USS Beverly W. Reid (APD-119), ex-DE-722, later LPR-119, was a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 high-speed transport

High speed transport

High Speed Transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used to support amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer....

 in commission from 1945 to 1947 and from 1967 to 1969.

Construction and commissioning

Beverly W. Reid was laid down as the Rudderow-class

Rudderow class destroyer escort

The Rudderow class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943 to 1945. Of this class, 22 were completed as destroyer escorts, and 50 were completed as Crosley-class high speed transport and were re-classified as High speed transport APDs. One ship was converted...

 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...

 USS Beverly W. Reid (DE-722) on 5 January 1944 by the Dravo Corporation

Dravo Corporation

Dravo Corporation was a shipbuilding company with shipyards in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded by Frank and Ralph Dravo in Pittsburgh during the 1890s.-Facilities:...

 at Neville Island, Pennsylvania. She was launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 4 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Eloise Ziegler, the mother of the ships namesake, 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....

 Beverly W. Reid

Beverly W. Reid

Beverly W. Reid was a United States Navy officer who received the Navy Cross for his actions in combat during World War II.-Biography:...

.

Beverly W. Reid was reclassified as a Crosley-class

Crosley class high speed transport

Crosley class high speed transports were transport ships that served in the United States Navy during World War II. Some stayed in commission long enough to serve in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. All of them were converted from s during construction except for , which was converted a year...

 high-speed transport and redesignated APD-119 on 17 July 1944, and was taken down the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

 and Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 to Orange, Texas

Orange, Texas

Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...

,where the Consolidated Steel Corporation

Consolidated Steel Corporation

Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas...

 completed her as such. She was commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 on 25 June 1945 with Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 Gordon D. Kissam, USNR, in command.

First period in commission, 1945-1947

After fitting out

Fitting-out

Fitting-out, or "outfitting”, is the process in modern shipbuilding that follows the float-out of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her owners...

, Beverly W. Reid departed Galveston

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

, Texas, on 10 July 1945 and arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, on 13 July 1945. Following shakedown

Sea trial

A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...

, she departed for Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, on 7 August 1945, arriving on 10 August. While she was at Norfolk, World War II ended with the surrender of Japan

Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...

 on 15 August 1945.

At Norfolk, she underwent a post-shakedown shipyard

Shipyard

Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...

 availability that lasted well into October 1945. Proceeding thence to New York City, Beverly W. Reid took part in President Harry S Trumans Presidential Review on Navy Day

Navy Day

Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. The term is also used in Britain to mean an open day at a dockyard such as HMNB Portsmouth, when the public can visit military ships and see air displays, roughly along the lines of an American Fleet Week .- Argentina...

, 27 October 1945. She departed New York City on 30 October 1945 and, after anchoring overnight at the Harbor of Refuge, reached Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, Pennsylvania the next day.

Scheduled for inactivation, Beverly W. Reid departed Philadelphia on 17 November 1945 and set course via the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a 14-mile long, 450-foot wide and 40-foot deep ship canal that cuts across the states of Maryland and Delaware, in the United States. It connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay and the Port of Baltimore...

 for Norfolk, which she reached on 18 November. Bad weather postponed her departure for Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 until 23 November 1945. Pausing at Jacksonville

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

, Florida, en route, she arrived at Green Cove Springs

Green Cove Springs, Florida

Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....

, Florida, on 27 November.

Inactivated at Green Cove Springs and placed in reserve

Reserve fleet

A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

 on 1 September 1946, Beverly W. Reid was decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

 on 5 May 1947 and placed in the Florida Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs.

Second period in commission, 1967-1969

After nearly 20 years of inactivity, Beverly W. Reid was towed to Norfolk by high-speed transport for recommissioning. On 18 March 1967 she was recommissioned at the Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Norfolk, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Aloysius G. Hennessey, Jr., and manned by the crew of Liddle, which decommissioned that day.

Assigned to Amphibious Squadron 8, Beverly W. Reid was home-ported

Home port

A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull...

 at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek

Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek

The Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek is the major operating base for the Amphibious Forces in the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet. The base comprises four locations in three states, including almost 12,000 acres of real estate. Its Little Creek location in Virginia Beach, Virginia totals...

 in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

, Virginia, to which she shifted on 19 April 1967.

