A HISTORY OF THE USS CLAXTON DD 571
The USS CLAXTON was a Fletcher class destroyer built by the Consolidated Steel Corp. at Orange Texas. She was launched April 1, l942 sponsored by Mrs. Alva D. Bernhard, wife of Captain Bernhard. The CLAXTON was commissioned on Dec. 8, 1942 and was the second ship so named. The first CLAXTON was DD 140 built and commissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard in 1919. She was one of the fifty 4 pipers traded to the British in 1940 and renamed HMS SALISBURY. The CLAXTONS were named for Midshipman Thomas Claxton USN, mortally wounded in the battle of Lake Erie in Sept. 1813. DD 571's first commanding officer was Cmdr. Herald F. Stout, born 1903 in Dover Ohio. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1926. He was retired from the Navy in 1956 as Rear Admiral. Admiral Stout died in March 1987.
After commissioning on Dec. 8, 1942, the ship remained at the City Dock in Orange, Texas taking on stores, ammunition and fuel and being made ready for sea. We left Orange the morning of Dec. 27, down the Sabine River and into the Gulf to Galveston, TX. We arrived there the next day and later went into dry dock to have the hull scraped and repainted, having been in the water some time since launching. She left there on Jan 4, 1943 bound for New Orleans, arriving there the following day and tieing up at the Algiers Naval Base. Additional personnel were taken aboard and the ship was "depermed". This is a process whereby the ships magnetic field is neutralized to avoid attracting magnetic mines. The ship left New Orleans on Jan. 9 heading for Guantanamo Bay on the southeast coast of Cuba (called GITMO). GITMO was a training base for newly commissioned ships. Arrival was on Jan. 13 and then started extensive training and also our sea trials. After the training and final military inspection, the ship departed on Feb 7, arriving at the Navy Base, Charleston, SC on Feb 10. At the base there we received additional AA guns,a later model search Radar and other repairs and modifications. Most of the crew were given leave. The ship remained in the yard until March 11, and from there went to Casco Bay Maine (Portland). There she was with the battleships ALABAMA and SOUTH DAKOTA, the cruisers AUGUSTA and TUSCALOOSA along with other DD's; standing on alert waiting for a possible sortie of the German BB Tirpitz from Norway. While there we also went through intensive ASW training (anti-submarine warfare). We were underway on March 24 for New York, entering the Brooklyn Navy Yard next day. The CLAXTON was there to refuel and provision and to await the makeup of a convoy. This convoy departed on April 1, 1943 headed for Casablanca in North Africa where Allied landings had been made the previous November. There were about 60 ships in this convoy and they were delivered to the other side without loss.Arrival in Casablanca was on April 19, where the crew was allowed some daytime liberty. We departed there on April 23 to escort another convoy to New York, but were detached near the US and directed to Charleston Navy Yard again, arriving May 9. The ship was in the yard until May 17 for minor repairs and modifications. The CLAXTON left Charleston bound for the Panama Canal and the Pacific. About 150 miles from the canal she joined with a convoy of 4 laden troopships and some other DD's and arrived Coco Solo Panama on May 21. The next day she transited the canal to Balboa on the Pacific side and left there on May 23 headed southwest with the convoy and accompanied by cruiser USS TRENTON. The equator was crossed on May 27 with usual Pollywog initiations. On June 4 the convoy entered Bora Bora harbor in the Society Islands; departing there the following day, with the New Zealand cruiser LEANDER replacing the TRENTON. The international dateline was crossed on June 10 and we entered the harbor at Numea, New Caledonia on June 12. The next two weeks were spent either in port or at sea conducting drills and exercises with other ships. On June 27 we were underway with a large Task Force to cover operations in the Solomon Islands, this force cruised the Coral Sea until July 25. when it reentered Numea harbor. The CLAXTON was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 23, but the squadron did not operate as a unit until later in October 1943. We were sometimes in company with other ships of the squadron, usually the AUSBURNE and/or the DYSON. The CLAXTON was in DESDIV 45 along with Squadron flag AUSBURNE, DYSON and STANLY. We left Numea on Aug. 1 with some battleships and cruisers, arriving Espirito Santos, New Hebrides on Aug 5. This was an advance base where we stayed until the 7th, leaving there to arrive Tulagi across from Guadalcanal on the 8th. Tulagi was another of our advance bases located at Purvis Bay the Solomons. The remainder of Aug. and into Sept. was spent on operations out of Purvis in and around the Solomons. We returned to Espirito and alongside the tender from Sept. 10 to 23rd before returning to Purvis and further operations. Back again to Espirito on Oct. 3 to go alongside the VESTAL for repairs and from the 10th to 19th alongside the DIXIE for more repairs, probably leaky boilers. It was during this stay that the squadron got a new boss, Capt. Arliegh Burke. The entire squadron was together for the first time and were put through some intensive squadron drills and training. The squadron departed there on the 24th returning to Purvis Bay and then on Oct. 27th cover was provided for the landings at Treasury Island returning to Purvis the same day. On Oct. 31, 1943, Task Force 39 sortied from Purvis Bay under command of Adm. Tip Merrill. This force consisted of all 8 ships of DESRON 23 and 4 light cruisers of CRUDIV 12. These were the MONTPELIER, COLUMBIA, DENVER and CLEVELAND.
