J RICHARD WARD DE 243
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
- Edsall Class Type FMR Destroyer Escort
- USS J. RICHARD WARD DE-243
Commissioned July 5 1943 - Decommissioned June 13 1946
Stricken January 2 1971
Sold April 10 1973 for scrap
Keel Laid September 30 1942 as JAMES R. WARD
Name revised to J. RICHARD WARD (Date unknown)
Launched January 6 1943
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- Covers Page 1 (1944-46)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
| POSTMARK TYPE | DATE FROM to DATE TO |
THUMBNAIL LINK TO CLOSE-UP IMAGE |
THUMBNAIL LINK TO FULL COVER IMAGE |
|---|
|
Locy Type |
1946-01-07
|
 |
 |
Ship used only 2z* and 9uz devices
Other Information
NAMESAKE - Named in Honor of Seaman James Richard Ward USN (September 10 1921 - December 7 1941) killed in Pearl Harbor attack
When USS OKLAHOMA BB-37 was one of the first ships to be hit soon after the attack began, she listed dangerously and it was soon apparent that she would capsize. The order was given to abandon ship but Seaman First Class Ward “remained in a turret holding a flashlight so the remainder of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby sacrificing his own life.” For his valor in that dark hour, Ward was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
American Campaign Medal w/ 1 star
WWII Victory Medal
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