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USS Walton (DE-361)
Encyclopedia
USS Walton (DE-361) was a John C. Butler-class
destroyer escort
in the United States Navy
. It was named after Merrit Cecil Walton
, a Marine Corps
platoon sergeant
with the U.S. 1st Marine Division, who died on Gavutu
during the Battle of Guadalcanal
and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross
for "extraordinary heroism".
Walton was laid down at Consolidated Steel Corporation
, in Orange, Texas
, on 21 March 1944; launched on 20 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Clara Olson, mother of Sgt. Walton; and commissioned on 4 September 1944, with Lieutenant Commander
Wilbur S. Wills, Jr., in command.
, Walton underwent post-shakedown availability at the Boston Navy Yard
. The new destroyer escort subsequently sailed for Hampton Roads, Virginia, and arrived at Norfolk
on 15 November. While in that vicinity, she served as a school ship, training nucleus crews for the other destroyer escorts then entering the fleet.
When Escort Division 85 was established, Walton was assigned to it and sailed for the Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal
on 7 December and arrived at Bora Bora
, in the Society Islands
, on 22 December. From there the destroyer escort pushed on for the Solomon Islands
, touching at Port Purvis, Florida Islands
, and moved thence to Seeadler Harbor
, Manus
, in the Admiralty Islands
. While at Manus, the ship underwent repairs and alterations. During that refit, her after 40 millimeter twin Bofors mount was replaced by a quadruple-mount Bofors, a necessary augmentation of the ship's anti-aircraft battery that reflected the growing concern over the destructive attacks of Japanese suicide planes "divine wind", or kamikaze
.
Walton began her first active wartime duty at Hollandia (now Jayapura
) late in January of the following year. On 21 January 1945, the destroyer escort departed that port, bound for the Philippines
as part of the escort for a large convoy of merchantmen slow fleet auxiliaries, and amphibious vessels. Informed that those sea lanes had been, of late, patrolled by Japanese submarines and that enemy planes might be encountered, Walton and her fellow escorts alertly screened the important convoy bound for the Allies' westernmost outpost. After a 10-day voyage, the convoy arrived safely at its destination, San Pedro Bay
, Leyte, on the last day of the month.
During February, March, and April, Walton escorted convoys between Hollandia and Lingayen Gulf, Philippines. She also made runs between Leyte and Kossol Roads
, in the Palau
s, as well as trips to Mangarin Bay
, Mindoro
, Philippines. During the later part of April the destroyer escort patrolled the waters between Homonhon Island
and Dinagat, at the mouth of Leyte Gulf.
In May, Walton visited Manila
, Leyte, and Hollandia, before CortDiv 85 received orders to sail for Subic Bay
to relieve another division of destroyer escorts that had been conducting antisubmarine sweeps along the west coast of Luzon
. Those patrols had been instituted primarily to interdict the flow of enemy submarines from bases in China, Formosa
, or the Japanese home islands themselves. Secondarily, Walton and her sisters were to train British and American submarines prior to their departure for extended war patrols and to escort them to and from a release point where they were starting or finishing such patrols.
During the course of those ensuing duties, Walton escorted to Cape Calavite, Mindoro
, where the fleet submarine torpedoed a beached and abandoned Japanese tanker. Walton salvaged all equipment of worth from the erstwhile enemy vessel and then stood off while Brill completed the demolition work with three torpedoes.
On 28 July, Walton departed Subic Bay in company with and later rendezvoused with to form a hunter-killer group on the eastern coast of Luzon, off Casiguran Bay. They swept northeast of Luzon and across the convoy lane between Leyte and Okinawa, without success, before Walton was relieved by off Aparri.
Walton spent the remainder of August at Subic Bay and was there when hostilities with Japan ceased in mid-month. As the fleet moved northward to Japanese waters to commence the occupation of the former enemy's homeland, its necessary train followed. Walton escorted to a point where the oiler rendezvoused with a fast carrier task group at the end of August, before the destroyer escort put into Buckner Bay, anchoring there on 2 September 1945 — the day of Japan's formal surrender.
