USN:
Wickes-class destroyer converted to high speed transport, USS Ward (APD-16) after being hit by a kamikaze on December 7, 1944. USS Ward (DD-139) fired the first shots of war for the United States when she spotted a midget submarine near the entrance to Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. At the time her captain was
LCDR William W. Outerbridge, who had taken command of the ship two days earlier.
Exactly 3 years later, the
Ward now a high-speed transport was operating off the Philippines when she was struck by a Japanese kamikaze amidship. The ship came to a stop and the crew attempted to fight the fires, but to no avail. They abandoned the ship around 11 am. Later that day the
USS O'Brien (DD-725) was ordered to sink the
Ward with gunfire.
O'Brien's commanding officer at the time was
William W. Outerbridge.
Gleaves-class destroyer USS McCook (DMS-36) at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 7 July 1945 after conversion to a destroyer/minesweeper
Baltimore-class heavy cruisers USS Quincy (CA-71) and USS Boston (CA-69), Third Fleet, anchored in Sagami Wan, outside of Tokyo Bay, Japan, on August 28, 1945
