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USS ''Wiltsie'' (DD-716) was a in the United States Navy. She was named for Irving Wiltsie. ''Wiltsie'' was laid down on 13 March 1945 at Port Newark, New Jersey, by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company; launched on 31 August 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Irving D. Wiltsie, the widow of Capt. Wiltsie; and commissioned on 12 January 1946 at the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York, Commander Raymond D. Fusselman in command. ==1946-1950== Following a shakedown cruise which took the ship to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ''Wiltsie'' transited the Panama Canal on 8 July 1946 and proceeded to San Diego, California. She spent the fall and winter of 1946 engaged in training exercises before departing the west coast on 6 January 1947, bound for the Far East. She subsequently operated out of Tsingtao, China, on exercises and maneuvers while standing by the American community in that port during rising local tensions between the communist and Nationalist Chinese. ''Wiltsie'' remained at Tsingtao until June 1947, when she shifted to Sasebo, Japan, for occupation duty. Departing Sasebo on 8 March 1948, the destroyer proceeded to Bremerton, Washington, for an overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. After training off the west coast, ''Wiltsie'' sailed once more for the Far East, departing San Diego on 1 October. Late that autumn, she again operated out of Tsingtao during the evacuation of Americans from that port to Yokohama because of the Chinese civil war then raging. During this period, ''Wiltsie'' briefly visited Hong Kong and Okinawa before returning to Tsingtao. Chinese communist forces rolled southward, and Nanking fell in April 1949. ''Wiltsie'' arrived at Shanghai on 22 April, to stand by during the evacuation of all foreign nationals from the city. Over the ensuing days, ''Wiltsie'' watched a veritable parade of merchant vessels of many nationalities—Chinese, Dutch, Norwegian, French, Danish, British, and American—as well as American, British, and Chinese naval vessels. On Thursday, 5 May 1949, 20 days before the fall of the city to the communists, ''Wiltsie'' departed Chinese waters for the last time, bound for Buckner Bay, Okinawa. From there, ''Wiltsie'' soon headed homeward and made port at San Diego, California on 4 June 1949. She later moved up the coast; embarked NROTC midshipmen at Treasure Island, near San Francisco, California on 1 August; and departed the following day for a training cruise to Balboa, Panama, and the Galápagos Islands. Returning to San Diego on 31 August, the destroyer soon sailed for Hawaii, where she participated in Operation "Miki", a mock invasion of the Hawaiian Islands in which Army, Navy, and Air Force units all took part. Returning to the west coast soon afterwards, ''Wiltsie'' spent the period from December 1949 to April 1950 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, undergoing an overhaul. ==1950-1953 (Korean War)== In July 1950, ''Wiltsie'' sailed for the Far East to augment the American naval presence in Korean waters. On the evening of 16 August, , with four LST's and escorting destroyers, closed the coast. Capt. J. R. Clark, Commander, Destroyer Division 111, embarked in the recently arrived ''Wiltsie'', assumed direction of the embarkation operation for the ROK troops. He ordered the four LSTs to beach at a pre-arranged site, guided in by jeep headlights from shore. Before sunrise the next day, 327 officers and 3,480 men of the 3rd ROK Division, 1,260 civilians, and 100 vehicles had been loaded. American forces went ashore at Inchon on 15 September 1950. ''Wiltsie'' participated in one phase of this assault, screening the fast carriers of Task Force (TF) 77— , , and —as their aircraft hit communist ground targets to support the advance of troops ashore. For the remainder of the deployment, ''Wiltsie'' supported UN troops ashore with call-fire support; screened TF 77 as it conducted air strikes against supply lines and troop concentrations; and patrolled in the Taiwan Strait. ''Wiltsie'' returned to San Diego in March 1951, underwent repairs at Long Beach, California and subsequently departed the west coast for her fourth tour of duty in the Far East. In Korean waters, she resumed her screening, call-fire, and interdiction duties. Highlighting her blockading activities of Wonsan, ''Wiltsie'' fired retaliatory gunfire missions against communist shore batteries. ''Wiltsie'' returned to the west coast late in 1952, but soon found herself back in the Far East for her third Korean War deployment. After leaving the west coast on 2 January 1953, the destroyer patrolled the Formosa Strait for a time and operated off the North Korean coast before shifting to Wonsan. The Navy continued it operations to support UN ground troops, interdicted enemy supply lines by air and by surface gunfire, and blockaded the enemy's coasts. Eight days after ''Wiltsie'' and had destroyed a train near Tanchon on 3 June, communist shore batteries took ''Wiltsie'' under fire off Wonsan, lobbing 45 105-millimeter shells in her direction, scoring a hit on the destroyer's fantail. The ship suffered no casualties and soon resumed her local patrol operations. On 15 June, ''Wiltsie'' evacuated 13 Korean civilians from Yo-do Island to Sokcho-ri. While preparing to abandon the Wonsan siege in accordance with the armistice stipulations, ''Wiltsie'' screened minesweeping operations and joined in the last-minute shelling of communist ground targets. In company with and , ''Wiltsie'' shelled targets at Wonsan until a few minutes before the 2200 deadline. On 27 July 1953, the Korean armistice finally came into effect. However, ''Wiltsie'' remained in Korean waters, screening the continuing minesweeping operations between Hungnam and Wonsan until 6 August 1953. 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 Wiltsie (DD-716)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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