Walton later departed Okinawa to escort hospital ship to Jinsen (now Inchon
), Korea
. En route, the ships kept a vigilant lookout for stray mines; and Walton exploded 11 of them as the ships passed through the Yellow Sea
. Arriving at Jinsen on 8 September, Mercy soon commenced taking care of the many Allied prisoners of war and internees from a camp near the Korean port. Walton consequently found employment as a river pilot ship, leading vessels which did not have adequate anchorage or area charts — a necessary precaution due to the many narrow and shallow passages in the waters off Jinsen. On 26 September, while engaged in that duty, Walton suffered damage when an LCT
— under tow by LST-557 — collided with her port bow, opening a large hole and breaking several frames above the waterline.
Repaired alongside , Walton subsequently escorted to Taku
, China. Once there, the attack transport embarked internees from camps in North China and sailed from that port for the Shantung peninsula and South China. Walton stood by while Geneva embarked former civilian internees at Tsingtao, and she accompanied the transport on a voyage to Hong Kong
. While en route, on 10 and 11 October, the ships rode out the outer edge of a typhoon swirling its way up the China coast. Walton — although buffeted by 30- and 40 feet (12.2 m) waves and winds clocked at over 60 knots (117.6 km/h) — sustained no material damage.
Arriving at Hong Kong on 13 October, Walton remained at that port until 4 November when she weighed anchor for Shanghai
, China — where her namesake had served in the late 1930s — and escorted the stores issue ship to that port. Walton next returned to Jinsen, hunting for and sinking stray mines while acting as an escort.
At Jinsen on 20 November, Walton received the long-awaited homeward-bound orders and, in company with , sailed for Okinawa. There, the two destroyer escorts embarked passengers — taking part in a phase of the Operation "Magic Carpet", the return home of discharge-bound veterans. On 25 November, they set out for the Hawaiian Islands
, on the first leg of their voyage to the west coast of the United States. Arriving at San Pedro, California, nine days before Christmas of 1945, Walton subsequently shifted to San Diego
where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 31 May 1946.
. Recommissioned at San Diego on 26 January 1951 with Lieutenant Commander John D. Brink in command, Walton operated off the coast of California, training and assisting in the training of submarines and sonar teams, into the spring of the next year.
The destroyer escort — her homeport officially changed from San Diego to Pearl Harbor
on 4 November 1951; she departed San Diego on 19 April 1952, bound for the Far East, in company with destroyer escorts and . rendezvoused with those three ships at Pearl Harbor to complete CortDiv 92. Walton arrived off Hungnam
on 17 May and immediately assumed patrol and blockade duties off the Korean coast.
Over the next four months, Walton worked jointly with the naval units of other UN
nations — Great Britain, Thailand
, Colombia
, and the Republic of Korea. During her patrols, the destroyer escort fired over 2,000 rounds of 5 inches (127 mm) ammunition at communist shore targets, provided close gunfire support for minesweeping operations; worked in conjunction with carrier strikes on coastal targets, and, during the latter operations, rescued a ditched Navy pilot. On one occasion, the ship sent a raiding party to reconnoiter a harbor on the far northern coast of Korea. Enemy machine guns opened up on the party, but a heavy fusillade from Waltons small boat silenced the gunners.
During that Far Eastern deployment, Walton also engaged in patrolling the Formosa Strait to keep communist China from attacking Nationalist China on the island of Formosa (Taiwan). Besides the ship's active patrol and combat operations, she participated in hunter-killer evolutions in waters south of Japan. As a result of her Korean service in 1952, Walton received the Korean service Medal with one engagement star, the UN Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
Returning to Pearl Harbor on 29 August, Walton underwent a shipyard availability during September and, over the ensuing months, conducted a regular schedule of training operations in the Hawaiian operating area. After a major overhaul at Pearl Harbor, Walton got underway on 9 May 1953 sailing, via Midway, to the Far East. Subsequently based at Sasebo, Japan, Walton operated briefly out of Pusan, South Korea, and then patrolled near Cheju Do
, an island off the southern coast of South Korea. In July, she made a passage to Beppu, Japan, for a period of repairs alongside a tender, before she operated as a screening vessel with TF 77. She returned to Pusan soon thereafter, before resuming her patrols out of Sasebo to the eastern coast of South Korea.
