USS Vesole

History
United States
Name	Vesole
Laid down	3 July 1944
Launched	29 December 1944
Commissioned	23 April 1945
Decommissioned	1 December 1976
Stricken	1 December 1976
Motto	"Going on Before"
Fate	Sunk as target, 14 April 1983
General characteristics
Class and type	Gearing-class destroyer
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	2,616 long tons (2,658 t) standard 3,460 long tons (3,520 t) full load
Length	390.5 ft (119.0 m)
Beam	40.9 ft (12.5 m)
Draft	14.3 ft (4.4 m)
Installed power	4 × boilers 60,000 shp (45,000 kW)
Propulsion	General Electric steam turbines 2 × shafts
Speed	36.8 kn (68.2 km/h; 42.3 mph)
Range	4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	350 as designed
Sensors and processing systems	Mk37 GFCS
Armament	As built: 6 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal guns (in 3 x 2 mounts) 16 × AA guns (3 × 4 & 2 × 2) 11 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons 2 × Depth charge racks 6 × K-gun depth charge throwers

USS Vesole (DD-878) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

Namesake

Kay Kopl Vesole was born on 11 September 1913 in

By December 1943, he commanded the armed guard crew assigned to the Liberty ship SS John Bascom. On the night of 2 December, the ship was anchored at Bari, Italy, when a massive air raid of 105 Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 bombers attacked the port. During that raid the ship was bombed. Before it sank Vesole directed the defense of the ship despite severe multiple wounds. When it became apparent that the ship would sink, he led a party below and supervised the evacuation of the wounded. Once in the lifeboat, he manned an oar and helped to row the boat ashore even though he had only one functional arm. When he reached land, he disregarded his wounds in order to help pull survivors out of the oil-covered and flaming waters and to get them safely into a nearby bomb shelter. Finally, an ammunition explosion inflicted still further wounds on him, which proved fatal. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Construction and career

Vesole's was laid down by the

Vesole alternated operations along the

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Media related to USS Vesole (DD-878) at Wikimedia Commons