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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive



Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Greenwood (DE 679)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - T - V - H
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Pomona"


Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Navy Expeditionary Medal - American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 2 stars - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star


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
Greenwood (DE 679) Building and Operational Data:
  • 29 June 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem Steel (Fore River Yard) Shipyard, Inc., Quincy, Mass.
  • 21 August 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Laura Greenwood, mother of Lt.(jg) Frank Greenwood
  • 25 September 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr. A. W. Slayton in command
  • 10 April 1946: Arrived at her new homeport, New London, Conn.
  • 02 May 1949: Homeport assignment changed, reported to U.S. Naval Station, Key West, Fla. for duty as school ship for the Fleet Sonar School
  • .. December 1957: Assigned to NRT, 6th Naval District, at Charleston, S.C.
  • 02 September 1958: Decommissioned, placed "in service" as a unit of the Select Reserve ASW Force
  • 02 October 1961: Recommissioned for the Berlin Crisis,
  • 01 August 1962: Decommissioned and placed back "in service," assigned to NRT, 6th Naval District, at St. Petersburg, Fla.
  • 01 February 1967: Placed "out of service, in reserve" at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard after 23 years and 5 months of service, struck from the NVR
  • 20 February 1967: Struck from the NVR
  • 06 September 1967: Sold for scrapping to the Lipsett Co., Inc. of New York City, N.Y., broken up at Kearny, N.J.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Greenwood
    0667901
    45k Frank Greenwood was born to Harry and Laura Greenwood in Methuen, Mass. on 10 January 1915. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve as an Apprentice Seaman at Boston, Mass. on 17 July 1940. He received his initial training aboard USS Arkansas (BB 33). Upon completion of training his enlistment terminated under honorable conditions. He was appointed Midshipman, received training at the Naval Reserve Midshipman's School at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois and commissioned as an Ensign on 12 December 1940. He was assigned to the Fifth Naval District awaiting transportation to his new assignment aboard the USS Erie (PG 50). While on active duty as the Gunnery Officer aboard Erie he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. Lt.(jg) Greenwood was killed in action with the enemy U-boat U-163 on 12 November 1942 when his ship, Erie was torpedoed while on convoy duty in the Caribbean theater of operation.

    USS Greenwood (DE 679) (1943-1967) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    (Photo Courtesy of the USS Greenwood DE 679 historian John Lorence)
    Bill Gonyo
    Downey, Cal.

    Assoc. Researcher
    Navsource
    Greenwood
    0667902
    27k undated wartime image John Lorence
    In Memory of
    Harry Welsh
    Y3c, USN
    Greenwood
    0667907
    103k 1944: location unknown - She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 6D.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #19-N-95181 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
    Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Greenwood
    0667903
    78k 1947: underway off Key West, Fla. John Lorence and
    Ken Knudsen (S1c, USN)
    **Francis M. Robinson / Greenwood**
    0622004
    106k 1948: Greenwood and USS Francis M. Robinson (DE 220) moored at Key West, Fla. (Notice difference in hull number style, Robinson
    remains with WWII style numbers, while Greenwood has been repainted to modern numbers.)
    Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Greenwood
    0667904
    38k undated postwar image -
    Greenwood
    0667905
    31k undated postwar image John Lorence and
    Frank Coleman (EM1, USN)
    Greenwood
    0667908
    383k 12 August 1952: Key West, Fla. - USS Greenwood (DE 679) off the Key West Naval Station.

    (U.S. Navy photo #80-G-445769 from the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md.)
    Rick E. Davis
    Springfield, Oh.
    Huse
    0667909
    671k circa late 1950's: Key West, Fla. - An undated photo of a change of command ceremony being held on the pier head at Trumbo Annex, U.S. Naval Station, Key West, Fla. On the left are Huse (DE 145) with Snowden (DE 246) behind her. On the right are Howard D. Crow (DE 252) with Greenwood (DE 679) tied up behind her.

    (Photo #MM00039629x from the Wright Langley Collection, courtesy of the Florida Keys Public Libraries)
    Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Greenwood
    0667906
    94k January 1967: Newport, R.I.

    (Photo © Richard Leonhardt)
    Richard Leonhardt
    Bethlehem, Pa.

    Greenwood History
    View the USS Greenwood (DE 679) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.

    Greenwood's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 25 Sep. 1943 - .. Mar. 1944Lcdr. Alvin Weems Slayden, USN (Comm. CO) (USNA ‘32) (Waverly, Tenn.)
    2.) .. Mar. 1944 - .. Jun. 1945Lcdr. David George Bryce, USN (USNA ‘39) (Toledo, Oh.)
    3.) 12 May 1945 - .. Jun. 1945Lt. / Lcdr. Robert W. Steel, USNR
    4.) .. Jun. 1945 - .. Dec. 1945Lcdr. John Robert Cain Jr., USNR
    5.) .. Dec. 1945 - .. Mar. 1946Lcdr. James Thomas Alexander Jr., USN (USNA ‘42) (Washington, D.C.)
    6.) .. Mar. 1946 - .. .... ....Lcdr. Stephen Charles O’Rourke, USN (USNA ‘39) (The Bronx, New York City, N.Y.)
    7.) ~1948Lcdr. Clarence Raymond Deller Jr., USN (USNA ‘41) (Harrisburg, Pa.)
    8.) ~1949Lcdr. Edward George Miller, USN (USNA ‘41) (Lehighton, Pa.)
    9.) .. Nov. 1951 - .. Jul. 1953Lcdr. Eric Ischinger, USN (USNA ‘43) (East Rochester, N.Y.)
    10.) .. Jul. 1953 - .. Oct. 1954Cmdr. Kendall Washburn Simmons, USN (USNA ‘42) (Woonsocket, R.I.)
    11.) .. Oct. 1954 – 24 Aug. 1956Lcdr. Robert Good Smith, USN
    12.) 24 Aug. 1956 – 01 Oct. 1958Lcdr. Robert Harry Cook, USN (USNA ‘44) (Vallejo, Cal.)
    13.) 01 Oct. 1958 – 27 Jun. 1960Lt. James Charles Rowland, USN (OinC)
    14.) 27 Jun. 1960 – 12 Jul. 1961Lt. Harry Walter Kinsley Jr., USN (OinC) (Norwalk, Conn.)
    15.) 12 Jul. 1961 – 01 Oct. 1961Lt. Alton Ray Edwards, USN (OinC)
    16.) 01 Oct. 1961 – 01 Aug. 1962Lcdr. / Cmdr. James T. Lang, USNR
    17.) 01 Aug. 1962 – 10 Mar. 1965Lt. Richard Lee Schreadley, USN (OinC)
    18.) 10 Mar. 1965 – 07 Oct. 1966Lt. / Lcdr. Francis Marion Coen, USN (OinC)
    19.) 07 Oct. 1966 – 01 Feb. 1967Lt. Ronald Ross Meardy, USN (OinC)

    Crew Contact And Reunion Information

    Contact Name: John Lorence.
    E-mail: de679@yahoo.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
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
    Back To The Main Photo Index

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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