Even after the signing of the armistice on 27 July brought an uneasy peace to the "Land of the Morning Calm", there was still work for Walton in Far Eastern waters. The ship participated in port Visit to Hong Kong; underwent upkeep in Subic Bay, Philippines visited Yokosuka, Sasebo
, and Kobe
, Japan, and operated in Korean waters again that November before sailing as part of a simulated convoy screen and reaching Pearl Harbor on 11 December 1953.
Walton remained in Hawaiian waters into the summer of 1954, conducting a varying slate of operations that included exercises in gunnery communications engineering, antisubmarine warfare navigation, and tactics—broken from time to time by the usual upkeep and maintenance periods in port. She also participated in a hunter-killer exercise in May that helped to evaluate killer submarines.
Departing Pearl Harbor on 15 June, Walton began her third deployment to the Western Pacific (WestPac). On 9 July, she relieved the seaplane tender as station ship at Hong Kong and, outside of a brief period of upkeep at Subic Bay, performed station ship duties at the British Crown Colony into the autumn. During the deployment, the ship sortied twice to evade typhoons swirling their way toward Hong Kong — typhoon Ida from 28 to 30 August and typhoon Pamela from 5 to 7 November.
Walton departed Hong Kong on 8 November and proceeded back to Pearl Harbor, via the Philippines, Guam
and Midway
, having to dodge two more typhoons (Ruby and Sally) while en route. The destroyer escort then spent the period from late November 1954 to early May 1955 in the Hawaiian Islands, training and undergoing needed upkeep.
On 11 May 1955, Walton set sail for the Marianas
, on the first leg of her fourth WestPac voyage. While operating under the operational aegis of the Commander, Naval forces, Marianas, Walton carried out surveillance operations at Bikar Atoll
, Erikub Atoll
, Kwajalein
, Rongerik Atoll
, and Ailinglaplap Atoll
. In June and July, Walton alternated making surveillance voyages to the places mentioned above with performing duties as search and rescue (SAR) ship operating out of Guam.
During the latter part of July, Walton visited the northern Marianas, the Bonin and Volcano Islands
and Yokosuka, before she resumed SAR duties at Guam. She divided September between surveillance in the western Carolines and SAR at Guam before sailing on 22 September for Pearl Harbor. She arrived home, via Kwajalein, on 1 October.
Walton subsequently conducted two more WestPac deployments out of Pearl Harbor. During the fifth deployment, the ship visited Singapore
, the Federated Malay States
; Hong Kong; Kobe, Japan; the Marianas; and Chinhae, Korea; where she, in company with and units of the ROK Navy
, trained in antisubmarine warfare. Later, while en route from Japanese waters to Keelung
, Taiwan, in company with , Walton conducted an unsuccessful search for an American plane that had ditched in the ocean. The two destroyer escorts sighted nothing during the two-day quest.
During the ship's sixth WestPac deployment, in 1957 the ship conducted five surveillance cruises in the Bonins, the Carolines, and the northern Mariana Islands. Also — in company with her sister ship — she visited Townsville, Australia — via Subic Bay and Manus — arriving "down under" on 19 August 1957. After five days of hearty Australian hospitality, the two escort vessels set out for Pago Pago, Samoa
, on the first leg of their voyage back to Pearl Harbor where they arrived on 5 November.
Following a three-month overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Walton conducted underway training evolutions and type training in the Hawaiian Islands through the spring of 1958. Ultimately, on 30 June 1958, Walton bid "aloha" to Pearl Harbor and while en route to the United States, the destroyer escort was reassigned to Reserve CortRon 1, Reserve CortDiv 12. With her home port officially changed to San Francisco
, Walton underwent a brief availability alongside at Long Beach
before she pushed on for her ultimate destination — San Francisco. She arrived at her new home port on 20 July.