The following morning, at about 0030, the force started bombardment of Buka airfield on the north end of Bougainville Is. From there a high speed run was made to the south end of the island where we bombarded an airfield on Shortland Is. Also at this time landings were being made by our Marines on Bougainville at Empress Augusta Bay. The destroyers refueled in Kula Gulf, a division at a time, then rejoined the task force to cover the landings. TF 39 was informed of an approaching Jap cruiser force and ordered to intercept. Radar contact was made at 0227, Nov. 2 by the cruiser MONTPELIER (flag) and thus started the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay. DD division 45 made a radar controlled torpedo run and fired 25 torps, but the Japs spotted our cruisers and made a turn away and they all missed. Our cruisers opened fire at this time and the enemy force, being completely surprised, was thrown into confusion. Four of his ships were involved in collisions and got out of formation. The following battle was one of much gunfire and maneuvering and it was over about daybreak; the surviving enemy units had retired earlier. Our force had sunk a light cruiser and a destroyer with two heavy cruisers damaged along with two destroyers. Our ships fared much better, the cruiser DENVER was slightly damaged, the SPENCE DD512 had minor damage, the FOOTE DD 511 took a Jap torpedo in her stern which blew off the entire fantail including mount 5. At daybreak the THATCHER took the FOOTE in tow escorted by AUSBURNE and CLAXTON The Task Force received air cover at first light and soon after a heavy Jap air raid showed up. It was estimated at about 80 planes. The air cover got about 8 of them and the Task Force shot down about 24. Miraculously the raid only landed two hits, both on the MONTPELIER with only light damage. The TF retired to Purvis, the tug SIOUX arrived and took the FOOTE in tow. We continued to screen with the THATCHER and the AUSBURNE rejoined the TF. We all arrived Purvis on Nov 4. The ship got little rest, after reloading and refueling out again the same day up the slot patrolling and covering the landings. On Nov 9th the squadron got underway with TF 39 to cover a resupply echelon to Bouganville. Nov 11th, while on this mission, the force observed a B24 Liberator overhead that was in trouble. Five parachutes erupted from the plane and the CLAXTON picked up two from the water. The others were picked up by ships of the squadron. The two men we rescued were Lyman Clark Jr., a gunner, and Whitey Woytowich the planes navigator. On the 13th, while on this same mission, the cruiser DENVER was torpedoed by an aerial torpedo and was taken under tow by the tug SIOUX. We continued in and out of Purvis on patrol for the next several weeks. The squadron was underway on Nov 22 from Purvis to patrol off Bougainville; and after refueling at Hathorn Sound on Nov 24 we were directed to intercept a Jap force attempting to evacuate personnel from Buka airfield. This message in itself became historic as it gave Arliegh Burke the name that stuck with him forever..."31-Knot Burke". The message read..."Thirty-one knot Burke, get this. Put your squadron athwart the Buka-Rabaul evacuation line about 35 miles west of Buka. If no enemy contacts by early morning, come south to refuel same place. If enemy contacted you know what to do. HALSEY"
The squadron was down to only 5 ships in service at this time. DESDIV 45 with AUSBURNE, CLAXTON and DYSON; DESDIV 46 with CONVERSE and SPENCE. At about 0141 the DYSON made radar contact and thus started the famous Battle of Cape St. George on Thanksgiving Day 1943. A radar controlled torpedo run was made by Div 45 and 15 fish were fired at two leading Jap Destroyers and hits were made on both, one sank immediately the other was a burning hulk. During the approach three other targets were spotted and Div 45 took off after them when they turned away. Div 46 was finishing off the crippled enemy. The high speed chase that followed finally got the Div. within gunfire range and they managed to slow the tail end one and then sink him with gunfire. The other two destroyers got away. The squadron had sunk three destroyers without loss or damage to us. The Naval War College later labeled this battle "the almost perfect surface action." DESRON 23 was later to be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for this and previous actions in the Solomons. The only Destroyer Squadron to be so honored in WW II. Upon return to Purvis later in the day, Thanksgiving Day services were held with Chaplains borrowed from the cruisers. Operations continued out of Purvis during December, the usual escort and patrol duties with some air raid and bombardment actions thrown in. From Jan. 4 1944 to Jan.16 we were alongside the tender DIXIE in Espirito for repairs and maintenance; and then operated out of there for drills and practise until the 26th before returning to Purvis Bay.
Page revised Nov. 6, 2004