Douglas Wiley Gillette was born September 10, 1918, in Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...

. He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on March 5, 1936. After serving at Norfolk, Va.

Naval Station Norfolk

Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...

, in McDougal

USS McDougal (DD-358)

The second USS McDougal was a in the United States Navy. She named for Rear Admiral David Stockton McDougal.McDougal was laid down by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, 18 December 1933; launched 17 July 1936; sponsored by Miss Caroline McDougal Neilson; and commissioned 23...

 (DD-358), and after studying at the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 and Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

, he was commissioned Ensign

Ensign (rank)

Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....

 on September 12, 1941. Ordered to active duty in the aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 Hornet

USS Hornet (CV-8)

USS Hornet CV-8, the seventh ship to carry the name Hornet, was a of the United States Navy. During World War II in the Pacific Theater, she launched the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and participated in the Battle of Midway and the Buin-Faisi-Tonolai Raid...

 (CV-8) on November 17, 1941, he was appointed Lieutenant (j.g.) (temporary). He was killed in enemy action in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands on October 26, 1942, while serving in Hornet.

In 1943, two destroyer escort

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

s were named USS Gillette

USS Gillette

USS Gillette may refer to:, was commissioned 8 September 1943. Leased to the United Kingdom eight days later and renamed HMS Foley she was returned to the United States after World War II and scrapped 19 June 1946...

 in honor of Lt. Gillette. The first, USS Gillette (DE-270), was launched in May and transferred to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

; she served in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 as HMS Foley (K474). The second, USS Gillette (DE-681)

USS Gillette (DE-681)

USS Gillette was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named in honor of Lieutenant Douglas W. Gillette ....

, was launched in September, sponsored by Mrs. Pearl M. Gillette, the namesake's mother.