1967

After fitting out and local operations, Beverly W. Reid departed for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 5 May 1967. There she carried out shakedown training into mid-June 1967.

Beverly W. Reid departed Guantanamo Bay for Little Creek on 16 June 1967, and arrived there on 19 June. Following post-shakedown upkeep at Little Creek, she conducted training in amphibious landings and underwater demolition team

Underwater Demolition Team

The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...

 exercises. In late July and early August 1967, she visited Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, in Canada, for the international exposition Expo 67

Expo 67

The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...

.

Back at Little Creek on 11 August 1967, Beverly W. Reid resumed amphibious exercises on 16 August 1967 and remained so occupied through the end of August 1967. She spent most of September 1967 pier

Pier

A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...

side in upkeep at Little Creek, making only a single five-day excursion to Onslow Bay

Onslow Bay

Onslow Bay is an indentation of the North Carolina coast, between Cape Fear in the south and Cape Lookout in the north. Thirteen barrier islands form the shore of the bay. It is part of the open Atlantic Ocean and affords no protection from oceanic swells....

 in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 late in the month. She operated off the Virginia Capes

Virginia Capes

The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....

 from 9 October to 15 October 1967, then carried out more amphibious drills at Onslow Beach

Onslow Beach

Onslow Beach is a 12 km stretch of undeveloped beach at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Onslow County, North Carolina. It has been used at various times for practice amphibious landings by the U.S. Navy. Presently, it is used as a recreational area by the Camp Lejeune community.- External...

 in North Carolina. In port at Little Creek from 19 October until 31 October 1967, she met amphibious transport dock

Amphibious transport dock

An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform/dock , is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently operate this kind of ship...

  at sea for more exercises off the Virginia Capes on 1 November 1967. Back at Little Creek on 2 November, Beverly W. Reid moored alongside repair ship

Auxiliary ship

An auxiliary ship is a naval ship which is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a self defensive nature.Auxiliaries are extremely...

  on 6 November 1967 for repairs. The repairs lasted until 24 November 1967, when she returned to Little Creek for the rest of 1967.

1968

On 2 January 1968, Beverly W. Reid left for Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 to join the Caribbean Amphibious Ready Group

Amphibious Ready Group

An Amphibious Readiness Group of the United States Navy consists of a Navy element—a group of warships known as an amphibious task force —and a landing force of United States Marines , in total about 5,000 people. Together, these elements and supporting units are trained, organized, and equipped...

, arriving at Roosevelt Roads on 6 January 1968. After amphibious training at Vieques Island until 9 January 1968, she departed with attack cargo ship  and landing ship dock  for a port visit at Willemstad

Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles

Willemstad is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010, it has an estimated population of 140,000. The historic centre of...

 on Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 in the Netherlands Antilles

Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...

 from 12 January 1968 to 16 January 1968; the three ships then headed back to Vieques Island to resume amphibious training with Task Group 44.9 on the morning of 17 January 1968. After a whole repertoire of drills—ship-to-shore exercises, gunfire support and antiaircraft exercises -- Beverly W. Reid visited Charlotte Amalie

Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands

-Education:St. Thomas-St. John School District serves the community. and Charlotte Amalie High School serve the area.-Gallery:-See also:* Anna's Retreat* Cruz Bay* Saint Thomas* Water Island-External links:* *...

 in the United States Virgin Islands

United States Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...

 from 23 January 1968 to 26 January 1968. She returned to Puerto Rican waters briefly on 28 January 1968 and 29 January 1968 and then headed for the Panama Canal Zone

Panama Canal Zone

The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...

 on 29 January 1968 in company with Raleigh, Spiegel Grove, landing ship tank , amphibious assault ship

Amphibious assault ship

An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault...

