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USS ''Willis'' (DE–395) is an , the first United States Navy ship so named. This ship was named for Ensign Walter Michael Willis (14 January 1917 – 7 December 1941). He enlisted in the Naval Reserve as a seaman 2d class at Minneapolis. Willis received an appointment as reserve aviation cadet on 22 December 1939. Six days later, he reported to Pensacola Naval Air Station for flight instruction and, on 14 August 1940, emerged with his aviator's wings. Commissioned an ensign on 10 September, Willis soon joined Bombing Squadron (VB) 6, based in , and flew Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers until early in December 1941. On the morning of 7 December, as ''Enterprise'' was returning from Wake Island to Hawaii, the carrier sent up a flight of SBD's to scout the water ahead. Willis took off in one of these bombers for what was intended to be a routine flight to Ford Island, the naval air station at Pearl Harbor. However, instead of enjoying an ordinary scouting mission, these planes ran head-on into a war, for they arrived almost simultaneously with the start of the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor. In the ensuing aerial melee, Willis and his gunner were among the Americans shot down. ==Operational history== ''Willis'' (DE-395) was laid down on 17 July 1943 at Houston, Texas, by Brown Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 14 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Marie E. Willis, the mother of the late Ens. Willis; and commissioned on 10 December 1943, Lt. Comdr. G. R. Atterbury, USNR, in command. After fitting-out at Houston and loading ammunition at the San Jacinto Ordnance Depot, ''Willis'' departed Galveston, Texas, on 5 January 1944 in company with bound for the British West Indies and reached Bermuda on the 10th. Following shakedown, ''Willis'' departed Bermuda on 3 February-in company with ''Kretchmer'' and and arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 6th. The destroyer escort underwent post-shakedown availability in the navy yard there over the ensuing week and sailed on 15 February for the Chesapeake Bay, escorting the merchantman to Hampton Roads where she arrived the next day. Two days later, ''Willis'' then proceeded-in company with to Staten Island, New York, and, upon arrival, reported for duty to Commander, Escort Division (CortDiv) 51. Subsequently, ''Willis'' joined Task Group (TG) 21.11 at Hampton Roads on 26 February, the hunter-killer group formed around the escort carrier . 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Willis (DE-395)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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