ALEXANDER J LUKE DER 577

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.

Buckley Class Destroyer Escort Keel Laid November 5 1943 - Launched December 28 1943 USS ALEXANDER J. LUKE DE-577 Commissioned February 19 1944 USS ALEXANDER J. LUKE DER-577 Redesignated Radar Picket Ship (DER) December 7 1945 Decommissioned October 18 1947 Reverted to Destroyer Escort (DE), While in reserve Struck from Naval Register May 1 1970 Sunk as target October 22 1970 off Newport RI

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

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1. USS Alexander J. Luke 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.
 
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Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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Post Office Established March 1 1944 - Disestablished February 1 1946

 

Locy Type 2z

1944-10-14

As DE-577

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Locy Type 2(n) (used after POD)

1946-07-22

As DER-577
Post office disestablished 1946-02-01

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Alexander Joseph Luke USMC (April 18 1916 - August 7 1942)
Luke enlistedin the Marine Corps on June 21 1934 and underwent boot camp training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. After duty at the Marine Barracks at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., and at the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport R. I., Private Luke served in the 4th Marines, at Shanghai, China between April 20 1936 and April 20 1938. During that time, the regiment guarded American interests and ensured the territorial integrity of the neutral International Settlement during the Sino-Japanese hostilities that threatened the city of Shanghai between August and November 1937. Subsequent tours of shore duty followed in the United States first at the Marine Barracks in the Philadelphia Navy Yard and then at the Norfolk Navy Yard. During that time, he was promoted to corporal on November 2 1939 and to sergeant on May 22 1941. Ultimately, with the rank of Platoon Sergeant, Luke was assigned to Company "E", 1st Raider Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, and sailed for the South Pacific in the spring of 1942 to prepare for the initial American amphibious assault of the war in the Pacific in the British Solomon Islands. At 0830 on August 7 1942, Company "E" landed at Tulagi in the second assault wave and, in concert with Company "F", 1st Raider Battalion, moved inland to clean out Japanese snipers infesting the western end of the island. That night-as Major General Alexa nder A. Vandegrift, USMC, the 1st Marine Division commander, later reported "the Marines had their first taste of the Jap at his best in a savage all-night fight." The Japanese counterattacked and initially succeeded in driving a wedge between two Raider companies. During the gallant holding action, Platoon Sergeant Luke saw one of his machine gunners crumple, dead, behind his weapon. Despite heavy enemy fire, Luke rushed to the gun to put it back in action. His grim determination was typical of the spirit of the marines who succeeded in repulsing the tenacious enemy attack. Ultimately succumbing to the severe gunshot wounds he suffered on the night of August 7, Luke was awarded posthumously a share of the 1st Marine Division's Presidential Unit Citation and the Silver Star. Luke was buried on Tulagi

 

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