USS Walter X. Young (DE-715/APD-131) was a ship 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 for Lieutenant Walter X. Young

Walter X. Young

Walter X. Young was an officer of the United States Marine Corps during World War II who received the Navy Cross posthumously for his actions.-Biography:Walter Xavier Young was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 22 October 1918...

 (1918–1942), an officer of the United States Marine Corps

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...

 who was killed in action during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Originally laid down on 27 May 1944 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...

 in 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...

 as a , DE-715, Young was reclassified and redesignated as a , APD-131 on 15 July 1944. The ship was launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 30 September 1944, sponsored by Mrs. John J. McGeeney; and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 on 1 May 1945, with 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...

 Nicholas Biddle, USNR, in command.

Service history

After conducting shakedown in 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...

, Walter X. Young interrupted her voyage 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....

, when she transported an emergency appendectomy patient from to Guantanamo Bay for medical attention. Upon the completion of this mission of mercy, she arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 10 June. Post-shakedown availability and training exercises preceded her sailing south for Fort Pierce, Florida

Fort Pierce, Florida

Fort Pierce, also spelled Ft. Pierce, is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is known as The Sunrise City. The population was 37,959 at the 2004 census. As of 2008, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 41,000. It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.Fort Pierce is part...

, for specialized training with Underwater Demolition Team

Underwater Demolition Team

The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...

s (UDTs). She departed the east coast on 30 July for San Pedro, California; transited 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...

 on 3 August, and while en route up the Pacific coast

Pacific Coast

A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...

 of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, received word of the atomic bomb detonation at Hiroshima

Hiroshima

is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...

 on the 6th and, three days later, of a nuclear blast at Nagasaki, and of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

's entry into the Pacific War

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

 the same day.

Two days after her arrival at San Diego on 12 August, further welcome news arrived, telling that Japan had accepted the unconditional surrender

Unconditional surrender

Unconditional surrender is a surrender without conditions, in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. In modern times unconditional surrenders most often include guarantees provided by international law. Announcing that only unconditional surrender is acceptable puts psychological...

 terms of the Potsdam Declaration

Potsdam Declaration

The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender is a statement calling for the Surrender of Japan in World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S...

 and had capitulated. As a result of this development, Walter X. Youngs original orders, calling for her embarked UDT personnel to take part in the projected invasion of Japan

Operation Downfall

Operation Downfall was the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan. The operation had two parts: Operation...

, were cancelled. Instead, the ship received a different mission.

On 16 August, Walter X. Young embarked the 93 men of UDT 22 (Lt. Cdr. J. F. Chace, USNR, in command), and after sunset on that date, sailed for the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

. Arriving at 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...

 on the morning of 22 August, she fueled and provisioned to capacity, loaded UDT explosives, and got underway on the afternoon of the 23rd for Japan.

Her group steamed via the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

, arrived in Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

 on 4 September, and reported to Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

 Theodore S. "Ping" Wilkinson

Theodore S. Wilkinson

Theodore Stark "Ping" Wilkinson was a Vice-Admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. He also received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Veracruz, Mexico.-Early life and career:...

, Commander, 3rd Amphibious Force. With the group now reconstituted as Task Group 32.2 (TG 32.2), as two further APD

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....

s and their embarked UDTs joined, they awaited their assignments. The dock

Dock (maritime)

A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...

 areas at Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

, the scene for one of the major initial occupation landings, were found to be in good condition, suitable for immediate use. Thus, they did not require reconnoitering by the UDTs for possible mines

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

 or other obstructions. Midway through her stay in Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

, Walter X. Young was buffeted about by a typhoon. With high winds and seas, she dragged her anchor

Anchor

An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...

 and eventually shifted anchorage to the lee side of the bay. During the height of the tempest, the APD received word from 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...

  that one of Youngs boats, an LCP(R)

LCVP

The Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively in amphibious landings in World War II. The craft was designed by Andrew Higgins of Louisiana, United States, based on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes...

 which had been loaned to the cruiser, had broken away and been lost. When the storm cleared however, the "missing" craft was seen riding at a painter astern of the cruiser and later was recovered intact.

On 20 September, the ship's waiting period ended. In company with , Walter X. Young got underway on that date for Aomori

Aomori, Aomori

is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 302,068 and a density of 366 persons per km². Its total area was 824.52 km².- History :...

