Ralph Smith ~ Veteran Of World War II ~ U.S. Navy
Ralph suffered for years from the effects of shell shock and brain damage received during World War II while serving in the Pacific. He was stationed aboard the destroyer USS Sterrett. This storied desroyer, built in 1939 in Charleston, saw a lot of action in the war against Japan. During the war, the vessel lost 27 killed in action and 37 wounded. Ralph was aboard the USS Sterrett when she was hit by a Kamikaze plane during the Battle for Okinawa. This is the story of a dauntless destroyer that embodies the indomibable spirit of the American fighting man.

Photo of Ralph Smith, son of Elmer B. Smith and Myrtle Della London, as a young man in US Navy. He is about 19 years old. 1945.

The USS Sterrett

It seems that the USS Sterrett was one of the storied and legendary destroyers of WWII which saw a lot of action, earning a Presidential Unit Citation along the way. Look at categories #1 and #9 below. Man, they saw a LOT of action! There were a total of 800 men who served aboard the USS Sterrett at one time or another during World War II. Her normal war-time crew complement was 251 officers and crew. Launched on 27 OCT 1938 and decommissioned 2 NOV 1945, she was sold for scrap in August 1947.

In one memorial and unforgettable surface action the night of 13 November 1942, a night which would cause the USS Sterret the most killed and wounded of the war, she was ordered to go against a Konga-class Japanese battleship during which time the plucky destroyer blew up a Japanese destroyer and scored many hits on the targeted Japanese battleship and a Japanese cruiser, suffering several hits upon herself but causing the battleship to turn away from the action.

(1) Killed In Action: 27
(2) Awarded The Bronze Star: 5
(3) Received Commanding Officer's Commendation: 18
(4) Died under honorable conditions, not as a
        result of combat: 2
(5) Men who served as Flag complement aboard the USS Sterrett
        as Commander Destroyer Division and staff: 17
(6) Missing after night action surface engagement: 4
(7) Awarded the Navy Cross Medal, our nations second
        highest award: 3
(8) Awarded the Silver Star Medal: 6
(9) Wounded as a result of enemy action: 37

Four ships called USS Sterrett

1st USS Sterrett:
A destroyer which saw action in World War I, sinking a German U-Boat on 31 MAY 1917.

2nd USS Sterrett DD-407:
Saw hard action during World War II, winning a Presidential Unit Citacion, surviving a kamikaze attack off Okinawa, losing 37 wounded and 27 killed in action during the war. Click to here view crew: USS Sterrett Crew 1945. Click back arrow to return.

3rd USS Sterrett CG-31:
A Guided Missile Cruiser which saw action off the shores of Korea during the Korean action and off the shores of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Later, it was stationed at Subic Bay, Phillippines.

4th USS Sterrett DDG-104:
A spanking, brand new destroyer launched 26 MAY 2007. Her website is here: Welcome Aboard The USS Sterrett

For a complete history of the WWII USS Sterrett, click here: History of USS Sterrett

Click To View Internet Site: DD-407 USS Sterrett

Click To View Archive Site: USS Sterrett Archive

Click To View Photo Site: Photos of the USS Sterrett

Last Days Of The USS Sterrett

Photo shows hit by a Kamikaze,
off Okinawa, 9 APR 1945

The last combat of the USS Sterrett occurred 9 APR 1945 off the coast of Okinawa when she was hit by a Kamikaze plane just above the water line at mid ships. For temporary repairs, she was ordered to Kerama-retto, a volcanic island which is part of the Ryukyu Island group near the west coast of Okinawa. Once at anchor, repair crews from the repair tender ships welded a steel plate over the hole caused by the Kamikaze. Afterwards for major repairs, on or about 18 APR 1945, she sailed for Bremerton, Washington and the Puget Sound Naval Repair Station via Guam and Pearl Harbor, arriving there on 10 May 1945. After the repairs were effected, the USS Sterrett steamed south in early July, 1945 to San Diego for refresher training. After about two weeks, the ship sailed for Pearl Harbor, arriving in late July, 1945, expecting to return to combat duties. Instead, President Truman ordered that atomic bombs be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thereby ending World War II. The war ended 14 AUG 1945 and V-J Day was the next day. On 2 SEP 1945, representatives of the Japanese government signed the document of surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor. On 25 Sep 1945, the USS Sterrett left Pearl Harbor for New York via the Panama Canal, arriving there on 2 Nov 1945 where she was immediately decommissioned and later sold for scrap in August 1947.

Specifications:
DD-407 USS Sterrett

Sterett DD-407 was one of ten ships of the Benham class, the last of the 1500 ton destroyer classes. The class was a Gibbs and Cox design and the ten ships were constructed at six different shipyards, the Sterett being the only one built at the Charleston Navy Yard. Her keel was laid on December 2, 1936 and she was launched on October 27, 1938. Commissioning was August 15, 1939 with Lt. Cdr. Atherton Macondray her first C.O.

She had a length of 341 feet, a beam of 35 feet 6 inches and a mean draft of 11 feet. The three Babcock and Wilcox boilers had uptakes leading to a single stack and powered Westinghouse steam turbines developing 50,000 shaft horsepower for the two screws. With a 483 ton fuel oil capacity she had a cruising range of 8,730 nautical miles at 12 knots.

The original main battery configuration was four 5"/38 dual purpose guns in the new base ring mounts (vs. pedestal mounts) with the forward mounts in gunhouses and the after open mounts. Sixteen torpedo tubes in four quad mounts were amidships, two on each side. The torpedos were the 21" Mk15 and could be used for surface contacts only. The anti-aircraft battery consisted of four .50 caliber Browning machine guns arranged with two forward of the bridge and two atop the after deckhouse. The anti-submarine battery was two roll-off depth-charge racks mounted on the fantail with a complement of five 600 pound charges each.

Her initial complement was 175 crew and nine officers.

At war’s end her complement was 235 crew and 16 officers.