USS Agerholm эсминец тарихы

Gearing class destroyer

USS Agerholm (DD 826) was a of the United States Navy. She was the only ship named for Harold Crist Agerholm (29 January 1925 – 7 July 1944), a Private First Class (Pfc.) in the 2nd Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps. He was killed during the assault on Saipan, and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Agerholm was laid down on 10 September 1945 at Bath, Maine, by the Bath Iron Works, launched on 30 March 1946, sponsored by Mrs. Rose Agerholm, mother of Pfc. Agerholm; commissioned on 20 June 1946. After commissioning and fitting out, the destroyer conducted shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, and underwent post shakedown repairs at the Boston Naval Shipyard before receiving orders to duty with the Pacific Fleet. Proceeding to the Pacific by way of the Panama Canal, she reached her new home port of San Diego on 21 January 1947. In November, following continued training in the San Diego area, Agerholm sailed to the western Pacific on her 12th deployment. She returned to her home port in June 1963 and commenced overhaul at the Naval Repair Facility, San Diego, to update and improve the electronic and weapons systems on board. Following completion of the overhaul in January 1964, Agerholm continued her routine of local operations and preparations for deployment. On 26 April, Agerholm set sail in company with the destroyer escort Stein for the western Pacific. She arrived off the coast of Vietnam at "Yankee Station" on 28 May to serve as plane guard for Constellation. The destroyer then underwent a two week availability alongside the auxiliary vessel Ajax in Sasebo, Japan commencing 8 June. Upon completion of those repairs, she put to sea for radar picket duty in the Gulf of Tonkin. Another two weeks at "Yankee Station" followed by two weeks on PIRAZ station brought her Vietnam service to an end. On 30 August, Agerholm departed the Gulf of Tonkin en route to MacKay, Australia, for liberty. After that port visit, the destroyer sailed to Auckland, New Zealand to join the other ships participating in Operation Longex 73, a joint surface, air, and submarine warfare exercise. From 25 September to 3 October Agerholm drilled in ASW and anti aircraft warfare (AAW) exercises – including night surface attacks on the task groups. Upon completion of the drill, she steamed to Sydney, Australia; Suva, Fiji; and Pearl Harbor, before arriving back in San Diego on 1 November. Upon arrival, Agerholm commenced a post deployment readiness improvement program of schools, on board training, and a repair availability. On 25 February 1974, the warship got underway for readiness exercises in the southern California area until 17 September, when she departed San Diego on her 20th WestPac cruise. Remaining primarily in the Subic Bay operating area, Agerholm participated in gunnery, ASW, AAW, and ship handling drills until 13 December, when she shaped a course for Apra Harbor, Guam. She ended the year at the ship repair facility there. The destroyer visited Hong Kong and Singapore for liberty, but received orders on 8 February 1975 to join Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of the American embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Agerhoim completed her role in the evacuation on 26 February, and she began the long voyage home. Agerholm arrived in San Diego on 8 April and spent the rest of 1975 and 1976 on the west coast participating in local operations and midshipman training cruises, and eventually landing a role in the movie Airport '77. The year 1977 began the same way with only a drydock period at Todd Pacific Shipyards in San Pedro from May to July to interrupt the routine. On 6 September, the destroyer made her 21st and last WestPac cruise. Agerholm conducted NGFS training, ASROC test firings, and participated in Exercise Fortress Lightning, a full scale amphibious landing on Mindoro Island in the Philippines. She stopped for liberty calls at Suva, Auckland, Whangārei, and Nelson, New Zealand, Newcastle and Devonport, Australia, before returning: to San Diego early in 1978 to resume a local operation schedule.

From 10 to 13 October 1978, the Board of Inspection and Survey conducted a survey of Agerholm to determine her material condition and the feasibility of keeping her in active service. The board found that her age and lack of modern capabilities could not be corrected economically. Agerholm was decommissioned on 1 December 1978, and her name was struck from the Navy List on the same day. She was sunk as a target on 18 July 1982 by a Tomahawk cruise missile fired by the submarine Guitarro. The wreck lies in of water at approximately .