USS Lindsey (DD-771/DM-32/MMD-32) was a Robert H. Smith-class

Robert H. Smith class destroyer

The Robert H. Smith class of destroyer minelayers was built by the United States during World War II.These vessels were all originally laid down as Allen M. Sumner class destroyers and converted during construction throughout 1944. In that time the United States produced 12 Robert H. Smith class...

 destroyer minelayer in 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...

 during World War II

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...

, the Korean War

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...

 and the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. She was named for Eugene E. Lindsey

Eugene E. Lindsey

Eugene E. Lindsey, born in Sprague, Washington, 2 July 1905, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1927. After duty in Nevada and Saratoga he completed flight training in 1929, and served with a bombing squadron in Lexington and an observation squadron in Maryland...

.

Lindsey was laid down as DD-771 12 September 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Company, San Pedro, California; launched 5 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Eugene E. Lindsey, widow of Lt. Comdr. Lindsey; reclassified DM-32 19 July 1944; and commissioned 20 August 1944, Commander T. E. Chambers in command.

After shakedown off southern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, the new destroyer minelayer sailed from San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 25 November 1944 via 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...

 for 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...

, arriving 3 February 1945. Underway from Ulithi the morning of 8 February, Lindsey steamed toward Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...

. Operating off Iwo 17 to 19 February, Lindsey knocked out six guns ashore and provided covering fire as minesweepers

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

 cleared the harbor. On the 23d she returned to Ulithi to prepare for landings on Okinawa.

Underway 19 March, Lindsey arrived off Okinawa 24 March and swept the harbor for the inbound transports. Then as the marines

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 gained a foothold, the ship bombarded 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 gun installations and transferred wounded soldiers to hospital ship

Hospital ship

A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....

s. On the afternoon of 12 April, Lindsey experienced a mass kamikaze

Kamikaze

The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....

 attack. Her gunners scored repeated hits on seven onrushing dive bombers, but two “Val

Aichi D3A

The , Allied reporting name "Val") was a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy . It was the primary dive bomber in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and participated in almost all actions, including Pearl Harbor....

s”, damaged and out of control, crashed Lindsey killing 57 sailors and wounding 57 more. The explosion from the second Val ripped some 60 feet off her bow. Only the “all back full” ordered by Commander Chambers prevented the pressure of inrushing water from collapsing the fireroom bulkhead and sinking the ship.

Towed to Kerama Retto

Kerama Retto

The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....

 the same night, Lindsey remained in the lagoon for 2 weeks repairing battle damage. On 28 April she departed under tow for Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

, where, after arrival 6 May, she received a temporary bow. She sailed under her own power 8 July for the east coast via Pearl Harbor and 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...

, arriving 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....

 19 August 1945.

After extensive repairs at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Norfolk Naval Shipyard

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...

, Lindsey steamed 6 March 1946 for 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...

, and arrived the next day. Lindsey decommissioned 25 May 1946 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She 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 1 October 1970.

Lindsey received two battle stars for World War II.

As of 2006, no other ship in the United States Navy has been named Lindsey.

External links

• Photo gallery at Navsource.org
• Photo gallery at Naval Historical Center