USS J. Douglas Blackwood (DE-219), a of the 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...

, was named in honor of Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 J. Douglas Blackwood

J. Douglas Blackwood

Dr. James Douglas Blackwood was a doctor and officer in the United States Navy in both the First and Second World War.-Biography:...

 (1881–1942), who was killed in action, aboard the cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

 , during the Battle of Savo Island

Battle of Savo Island

The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval forces...

 on 9 August 1942.

J. Douglas Blackwood was launched on 29 May 1943, by Philadelphia Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. J. Douglas Blackwood, widow of Comdr. Blackwood; and commissioned on 15 December 1943, Comdr. R. V. Randolph in command.

1943–1946

After shakedown off Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, J. Douglas Blackwood rendezvoused with 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...

  off Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 on 14 February 1944, to escort her to the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

. The escort ship then returned to the East Coast for duty as training ship and coastal escort until departing 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 18 March for the Pacific. Sailing via the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

, J. Douglas Blackwood, arrived at Majuro

Majuro

Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...

 on 18 April 1944, to begin vital convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 screening work between America's

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 far-flung island bases. The ship operated mainly in the Solomons and Admiralties, returning to Pearl Harbor in October 1944 for anti-submarine training.

J. Douglas Blackwood, steamed to Eniwetok on 2 November, and resumed convoy escort work, this time between the Solomons and the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. As that great archipelago was liberated, island by island, the escort ship helped bring supplies and men from advance bases. She remained on this duty until arriving Pearl Harbor on 12 April 1945, and for the remainder of the war operated in Hawaiian waters training with newly commissioned carriers and Pacific Fleet

United States Pacific Fleet

The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...

 submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

s.

The war over, J. Douglas Blackwood steamed into Mare Island Navy Yard on 4 September 1945, and after repairs made the long voyage through the Canal to the East Coast. She arrived New London

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

 on 9 January 1946, decommissioned on 20 April 1946, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

1950–1958

With the outbreak of fighting in Korea

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 in 1950, the Navy's need of fighting ships once again increased. J. Douglas Blackwood, recommissioned on 5 February 1951, 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...

 J. R. McKee in command. Based at Norfolk, the ship alternated between duty there and the Fleet Sonar School

Fleet Sonar School

The Fleet Sonar School was a United States Navy facility in Key West, Florida for the training of Service personnel in Sonar techniques and equipment, and Anti-submarine warfare....

 at Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

. She also engaged in at sea training for midshipmen, cruising to the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 in the summer of 1953. She remained on this important training duty, not only keeping herself at peak readiness but also contributing to the development of new anti-submarine tactics, until arriving at Philadelphia on 15 November 1957. There she began her new assignment as Reserve Training Ship. J. Douglas Blackwood decommissioned on 1 August 1958, and was placed "in service." For the next three years, she acted as training ship for naval reservists in the Philadelphia area.

1961–1962

However, when America's will was tested once again in the 1961 Berlin Crisis

Berlin Crisis of 1961

The Berlin Crisis of 1961 was the last major politico-military European incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of post–World War II Germany. The U.S.S.R...

, the ship was again recalled to active service, commissioning on 2 October 1961, Comdr. John Joseph Grelis III in command. After refresher training in the Caribbean, she served on escort and patrol duty in the Atlantic through the summer of 1962. She decommissioned on 1 August 1962, reverted to her "in-service" status, and resumed reserve training duty at Philadelphia. J. Douglas Blackwood remained on this important duty into 1967, always ready to serve the Navy in time of need.

J. Douglas Blackwood was struck 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 30 January 1970, and was sunk as a target on 20 July 1970.

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