USS Jobb (DE-707) was 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...

, named after Richard Patrick Jobb, born in McCormick, Washington, on 17 March 1920. He enlisted in the Navy on 28 February 1942. He was at Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

 for America

United States

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

's first amphibious operation of the Pacific War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Hearing a call of a patrol

Patrol

A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...

 subjected to enemy fire near the Namara River on 26 January 1943, Pharmacist's Mate Third Class Jobb rushed forward 150 yards (137.2 m) through intense enemy fire to aid the wounded

Wounded

Wounded may refer to:* The Wounded, a Dutch wave-rock band* "The Wounded" , a fourth season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation* "Wounded ", a song by the American rock band Third Eye Blind...

. He continued to dress casualties under fire until he was himself hit and killed. For his courageous devotion to duty, Jobb was posthumously awarded the Silver Star

Silver Star

The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....

.

Jobb was laid down at Defoe Shipbuilding Company

Defoe Shipbuilding Company

The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now a scrapyard on the bank of the Saginaw River.-Founding:Harry J...

, Bay City, Michigan

Bay City, Michigan

Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...

, on 20 December 1943, She was launched on 4 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. S. L. Jobb, mother of Pharmacist's Mate Third Class Jobb; and commissioned at New Orleans on 4 July 1944, with Lieutenant Commander Herbert M. Jones in command.

World War II, 1944–1945

Following her shakedown training 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...

, Jobb was assigned to a hunter-killer patrol group in the Atlantic. A hurricane forced her back to 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....

 from 13–15 September, after which she steamed to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 to prepare for Pacific service. Jobb sailed on 23 October, and proceeded via 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...

 and Bora Bora

Bora Bora

The commune of Bora-Bora is made up of the island of Bora Bora proper with its surrounding islets emerging from the coral reef, 29.3 km² in total, and of the atoll of Tupai , located north of Bora Bora...

 to Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, where she arrived on 21 November. With the invasion of 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...

 then underway, Jobb escorted a 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...

 to Leyte Gulf

Leyte Gulf

Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...

 on 28 November. She remained at Leyte

Leyte Island

Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...

 until 12 December, when she screened a slow tow convoy for Mindoro

Mindoro

Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...

. The next day, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese snooper aircraft appeared, followed by bombers. In the raids of the next few days, Jobb's gunners shot down at least two of the attackers. After seeing the tows safely to Mindoro, she next sailed via Leyte to New Guinea, where she arrived at Hollandia

Jayapura

Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....

 on 28 December.

The ship joined a convoy for newly assaulted Lingayen Gulf

Lingayen Gulf

The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...

 on 8 January 1945; but, after striking a reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....

 in the Philippines on 16 January, she returned to Leyte Gulf for repairs. Following further work on her propeller

Propeller

A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...

s at Manus

Manus Island

Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...

, Jobb returned to the Philippines in February to escort convoys carrying troop

Troop

A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...

s and supplies

Materiel

Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

. During these critical months, she protected support convoys to Palawan

Palawan

Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...

, Mindoro, and Mindanao

Mindanao

Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...

 as the conquest of the Philippines proceeded apace.

Jobb departed Morotai

Morotai

Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...

 on 4 June to take part in the landings at Brunei Bay

Brunei Bay

Brunei Bay is the gateway to Brunei and Borneo. It is located 4°45'-5°02'N, 114°58'-115°10'E; east of Bandar Seri Begawan. The Brunei portion of the bay is in two sections separated by a finger of Sarawak about 6km wide at the coast...

, Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

. She patrolled as troops went ashore on 10 June, and captured the strategic bay without opposition. Later in the month, she screened a resupply convoy from Morotai. She arrived at Leyte on 8 July for repairs before conducting anti-submarine patrol between the Philippines and Ulithi

Ulithi

Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...

 until the close of hostilities.

Post-war activities, 1945–1946

The veteran ship steamed to Okinawa

Okinawa Island

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. The island has an area of...

 on 23 August, and in the months that followed, operated between the various island bases in support of the occupation

Military occupation

Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...

 and reorganization of the Pacific area. Jobb arrived at Pearl Harbor on 31 December, and reached San Francisco on 9 January 1946.

Decommissioning

She later moved to San Diego, decommissioned there on 13 May 1946, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet, berthed at Stockton, California

Stockton, California

Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...

.