USS LERAY WILSON (DE 414)

USS LeRay Wilson (DE-414)

Date unknown. I believe that is NAS North Island in the background.

Officers and crew on the fo'c'sle. Date and location unknown.

LeRay Wilson (DE-414) (John C. Butler class Destroyer Escort -- 306' long, 36'8" wide, draft 9'5", speed 24 kts. Armament: 2-5", 4-40mm, 10-20mm) was laid down 20 December 1943 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 28 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Julia Wilson, mother of LeRay Wilson; and commission 10 may 1944, LCDR M. V. Carson in command.

After her initial shakedown cruise, she headed for the Pacific war zone on 15 July 1944. On 10 January 1945 she was hard hit by Japanese suicide attacks. The port side gunners noticed an enemy two-engine bomber dead ahead and about 25 feet off the water. The gunners maintained a barrage of deadly gunfire, which diverted the plane enough to save the ship. However, as the plane crashed, its starboard wing crashed into the port side, killing six gunners and seriously wounding seven more.

In February and March 1945, repairs were undertaken to fix the damage done by the suicide bomber, and preparations made for the capture and occupation of Okinawa. During this time she splashed an enemy suicide plane in time to save a sister ship.

From 12 October to 25 December 1945 she served along the coast of China. On 25 December she departed enroute San Francisco, arriving 16 January 1946 where she joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet and was decommissioned 15 January 1947.

The Korean War brought with it the need for more ships, so LeRay Wilson was recommissioned 28 March 1951. During the Korean War she saw training and patrol duty between the West Coast and Pearl Harbor. From August 1954 until reentering the Pacific Reserve Fleet on 30 January 1959, she participated in four Western Pacific Cruises.

LeRay Wilson was sold and scrapped in 1974.

"I say that those men made naval tradition. May their gallant acts live always in the memory of a grateful nation. . . . They were my shipmates and I am proud of them."

Lieutenant Commander M.V. Carson, Commanding Officer, USS LERAY WILSON (DE-414), referring in his battle report to the men killed and wounded 10 January 1945