The Lucky O by Avi Heiligman

The “Lucky O,” the Most Decorated U.S. Destroyer in WWII

By Avi Heiligman

Developed in the late 19th century, destroyers quickly became an integral part of world class navies. Destroyers are designed to be fast, maneuverable ships to escort bigger ships and are armed to fight against threats such as enemy aircraft and submarines. Many World War II destroyers were decorated for their war records, but one destroyer in particular has a war record unmatched by any other American World War II destroyer.

The USS O’Bannon (DD-450) was commissioned in June 1942 and was named after Marine First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon. In 1805, O’Bannon led a small detachment of seven marines, two navy midshipmen, and fifty mercenaries on a successful attack of a fort in Derna, Libya, near Tripoli. His force was observed as it “pass’d through a shower of musketry from the walls of houses, took possession of the Battery.” O’Bannon was the first American to raise the Stars and Stripes (American flag) over foreign territory during a time of war. After a quick training session, the destroyer O’Bannon sailed for the South Pacific. She sailed with an escort carrier that was delivering much needed planes to the recently captured Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. They joined a much larger convoy that was bringing supplies, ammunition, and food to the marines and soldiers that at that point had been on the Island for two months. As the O’Bannon reached Guadalcanal, she sighted and fired on a Japanese submarine that had been lurking in the area. The destroyer kept the submarine away from the convoy until they had passed safely through the area.

A few days later, a group of fifteen Japanese torpedo bomber aircraft was seen approaching the convoy, and the O’Bannon shot down four of the enemy planes. Other ships shot down all but one of the remaining aircraft, and intelligence later learned that the flight’s intention was to attack and destroy Henderson field and stop the American resupply mission. The O’Bannon was heavily engaged at the confrontation on November 13 at Ironbottom Sound where she attacked the Japanese battleship Hiei. The battleship was so badly damaged from the O’Bannon’s fire that American planes attacked her the next day, forcing her to be scuttled. The American naval and ground forces were able to repel Japanese attempts to destroy Henderson Field and other targets, and in early 1943, Guadalcanal was secure.

O’Bannon carried 17 anti-aircraft guns, 10 torpedo tubes, and .38 caliber deck guns but on April 5, 1943, it didn’t need any of those when it came across the Japanese submarine RO-34. The destroyer opened fire on the enemy, but the sub pulled in too close to the O’Bannon that her deck guns couldn’t hit it. According to legend, the crew threw potatoes at the submarine so they could buy time to get within a reasonable distance to use her guns. The American destroyer had crept up to the Japanese sub that the sub’s crew didn’t know that they were there and thought the potatoes were grenades. Commander Donald MacDonald later claimed that no potatoes were thrown, but he did say that they were so close that the ship’s cook could throw a potato at the enemy. This sudsy story continued as the submarine dived but was soon sunk by depth charges. There was a plaque at the Maine Maritime Museum that cited the incident, but the plaque mysteriously went missing in the 1970s. The destroyer also downed two enemy planes on April 5.

Later in 1943, the O’Bannon continued in the Pacific in support of landing, escorting convoys, and executing patrols and participated in the bombardments of Japanese strongholds. In July, she was with the USS Strong (DD-467) when the latter was struck by enemy torpedoes and put herself in harm’s way by firing at shore batteries. Due to this maneuver, enemy gunfire ceased to fire on the Strong, and another destroyer was able to rescue her sailors.

The O’Bannon was a combatant during the Battle of Kula Gulf off the coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese lost two destroyers, but the American light cruiser USS Helena was sunk. A week later, the O’Bannon took part in the Battle of Kolombangara, and a Japanese cruiser was sunk in the engagement. Following the battle, the O’Bannon was sent to Vella Gulf to guard against Japanese troop landings and other enemy activities. She sank two submarine chasers, several barges, an armed boat, and a gun boat while on patrol. The Japanese soon decided to evacuate their troops at Vella Lavella, and the O’Bannon and five other American destroyers were there to intercept the enemy. The smaller American naval force attacked and destroyed a Japanese destroyer, but the American destroyer USS Chevalier (DD-451) was struck, and her crew had to be rescued by the O’Bannon after the call to abandon ship was sounded.

The O’Bannon had suffered battle damage and underwent repairs at Tulagi before heading back to mainland U.S. for an overhaul. In 1944, she was back in the Pacific mainly escorting convoys and bombardment operations. In October 1944, she escorted reinforcements for the landings at Leyte in the Philippines and was present at the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

In 1945, she operated in the Philippines area on escort and bombardment duties. Together with three other destroyers, the O’Bannon sank Japanese submarine RO-115 in January. In June and July, she escorted a group of aircraft carriers as they launched air operations against the Japanese home islands. The war ended in August 1945, and the O’Bannon was chosen with two other highly decorated destroyers, the USS Nicolas (DD-449) and the USS Taylor (DD468), to escort the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) into Tokyo Bay for the surrender ceremony.

The O’Bannon was placed out of commission after the war but was converted into an escort destroyer in 1949. She served a tour of duty during the Korean War and escorted carriers at sea. Once she reached the area of operations, the destroyer escort was active in firing on enemy strongholds, gun emplacements, ammunition dumps, and other targets of opportunity. During the Vietnam War, she was still active and participated in escort operations and shore bombardments. In one operation, she rescued the crew of a downed American plane.

The end of the road for the O’Bannon came in 1970 when was decommissioned and sold for scrap. She participated in three wars while never losing a sailor in battle. The “Lucky O,” as she was nicknamed, was the most decorated American destroyer in World War II earned 17 battle stars as well the Presidential Unit Citation. She also received three battle stars for her performance in the Korean War and two more during the Vietnam War in addition to a host of other citations, medals, and ribbons. Admiral William “Bull” Halsey summed up her war effort: “The history of the Pacific war can never be written without telling the story of the U.S.S. O’Bannon. Time after time, the O’Bannon and her gallant little sisters were called upon to turn back the enemy. They never disappointed me.”