Waltons mission was now to train Naval Reserve personnel. Over the next three years, she operated out of San Francisco on reserve training cruises that took the ship to such places as Mazatlán
, Mexico, San Diego and Treasure Island, California
; Pearl Harbor, Drake's Bay, California; Monterey, California
; and Esquimalt, British Columbia
. During the many two-week reserve cruises she conducted a variety of operations including "live" antisubmarine warfare training and gunnery exercises, highline transfers, general quarters drills, and underway refuelings in order to bring reservists up to date on latest methods and equipment. During that time, Walton won the Battle Efficiency "E"
for Reserve CortRon 1 in 1959 and 1960.
While at Long Beach on 1 October 1961, Walton received word that, in the words of her command history "her shuttling about the west coast was ended for the time being." With her selected reserve crew of 70 men the destroyer escort was recalled to active duty as part of the overall buildup of military force ordered by President John F. Kennedy
to meet the communist threat in Berlin and, possibly, elsewhere.
Again homeported at Pearl Harbor, Walton departed the west coast on 23 October for the Hawaiian Islands. She arrived eight days later and immediately commenced underway training evolutions. She later underwent a two-week availability alongside before she resumed underway training. On 4 December, the ship entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard to commence an overhaul that lasted through the end of the year 1961.
After further underway training evolutions in Hawaiian waters, Walton departed Pearl Harbor on 22 June, bound for the Marianas, on the first leg of her seventh WestPac deployment. After stopping for a day at Guam, she arrived in Subic Bay on 6 February. Nine days later, she got underway for Da Nang
, South Vietnam
.
Walton arrived off Da Nang on 17 February and immediately began patrols in company with units of the small South Vietnamese Navy. Returning to Subic Bay briefly toward the middle of March, and after visiting Manila and Hong Kong, the destroyer escort resumed patrols off the coastline of South Vietnam, operating from Da Nang. For the remainder of her tour, the destroyer escort was almost constantly on the move, shifting to Subic Bay and Yokosuka; and patrolling the strait of Korea, before she returned via Yokosuka to Pearl Harbor on 5 June.
Following a brief stint of local operations out of Pearl Harbor, Walton sailed for the west coast on 11 July 1962. Arriving at San Francisco on 1 August, she soon resumed her Naval Reserve training role.
John C. Butler class destroyer escort
The John C. Butler class destroyer escort originated during World War II. The lead ship was the , commissioned on 31 March 1944. The class was also known as the WGT type from their Westinghouse Geared Turbine drive...
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
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...
. It was named after Merrit Cecil Walton
Merrit Cecil Walton
Merrit Cecil Walton was born at Saint Paul, Minnesota and died a hero in battle at Gavutu in the Solomon Islands.-Marine Corps career:...
, a 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...
platoon sergeant
Platoon Sergeant
In many militaries, a platoon sergeant is the senior enlisted member of a platoon, who advises and supports the platoon's commanding officer in leading the unit.-Singapore:...
with the U.S. 1st Marine Division, who died on Gavutu
Gavutu
Gavutu is a small islet in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands, some 500 metres in length. It is one of the Nggela Islands....
during the Battle of Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
for "extraordinary heroism".
Walton was laid down at Consolidated Steel Corporation
Consolidated Steel Corporation
Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas...
, in 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...
, on 21 March 1944; launched on 20 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Clara Olson, mother of Sgt. Walton; and commissioned on 4 September 1944, with Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Wilbur S. Wills, Jr., in command.
World War II
After she conducted her shakedown out of Great Sound Bay, BermudaBermuda
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...
, Walton underwent post-shakedown availability at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
. The new destroyer escort subsequently sailed for Hampton Roads, Virginia, and arrived at Norfolk
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....
on 15 November. While in that vicinity, she served as a school ship, training nucleus crews for the other destroyer escorts then entering the fleet.
