Commissioned on 5 August 1938 and decommissioned on 19 October 1945, U.S.S. Maury (DD-401) earned 17 battle stars for World War II service in the Pacific, including actions in the raids on the Marshall and Gilbert Islands and Wake Island, the Battle of Midway, the invasion of Guadalcanal, the battles of Stewart Island, Santa Cruz, Tassafaronga, Kolombangara, and Vela Gulf, the Battle of the Gilbert Islands, the invasion of the Marshall Islands, the Battle of Palau and Ulithi, the Marianas operations, the Western New Guinea operation, the Western Caroline Islands operation, the Leyte operation, and the Luzon operation, and was also awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Maury was at sea about 1,000 of the 1,402 days of the war, steaming approximately 500,000 miles in combat areas, where she rescued 53 downed pilots and 17 other crewmen, sank four enemy warships and three other vessels, and downed at least 9 Japanese planes. Her 17 battle stars were exceeded by only one ship during World War II, U.S.S. Enterprise.