USS Aaron Ward DM-34

Type:
Destroyer/Minelayer
Class:
Robert H. Smith
Builder:
Bethlehem Steel Corp.
San Pedro, California, U.S.A.

Hull Number:
DM-34
Ordered:
August 7, 1942
Commissioned:
October 28, 1944
Keel Laid:
December 12, 1943
Decommissioned:
September 28, 1945
Launched:
May 5, 1944
Stricken:
October 11, 1945
   
Fate:
Scrapped in 1946.
(Hit by six Kamikaze aircraft on May 3, 1945 off Okinawa, 42 men killed (Roll of Honor),
sailed to USA, but never returned to active service.)
Notes:
Laid down as DD-773.
  Named in honor of Rear Admiral Aaron Ward, USN (1851-1918).


Commanding Officers
From
To
Name
Oct. 28, 1944
Sept. 28, 1945
Commander William Henry Sanders, Jr., USN

Awards
Combat Action Ribbon
Presidential Unit Citation (May 3, 1945 Vicinity of Okinawa)
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2 Battle Stars)
From
To
Operation
July 8, 1944
July 12, 1944
Leyte operation: Ormoc Bay landings
Mar. 25, 1945
June 11, 1945
Okinawa operation: Assault and occupation of Okinawa
World War II Victory Medal


Class Overview
Page published Mar. 25, 2017