When Escort Division 85 was established, Walton was assigned to it and sailed for the Pacific. She 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 7 December and arrived at 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...
, in the Society Islands
Society Islands
The Society Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. They are politically part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands;...
, on 22 December. From there the destroyer escort pushed on for the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, touching at Port Purvis, Florida Islands
Florida Islands
The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands, a state in the southwest Pacific Ocean....
, and moved thence to Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II...
, 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...
, in the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
. While at Manus, the ship underwent repairs and alterations. During that refit, her after 40 millimeter twin Bofors mount was replaced by a quadruple-mount Bofors, a necessary augmentation of the ship's anti-aircraft battery that reflected the growing concern over the destructive attacks of Japanese suicide planes "divine wind", or 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....
.
Walton began her first active wartime duty at Hollandia (now Jayapura
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....
) late in January of the following year. On 21 January 1945, the destroyer escort departed that port, bound for 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...
as part of the escort for a large convoy of merchantmen slow fleet auxiliaries, and amphibious vessels. Informed that those sea lanes had been, of late, patrolled by Japanese submarines and that enemy planes might be encountered, Walton and her fellow escorts alertly screened the important convoy bound for the Allies' westernmost outpost. After a 10-day voyage, the convoy arrived safely at its destination, San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (Philippines)
San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...
, Leyte, on the last day of the month.
During February, March, and April, Walton escorted convoys between Hollandia and Lingayen Gulf, Philippines. She also made runs between Leyte and Kossol Roads
Kossol Roads
Kossol Roads, Palau is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob. During World War II, it was used by the United States Navy as the location of a floating resupply and repair base....
, in the Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
s, as well as trips to Mangarin Bay
Mangarin Bay
Mangarin Bay is situated to the east of Mangarin Point, on the west coast of Mindoro, among the Philippine Islands. The bay is shoal and sheltered from the wind by the point and Ilin Island. Magarin point terminates in a long sandy pit off which the depth is 4 to 5 fathoms. Farther in the water...
, 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:...
, Philippines. During the later part of April the destroyer escort patrolled the waters between Homonhon Island
Homonhon Island
Homonhon Island is an island in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines, on the east side of Leyte Gulf. It is about 20 km long.-History:...
and Dinagat, at the mouth of Leyte Gulf.
In May, Walton visited Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Leyte, and Hollandia, before CortDiv 85 received orders to sail for 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...
to relieve another division of destroyer escorts that had been conducting antisubmarine sweeps along the west coast 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...
. Those patrols had been instituted primarily to interdict the flow of enemy submarines from bases in China, Formosa
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, or the Japanese home islands themselves. Secondarily, Walton and her sisters were to train British and American submarines prior to their departure for extended war patrols and to escort them to and from a release point where they were starting or finishing such patrols.
During the course of those ensuing duties, Walton escorted to Cape Calavite, 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:...
, where the fleet submarine torpedoed a beached and abandoned Japanese tanker. Walton salvaged all equipment of worth from the erstwhile enemy vessel and then stood off while Brill completed the demolition work with three torpedoes.
On 28 July, Walton departed Subic Bay in company with and later rendezvoused with to form a hunter-killer group on the eastern coast of Luzon, off Casiguran Bay. They swept northeast of Luzon and across the convoy lane between Leyte and Okinawa, without success, before Walton was relieved by off Aparri.
Walton spent the remainder of August at Subic Bay and was there when hostilities with Japan ceased in mid-month. As the fleet moved northward to Japanese waters to commence the occupation of the former enemy's homeland, its necessary train followed. Walton escorted to a point where the oiler rendezvoused with a fast carrier task group at the end of August, before the destroyer escort put into Buckner Bay, anchoring there on 2 September 1945 — the day of Japan's formal surrender.
Walton later departed Okinawa to escort hospital ship to Jinsen (now Inchon
Incheon
The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...
), Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. En route, the ships kept a vigilant lookout for stray mines; and Walton exploded 11 of them as the ships passed through the Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
. Arriving at Jinsen on 8 September, Mercy soon commenced taking care of the many Allied prisoners of war and internees from a camp near the Korean port. Walton consequently found employment as a river pilot ship, leading vessels which did not have adequate anchorage or area charts — a necessary precaution due to the many narrow and shallow passages in the waters off Jinsen. On 26 September, while engaged in that duty, Walton suffered damage when an LCT
Landing craft tank
The Landing Craft, Tank was an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the British Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "Tank Landing Craft" by the British, they later...
— under tow by LST-557 — collided with her port bow, opening a large hole and breaking several frames above the waterline.
Repaired alongside , Walton subsequently escorted to 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...
, China. Once there, the attack transport embarked internees from camps in North China and sailed from that port for the Shantung peninsula and South China. Walton stood by while Geneva embarked former civilian internees at Tsingtao, and she accompanied the transport on a voyage to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. While en route, on 10 and 11 October, the ships rode out the outer edge of a typhoon swirling its way up the China coast. Walton — although buffeted by 30- and 40 feet (12.2 m) waves and winds clocked at over 60 knots (117.6 km/h) — sustained no material damage.
Arriving at Hong Kong on 13 October, Walton remained at that port until 4 November when she weighed anchor for Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China — where her namesake had served in the late 1930s — and escorted the stores issue ship to that port. Walton next returned to Jinsen, hunting for and sinking stray mines while acting as an escort.
At Jinsen on 20 November, Walton received the long-awaited homeward-bound orders and, in company with , sailed for Okinawa. There, the two destroyer escorts embarked passengers — taking part in a phase of the Operation "Magic Carpet", the return home of discharge-bound veterans. On 25 November, they set out 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...
, on the first leg of their voyage to the west coast of the United States. Arriving at San Pedro, California, nine days before Christmas of 1945, Walton subsequently shifted to San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 31 May 1946.
Korean War and after
The destroyer escort remained inactive until the Korean WarKorean 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...
. Recommissioned at San Diego on 26 January 1951 with Lieutenant Commander John D. Brink in command, Walton operated off the coast of California, training and assisting in the training of submarines and sonar teams, into the spring of the next year.
The destroyer escort — her homeport officially changed from San Diego to 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 4 November 1951; she departed San Diego on 19 April 1952, bound for the Far East, in company with destroyer escorts and . rendezvoused with those three ships at Pearl Harbor to complete CortDiv 92. Walton arrived off Hungnam
Hungnam
Hŭngnam was the third largest city in North Korea.It is a port city on the eastern coast, in South Hamgyong Province, on the Sea of Japan . The city covers an area of 250 square kilometers...
on 17 May and immediately assumed patrol and blockade duties off the Korean coast.
Over the next four months, Walton worked jointly with the naval units of other UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
nations — Great Britain, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, and the Republic of Korea. During her patrols, the destroyer escort fired over 2,000 rounds of 5 inches (127 mm) ammunition at communist shore targets, provided close gunfire support for minesweeping operations; worked in conjunction with carrier strikes on coastal targets, and, during the latter operations, rescued a ditched Navy pilot. On one occasion, the ship sent a raiding party to reconnoiter a harbor on the far northern coast of Korea. Enemy machine guns opened up on the party, but a heavy fusillade from Waltons small boat silenced the gunners.
During that Far Eastern deployment, Walton also engaged in patrolling the Formosa Strait to keep communist China from attacking Nationalist China on the island of Formosa (Taiwan). Besides the ship's active patrol and combat operations, she participated in hunter-killer evolutions in waters south of Japan. As a result of her Korean service in 1952, Walton received the Korean service Medal with one engagement star, the UN Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
Returning to Pearl Harbor on 29 August, Walton underwent a shipyard availability during September and, over the ensuing months, conducted a regular schedule of training operations in the Hawaiian operating area. After a major overhaul at Pearl Harbor, Walton got underway on 9 May 1953 sailing, via Midway, to the Far East. Subsequently based at Sasebo, Japan, Walton operated briefly out of Pusan, South Korea, and then patrolled near Cheju Do
Jeju-do
Jeju-do is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946...
