U.S.S. Fletcher was commissioned on June 30, 1942, and decommissioned on Aug. 1, 1969. The ship was the first of the "2100 Tonners" and served in the Pacific during World War Two under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet, earning 16 battle stars. Its wartime credits included sinking 2 heavy destroyers and 1 Japanese submarine, damaging 2 destroyers and 1 battleship, probably sinking 1 German submarine, shooting down 12 enemy aircraft unassisted and 8 with shared credit, and firing in 3 surface actions, 31 anti-aircraft actions, 5 anti-submarine actions, and 16 bombardments while rescuing more than 1,000 survivors from planes and ships. Men killed in action at Corregidor on February 14, 1945, were Elmer Bigelow, Homer Cooper, Robert Grafton, Clarence Roach, Johnny G. Smith, Frank Wilhelm, and George Winnie. During its twenty five active years, the ship was also recommissioned as DDE-445 for service during the Korean and Vietnam Conflict.