USS Rowe DD-564
The USS Rowe DD-564 was a Fletcher-class United States Naval destroyer that proudly served in World War II. Named after Lieutenant John Rowe, who served in the First Barbary War aboard the infamous Intrepid, the USS Rowe was built in 1942 at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Company in Washington.
Launched on September 30, 1943, the USS Rowe began her WWII patrol in May of 1944. After a stop in Pearl Harbor, she sailed to the Hawaiian Islands for two weeks of operational training. She completed a round-trip escort patrol to Eniwetok in June and July, and in August, the USS Rowe sailed to Alaska with the Destroyer Squadron 57 (DesRon 57) for additional training. She participated in three separate attacks against forces in the Kuril Islands, off the coast of Russia, including a strike at Suribati Wan on January 3, 1945 and a strike at Kurabu Zaki/Paramushir Island on the 18th of February. In April, the USS Rowe sailed back to Pearl Harbor for repairs and more training exercises.
In May of 1945, the USS Rowe headed to Ulithi, accompanied by the USS Ticonderoga CV-14 and the rest of her destroyer division. She sailed to Okinawa with a convoy, and, upon her arrival in Ryukyus on June 2nd, The USS Rowe began radar picket duty. Later that month, the vessel arrived in San Pedro Gulf, Leyte Gulf and participated in coordinated attacks against the Japanese at Honshu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido during the month of July. On July 23rd, the USS Rowe participated in the bombing of Omura. Following four additional months of patrol in the Pacific, the USS Rowe sailed for Pearl Harbor. She arrived in South Carolina on March 20, 1946, where she remained until her official decommissioning in January of 1947.
The USS Rowe was recommissioned in 1951 and served again until she was struck from the Naval Register in 1974.
The former crewmembers who served aboard the USS Rowe during her fifteen years of military service were a brave and dedicated group. As their brothers before them, these men faced no shortage of dangers, many of which they were unable to anticipate. One such danger was that of asbestos exposure while aboard the USS Rowe. Countless veterans were exposed to asbestos while aboard naval vessels – the majority without even knowing – and have been diagnosed with an asbestos disease, such as pleural mesothelioma, in their later years. All former members of the United States Navy should speak with their physician regarding their respiratory health.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