, an island off the southern coast of South Korea. In July, she made a passage to Beppu, Japan, for a period of repairs alongside a tender, before she operated as a screening vessel with TF 77. She returned to Pusan soon thereafter, before resuming her patrols out of Sasebo to the eastern coast of South Korea.
Even after the signing of the armistice on 27 July brought an uneasy peace to the "Land of the Morning Calm", there was still work for Walton in Far Eastern waters. The ship participated in port Visit to Hong Kong; underwent upkeep in Subic Bay, Philippines visited Yokosuka, Sasebo
United States Fleet Activities Sasebo
U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy naval base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet and designated tenant activities.- History :Sasebo...
, and Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan, and operated in Korean waters again that November before sailing as part of a simulated convoy screen and reaching Pearl Harbor on 11 December 1953.
Walton remained in Hawaiian waters into the summer of 1954, conducting a varying slate of operations that included exercises in gunnery communications engineering, antisubmarine warfare navigation, and tactics—broken from time to time by the usual upkeep and maintenance periods in port. She also participated in a hunter-killer exercise in May that helped to evaluate killer submarines.
Departing Pearl Harbor on 15 June, Walton began her third deployment to the Western Pacific (WestPac). On 9 July, she relieved the seaplane tender as station ship at Hong Kong and, outside of a brief period of upkeep at Subic Bay, performed station ship duties at the British Crown Colony into the autumn. During the deployment, the ship sortied twice to evade typhoons swirling their way toward Hong Kong — typhoon Ida from 28 to 30 August and typhoon Pamela from 5 to 7 November.
Walton departed Hong Kong on 8 November and proceeded back to Pearl Harbor, via the Philippines, 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 Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
, having to dodge two more typhoons (Ruby and Sally) while en route. The destroyer escort then spent the period from late November 1954 to early May 1955 in the Hawaiian Islands, training and undergoing needed upkeep.
On 11 May 1955, Walton set sail for the Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, on the first leg of her fourth WestPac voyage. While operating under the operational aegis of the Commander, Naval forces, Marianas, Walton carried out surveillance operations at Bikar Atoll
Bikar Atoll
Bikar Atoll is an uninhabited atoll in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is one of the smallest atolls in the Marshalls and located at...
, Erikub Atoll
Erikub Atoll
Erikub Atoll is an uninhabited coral atoll of six islands in the Pacific Ocean, located in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon with an area of . It is located slightly south of Wotje.-History:Erikub Atoll was claimed by the Empire of...
, Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
, Rongerik Atoll
Rongerik Atoll
Rongerik Atoll or Rongdrik Atoll is a coral atoll of 17 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and is located in the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands, approximately east of Bikini Atoll. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of .-History:Rongerik Atoll was claimed by the Empire of...
, and Ailinglaplap Atoll
Ailinglaplap Atoll
Ailinglaplap or Ailinglapalap is a coral atoll of 56 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain in the Marshall Islands. It is located northwest of Jaluit Atoll. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of...
. In June and July, Walton alternated making surveillance voyages to the places mentioned above with performing duties as search and rescue (SAR) ship operating out of Guam.
During the latter part of July, Walton visited the northern Marianas, the Bonin and Volcano Islands
Volcano Islands
The Volcano Islands is a group of three Japanese islands south of the Bonin Islands that belong to the municipality of Ogasawara...
and Yokosuka, before she resumed SAR duties at Guam. She divided September between surveillance in the western Carolines and SAR at Guam before sailing on 22 September for Pearl Harbor. She arrived home, via Kwajalein, on 1 October.
Walton subsequently conducted two more WestPac deployments out of Pearl Harbor. During the fifth deployment, the ship visited Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, the Federated Malay States
Federated Malay States
The Federated Malay States was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula—Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang—established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with the Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay...