 , and Muliphen. The amphibious ready group carried out its mission in Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

nian waters, and then Beverly W. Reid called at Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...

 from 15 February 1968 to 22 February 1068. She rejoined the amphibious ready group on 23 February 1968 and headed back to Puerto Rican waters. She reached Vieques Island on 24 February 1968, and operated locally until the second week in March 1968. After a visit to Frederiksted on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Beverly W. Reid set course on 17 March 1068 to return to Little Creek.

Beverly W. Reid arrived at Little Creek on 23 March 1968 and remained there for almost a month, before embarking a six-day trip to Onslow Bay to do sounding

Sounding

Sounding generally refers to a mechanism of probing the environment by sending out some kind of stimulus. The term derives from the ancient practice of determining the depth of water by feeding out a line with a weight at the end....

 surveys on 21 April 1968. She returned to Little Creek on 27 March 1968 and stayed close to home during May 1968, mixing upkeep with hydrographic survey

Hydrographic survey

Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...

s of the waters off Camp Pendleton

Camp Pendleton (Virginia)

Camp Pendleton is a state military reservation in Virginia Beach, Virginia, named after Brigadier General William N. Pendleton, who served as Robert E. Lee's chief of artillery during the Civil War. It lies on the Atlantic coast adjoining Naval Air Station Oceana.-History:The facility was created...

 in Virginia Beach and work with fleet ocean tug  to help battleship in gunnery calibration

Calibration

Calibration is a comparison between measurements – one of known magnitude or correctness made or set with one device and another measurement made in as similar a way as possible with a second device....

 exercises off the Virginia Capes.

Underway on 1 June 1968, Beverly W. Reid sailed for Port Canaveral, Florida, arriving there on 3 June 1968. Over the next several days, she served as an observation platform for the Naval Ordnance Test Unit during test firings of Polaris

UGM-27 Polaris

The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....

 submarine-launched ballistic missile

Submarine-launched ballistic missile

A submarine-launched ballistic missile is a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead that can be launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles each of which carries a warhead and allows a single launched missile to...

s by the fleet ballistic missile submarines and . Tests complete, she departed for the Tidewater

Tidewater region of Virginia

The Tidewater region of Virginia is the eastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia formally known as Hampton Roads. The term tidewater may be correctly applied to all portions of any area, including Virginia, where the water level is affected by the tides...

, Virginia, area on 18 June 1968.

Beverly W. Reid arrived at Little Creek on 20 June 1968, but after less than two weeks she embarked upon a succession of port visits, stopping at New York City, the Canadian ports of Pictu

Pictou, Nova Scotia

Pictou is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km north of the larger town of New Glasgow....

 and Halifax, Nova Scotia

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, and Boothbay, Maine

Boothbay, Maine

Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,960 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of East Boothbay and Trevett. The Boothbay region is a center of summer tourist activity, and a significant part of its population does not live there year...

.

Back at Little Creek on 13 July 1968, Beverly W. Reid resumed training with the United States Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Force, evolutions that included gunfire support exercises off Camp Pendleton, Virginia, as well as work in antisubmarine warfare and amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...

 tactics. During that time, she was reclassified a "small amphibious transport" and was redesignated LPR-119 on 14 August 1968. On 23 August 1968, the locus of her operations shifted to the waters near Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, where she provided services to the fleet ballistic missile submarine John Marshall until late on 24 August 1968. She returned to Norfolk for a repairs alongside destroyer tender

Destroyer tender

A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...

  between 27 August 1968 and 20 September 1968.

After a final series of amphibious drills at Onslow Beach late in September 1968, Beverly W. Reid was placed in reduced operational status on 1 October 1968 as part of an economy measure. She remained in that status at Little Creek for the better part of a year.

Final decommissioning and disposal

Finally, Beverly W. Reid departed Little Creek on 30 September 1969 bound for inactivation at Orange, Texas. She arrived at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility

Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility

A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility is a facility owned by the U.S. Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate...

 at Orange on 6 October 1969 and began the process immediately.

Beverly W. Reid was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Orange on 14 November 1969, and she remained there, inactive, for almost five years. Her name stricken from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on 15 September 1974, and was sold for $79,002 (USD) to J. R. Steel, Inc., of Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, on 18 August 1975 for scrapping.