USS Lester (DE-1022) was a , named after Fred Faulkner Lester

Fred Faulkner Lester

Fred Faulkner Lester was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II....

, a Navy Medical Corpsman serving with the U.S. Marines during the battle of Okinawa, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

 for his gallantry in rescuing a wounded Marine under fire.

Lester was laid down at the 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 2 September 1954; launched on 5 January 1956, sponsored by Mrs. Fred W. Lester, mother of Hospital Apprentice First Class Fred F. Lester. She was commissioned on 14 June 1957, with Lieutenant Commander Allan P. Slaff in command.

1950s

After shakedown cruise, Lester arrived in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

, just before Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 1957, reporting for duty to Escort Squadron 14. She trained off New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 until 8 February 1958, and then participated in convoy and ASW exercises off the 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...

 coast. On 17 February, she steamed from Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

, to rescue the survivors of the sunken Italian oreship Bonitoz, and then returned to Newport. On 12 May, the ship departed for the Mediterranean with units of CORTRONs 14 and 10 and 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...

 . She arrived in Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 on 21 May joining the 6th Fleet. When the fleet acted in Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 and averted world crisis in July, Lester played an important role in barrier patrol and other duties supporting the operations.

Lester departed Gibraltar on 29 September, arriving back at Newport on 7 October. For the next three months, she participated in three Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....

 exercises with Task Group Charlie, a force of ASW professionals which had the vital mission of improving 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...

 tactics and doctrines.

Lester next sailed from Newport on 6 February 1959 to join Task Force 86 at Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

. She departed Trinidad on 21 February on a combination ASW training and good will cruise to Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

. The cruise was intended to implement hemisphere defenses and provide practical experience for the four maritime nations of eastern South America. Upon her return to Newport on 5 May, she proceeded to Boston, Massachusetts for overhaul, remaining there for the rest of the summer. She was back at Newport in early September, and sailed on 11 September for refresher training exercises at Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...

. During this period the ship operated with units of the British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, and Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 Navies. She returned to Newport on 20 October for one more exercise with Task Group Charlie.

1960s

January 1960 found Lester participating in operation "Springboard" in 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...

. The following months were spent in convoy and individual exercises developing ASW tactics. During September and October, the ship steamed to northern Europe to take part in NATO fall convoy exercises, after which she returned to Newport to prepare for the 1961 operation "Springboard". After a brief operation in the North Atlantic, Lester overhauled at Boston from September to 20 November, then cruised to Guantanamo Bay for refresher training.

For the next two years, Lester continued similar operations. A highlight was UNITAS III on ASW exercises with South American navies. Departing on 16 August 1962, she steamed over 18,000 miles and received more than 20,000 visitors. Lester entered Boston Naval Shipyard on 12 September for a major conversion to improve her ASW capabilities.

Lester resumed operations from Newport on 22 January 1964. These included a joint United States-Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 ASW operation in May and another in September following her assignment to newly formed Escort Squadron 8. In late January 1965, Lester left for 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...

, for surveillance duty and to provide school services for 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....

. She returned to Newport in late February, and on 16 March, departed for operation "Springboard". She joined a United States-Canadian exercise in May, and again in June for operation "Pole Star." After a brief operation in July, the vessel entered Boston Naval Shipyard for a restricted availability period. On the day before Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving (United States)

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...

, Lester returned to Newport to resume her vital peacetime training mission.

On 31 January 1966, Lester began seven months of participation in the Destroyer Escort Petty Officer Training Program, better preparing over one hundred non-rated men for their eventual advancement to petty officer

Petty Officer

A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...

. In June, she also demonstrated the Navy's capabilities to cadets from the U.S. Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

 at West Point, New York

West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...

. On 15 October, she again entered Boston Naval Shipyard for overhaul.

The overhaul was completed on 24 January 1967, and Lester operated locally until sailing south in March. She served as Sonar School Ship, Key West, Florida, prior to refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, through April. Spending May in Newport, Lester departed on 29 January for deployment to northern Europe and the Mediterranean. She returned late in September and spent the remainder of the year in local operations out of Newport. February through June 1968 saw another voyage to north European and Mediterranean waters. Into 1969, Lester continued her vital peacekeeping operations and readiness exercises out of her home port, Newport.

Fate

Lester was stricken from the Navy Register on 14 December 1973, and was sold for scrapping on 17 July 1974.

External links

• Photo gallery at navsource.og