitehurst Site
    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 Whitehurst
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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: 25 January 2023