USS Newman (DE-205/APD-59), 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 Laxton Gail Newman (1916–1941), who was killed in action during the 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 attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

 on 7 December 1941. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

 for his actions.

Newman was laid down by the Charleston Navy Yard on 8 June 1943; launched on 9 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. J. B. Newman, mother of L. G. Newman AD3; and commissioned on 26 November 1943, Lt. Comdr. W. C. Meyer, USNR, in command.

Service history

Following 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...

, Newman was assigned transatlantic escort duty. Between 11 February and 29 June 1944, she crossed the ocean six times. On 30 June, at Staten Island

Staten Island

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

, she commenced conversion to a Charles Lawrence-class 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....

, reporting for shakedown in Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 as APD-59 on 19 September.

At the end of the month she departed 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....

, as flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of TransDiv

TransDiv

TransDiv is the authorized abbreviation or acronym used by the U.S. Navy during World War II for "transport division."The commander of a transport division was known as ComTransDiv .- References :*...

 103, and headed for the Pacific. Arriving 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 4 November, she escorted supply 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...

s between that port and 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...

 until 12 December. Then, 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...

, she embarked troops of the 24th Division and got underway for her first amphibious operation

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...

, the 15 December invasion of 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:...

. Landing her troops with the first waves, she turned back to Leyte, then proceeded to New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

 to prepare for the initial operations of 1945.

At Noemfoor

Noemfoor

Numfor is one of the Biak Islands in Papua province, Indonesia. It was the site of conflict between Japanese and the Allied forces during World War II, and was major airbase for both sides.-Geography:The island is situated just north of the large Cenderawasih Bay...

, she took on troops of the 158th Regimental Combat Team and proceeded back to 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...

. On the 11th, two days after the initial invasion of Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

, she landed her troops on the Lingayen

Lingayen, Pangasinan

Lingayen is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pangasinan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the capital municipality and the seat of government of the province of Pangasinan. According to the latest census, it has a population of 95,773 people in 16,467 households.Lingayen...

 beaches under the cover of naval shore bombardment

Naval gunfire support

Naval gunfire support is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the term Naval Fires...

, then provided gunfire support until retiring to escort a convoy back to Leyte, arriving on 15 January. Assignments to amphibious landings, and their support, now increased as the momentum of the war in the Philippines picked up. On 29 January, she participated in landings at San Felipe

San Felipe, Zambales

San Felipe is a 4th class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2007 Philippine census, it has a population of 21,322 people in 4,094 households.-Barangays:San Felipe is politically subdivided into 11 barangays....

, Luzon; on the 30th, on Grande Island in Subic Bay

Subic Bay

Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...

; on 28 February at Puerto Princesa

Puerto Princesa City

The City of Puerto Princesa is a city located on the western provincial island of Palawan, one of 80 provinces which make up the Philippines...

, 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...

; on 10 March at Zamboanga

Zamboanga City

The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....

, 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...

; on 26 March at Talisay

Talisay City, Cebu

Talisay City is a 3rd class city in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 179,359 people....

, Cebu; and on 17 April at Parang

Parang

Parang is a popular folk music originating out of Trinidad and Tobago, it was brought to Trinidad by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian and African heritage, something which is strongly reflected in the music itself. The word is derived from two Spanish words:'Parranda', meaning...

, Mindanao. In May, she shifted to 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:...

 and in June and July participated in landings in 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....

 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...

 on 10 June, and Balikpapan

Balikpapan

Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...

 on 1 July.

On 16 July, she departed the East Indies

East Indies

East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...

 to return to the Philippines, arriving Leyte the 18th and to Legaspi, Luzon, on the 27th, where she conducted training exercises for combat teams until the end of the war. On 29 August, she 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...

, embarked units of the 24th Corps, Army Service Command for transportation to Jinsen, Korea. On 8 September, she landed the occupation forces at Jinsen and then commenced escort duty between Jinsen, Taku

Taku Forts

The Dagu Forts , also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River estuary, in Tanggu District, Tianjin municipality, in northeastern China. They are located 60 km southeast of the Tianjin urban center.-History:The first fort was built during the reign of the Ming Jiajing...

 and the Philippines. On 26 November, she departed the Far East en route to New York.

Arriving there on 9 January 1946, she steamed south to Green Cove Springs, Florida

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....

, joining the 16th (Inactive) Fleet on 18 February. Later berthed at 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...

, Newman remained a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until struck from the Navy List

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...

 in 1964. On 15 August 1966 her hulk was sold for scrapping to the Boston Metals Company, Baltimore, Maryland.

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