; Hong Kong; Kobe, Japan; the Marianas; and Chinhae, Korea; where she, in company with and units of the ROK Navy
Republic of Korea Navy
The Republic of Korea Navy or the ROK Navy is the branch of the South Korean armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations and amphibious landing operations. The ROK Navy includes the Republic of Korea Marine Corps, which is a quasi-autonomous organization...
, trained in antisubmarine warfare. Later, while en route from Japanese waters to Keelung
Keelung
Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...
, Taiwan, in company with , Walton conducted an unsuccessful search for an American plane that had ditched in the ocean. The two destroyer escorts sighted nothing during the two-day quest.
During the ship's sixth WestPac deployment, in 1957 the ship conducted five surveillance cruises in the Bonins, the Carolines, and the northern Mariana Islands. Also — in company with her sister ship — she visited Townsville, Australia — via Subic Bay and Manus — arriving "down under" on 19 August 1957. After five days of hearty Australian hospitality, the two escort vessels set out for Pago Pago, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, on the first leg of their voyage back to Pearl Harbor where they arrived on 5 November.
Following a three-month overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Walton conducted underway training evolutions and type training in the Hawaiian Islands through the spring of 1958. Ultimately, on 30 June 1958, Walton bid "aloha" to Pearl Harbor and while en route to the United States, the destroyer escort was reassigned to Reserve CortRon 1, Reserve CortDiv 12. With her home port officially changed to 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...
, Walton underwent a brief availability alongside at Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
before she pushed on for her ultimate destination — San Francisco. She arrived at her new home port on 20 July.
Waltons mission was now to train Naval Reserve personnel. Over the next three years, she operated out of San Francisco on reserve training cruises that took the ship to such places as Mazatlán
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...
, Mexico, San Diego and Treasure Island, California
Treasure Island, California
Treasure Island is an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland, and an emerging neighborhood of San Francisco....
; Pearl Harbor, Drake's Bay, California; Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
; and Esquimalt, British Columbia
Esquimalt, British Columbia
The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquimalt Harbour and Royal Roads, to the northwest by the...
. During the many two-week reserve cruises she conducted a variety of operations including "live" antisubmarine warfare training and gunnery exercises, highline transfers, general quarters drills, and underway refuelings in order to bring reservists up to date on latest methods and equipment. During that time, Walton won the Battle Efficiency "E"
Battle Effectiveness Award
The Battle Effectiveness Award , commonly known as the Battle "E", is awarded annually to the small number of U.S...
for Reserve CortRon 1 in 1959 and 1960.
While at Long Beach on 1 October 1961, Walton received word that, in the words of her command history "her shuttling about the west coast was ended for the time being." With her selected reserve crew of 70 men the destroyer escort was recalled to active duty as part of the overall buildup of military force ordered by President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
to meet the communist threat in Berlin and, possibly, elsewhere.
Again homeported at Pearl Harbor, Walton departed the west coast on 23 October for the Hawaiian Islands. She arrived eight days later and immediately commenced underway training evolutions. She later underwent a two-week availability alongside before she resumed underway training. On 4 December, the ship entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard to commence an overhaul that lasted through the end of the year 1961.
After further underway training evolutions in Hawaiian waters, Walton departed Pearl Harbor on 22 June, bound for the Marianas, on the first leg of her seventh WestPac deployment. After stopping for a day at Guam, she arrived in Subic Bay on 6 February. Nine days later, she got underway for Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
, South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
.
Walton arrived off Da Nang on 17 February and immediately began patrols in company with units of the small South Vietnamese Navy. Returning to Subic Bay briefly toward the middle of March, and after visiting Manila and Hong Kong, the destroyer escort resumed patrols off the coastline of South Vietnam, operating from Da Nang. For the remainder of her tour, the destroyer escort was almost constantly on the move, shifting to Subic Bay and Yokosuka; and patrolling the strait of Korea, before she returned via Yokosuka to Pearl Harbor on 5 June.
Following a brief stint of local operations out of Pearl Harbor, Walton sailed for the west coast on 11 July 1962. Arriving at San Francisco on 1 August, she soon resumed her Naval Reserve training role.