USS Hugh W. Hadley (DD774)

USS Hugh W. Hadley (DD774). a 2200 Ton Sumner (692) Class Destroyer. , Ship Statistics , Length - 376 ft. , Beam - 41 ft. , Speed - In Excess of 35 Knots , 6-5"/38 Caliber Dual-Purpose Guns , 3 Mounts of 2 Guns Each , 2 Quad Barrel 40 MM Gun Mounts , 2 Twin Barrel 40 MM Gun Mounts , Many 20 MM Guns , 10-21" Torpedoes , 20+ Depth Charges, Ship Statistics , Oil Fired Steam Turbine Propulsion , 4 Boilers , 2 Shafts, Twin Screws, Twin Rudders, Surface Search Radar, type SG , Air Search Radar, type SC , Sonar Ranging and Detection Equipment, 22 Officers , 340 Enlisted Men, USS Hadley Lived Only 12 Months , Built by Bethlehem Steel, San Pedro, California , Keel Laid - 6 February 1944 , Christened and Launched - 16 July 1944 , Commissioned - 25 November 1944 , Demolished by Kamikazes and Bombs - 11 May 1945 , Patched watertight - June and July 1945 , Towed from Okinawa to San Francisco , Naval Shipyard - 29 July to 26 September 1945 , 58 days - over 7,000 Miles at about 6 Knots , Tow line parted 9 times, but not during a typhoon , Decommissioned - 15 December 1945 Scrapped - 2 September 1947, Awards to Individuals , 2 Navy Crosses , 4 Silver Stars , 1 Legion of Merit , 1 Navy Marine Corps Medal , 6 Bronze Star Medals, with Combat "V" , Approx. 100 Purple Hearts , 1 Navy Commendation Medal, All Hands Received , Presidential Unit Citation , Combat Action Ribbon , American Theater Ribbon , Asiatic Pacific Ribbon with 1 Star , world war two Victory Medal, 4 Commanding Officers in 1 Year , Commander (later, Rear Admiral) L. C. Chamberlain , Commander (later, Rear Admiral) B. J. Mullaney , Commander (later, Captain) R. A. Newton , Lieut. Commander (later, Captain) R. M. Brownlie, Commander Hugh W. Hadley USN , for whom this ship was named , Born 17 February 1901, Moro, Oregon , U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1922 , Served on Battleships, Submarines, and Destroyers , Killed in Action 5 September 1942 , on U.S.S. Little (APD 4) in the Solomon Islands , as Commander Naval Transport Division 12 , Posthumously awarded the Silver Star , for action of 7 August to 5 September 1942 , Survived by his Wife, Marian , and 2 Daughters, Jean and Vaughn, "Champion Kamikaze Killer" , 11 May 1945, 0755 to 0935 , 23 of 25 Kamikaze Kills in 1 Hour and 40 Minutes , Radar Picket Station #15, Northwest of Okinawa , ALL-TIME Gunnery Record of ANY Ship , in a Single Engagement , 801 rounds of 5"/38; 8,950 rounds of 40 MM , 5990 rounds of 20 MM , Hit by 3 Kamikazes, one 500 lb. Bomb, , & one smaller Bomb.. , Shipmates Killed in Action , Baker, Gerald W. WT1/c 337-18-20 , Bass, Deward C. S1/c(GM) 967-62-36 , Battista, Robert J. RM3/c 958-99-05 , Bills, Ivan L. GM3/c 660-61-23 , Blum, William P. F1/c 577-43-39 , Breedlove, James R. F1/c 342-96-71 , Cardin, John S. GM2/c 620-90-84 , Cazale, John J. S1/c 202-31-00 , Chovanece, Charles M. S2/c 713-48-01 , Christakes, Constantine C. S1/c 804-52-41 , Cichowlas, Edward R. F1/c 952-89-93 , Clouse, Francis C. CGM 328-50-36 , Crofoot, Gardner W. S1/c 943-79-02 , Epelley, John M. Jr. S1/c 874-33-63 , Green, Charlie J. COX 853-42-34 , Hackler, Donald F. F1/c 677-31-09, Shipmates Killed in Action , Hartung, Victor WT3/c 883-62-57 , Kelley, LeRoy WT1/c 626-28-62 , Lewis, Vaughn E. S1/c(GM) 974-33-43 , Markland, Worley S. TM2/c 640-41-15 , McKeag, James M. F1/c 881-32-68 , Morrell, Joseph J. WT1/c 382-24-81 , Nicholas, Leo A. GM2/c 202-06-19 , Noles, Eddie M. BM1/c 295-68-07 , Patterson, Ralph A. S1/c 357-77-68 , Pufahl, Elmer A. MM3/c 865-92-63 , Reaves, James R. SM3/c 605-07-30 , Smith, James R. S1/c 321-91-37 , Veesenmeyer, L.J. S2/c 945-48-46 , Wilson, Robert H. Jr. WT3/c 258-36-97 , Wright, Leon F2/c(WT) 939-14-86, Dedicated on 11 May 2003 by the USS Hadley Reunion Group , to all shipmates who served aboard , and to commander Hugh W. Hadley, USN.