, on the northern end of Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

, to conduct a reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

 and beach survey, and to clear any obstacle

Obstacle

An obstacle is an object, thing, action or situation that causes an obstruction. There are, therefore, different types of obstacles, which can be physical, economic, biopsychosocial, cultural, political, technological or even military.-Physical barriers:As physical obstacles, we can enumerate all...

s that might impede Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 landings. The two APDs escorted on this short voyage. While en route on the 21st, the American warships sighted a floating mine and sank it with rifle fire. Upon arrival at Mutsu Kaiwan on the 22nd, Gantner proceeded to Ominato to pick up local Japanese officials to assist in the clearance program. Meanwhile, Young proceeded to Aomori, where, with the aid of underwater sounding devices, she located the hulks of three sunken ships. Swimmers from UDT 22 then attached buoys to them, while a fourth wreck also located during the survey was found to have been already helpfully buoyed by the Japanese.

On 23 September, UDT 22 surveyed the beach and its approaches, as well as the available exits to the main highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

 which ran parallel to the beach itself, to the eastward of Aomori. They found nothing which required dynamiting, but did attach buoys to some small wrecks at one end of the beach. They reported that the beach was suitable for all types of landing craft

Landing craft

Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...

; was capable of supporting vehicle

Vehicle

A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....

s; and possessed several exits to the main road. Placing beach markers and drawing up map

Map

A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....

s of the area, Walter X. Youngs UDT conducted an additional survey the following day, thus preparing the way for the landings at Aomori which followed on the 25th and continued throughout the day. Detached on the evening of the 25th, Young reported to Commander, TG 32.2, for orders.

Anchoring at Ominato on the evening of 26 September, the ship obtained information concerning Japanese minefields still extant in Tsugaru Strait

Tsugaru Strait

is a channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture...

, and the next day, got underway for Niigata

Niigata, Niigata

is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It lies on the northwest coast of Honshu, the largest island of Japan, and faces the Sea of Japan and Sado Island....

, on the west coast of Honshū. Proceeding independently, the ship rendezvoused with a Japanese tug

Tugboat

A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

, the Japanese craft carrying two American Army officers who had travelled overland from Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, several Japanese police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

, and a local pilot

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

, off the port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

. In an ensuing conference, it was learned that although the Japanese claimed to have swept a channel into Niigata, the width of the channel was too narrow to provide a margin of safety for an occupation force of transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

s. However, some 15 miles north of Niigata lay Senami. Walter X. Youngs embarked UDT soon surveyed the beach and found it in excellent condition. Nevertheless, any landings should be conducted in calm weather

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

 or with a prevailing offshore wind

Wind

Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...

 due to the beach's exposed position on the Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...

. Marking and mapping the beach, UDT 22 reembarked in Walter X. Young, and the ship got underway for Tokyo Bay, stopping at Hakodate

Hakodate, Hokkaido

is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...

, Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

, en route, to pick up an officer from UDT 22 who had served a tour of detached duty there.

Walter X. Young dropped anchor at Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

 on 30 September. On 12 October, she got underway for the west coast of the United States

United States

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

, and steamed homeward via 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...

 and Pearl Harbor. The ship arrived at San Diego on 2 November, and immediately disembarked UDT 22. Ten days of availability at the Naval Repair Base, San Diego, preceded the ship's participation in coastwise transportation of Navy and Marine Corps dischargees within the 11th Naval District.

Decommissioning and disposal

The ship was decommissioned on 2 July 1946, and placed in reserve 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...

.
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...

 on 1 May 1962 and stripped of all militarily useful items and equipment, Walter X. Young was towed from her berth with the Stockton Reserve Group

United States Navy reserve fleets

The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and sufficiently working as to be reactivated quickly in an...

 to her final duty station, the Naval Missile Center

Pacific Missile Test Center

Pacific Missile Test Center is the former name of the current Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division. The name of the center was the Naval Air Missile Test Center prior to PMTC. It is located at Naval Base Ventura County/Naval Air Station Point Mugu in Ventura County, California...

 at Point Mugu, California

Point Mugu, California

Point Mugu , California is an unincorporated area and geographical promontory on the Pacific coast in Ventura County, near the town of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term Muwu, meaning beach, which was first mentioned by Cabrillo in...

. Subsequently converted to a test hulk

Target ship

A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing.-Rationale:Sinking redundant warships is an effective way of testing new weapons and warships in as realistic a manner as possible. Whilst practice torpedoes are fired...

, Walter X. Young was sunk in missile-firing tests on 11 April 1967.

External links