KENNETH M WILLETT DE 354
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.
Keel Laid 10 January 1944 - Launched & Christened 7 March 1944 Recommissioned 25 May 1951 Assigned to Naval Reserve Training, 8th Naval District, at New Orleans Decommissioned 26 February 1959 Struck from Naval Register 1 July 1972 Sunk as target 6 March 1974 off Puerto Rico |
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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).
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 (DATE RANGE)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. 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.
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Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
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Locy Type 2z |
1946-02-01 |
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Other Information
USS KENNETH M. WILLWTT DE-354 earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 Campaign star, the World War II Victory Medal, the Navy Occupation Service Medal and the Philippine Liberation Medal during her Naval career.
NAMESAKE - Kenneth Martin Willett, USNR (April 9 1919 - September 27 1942)
Willett enlisted in the Naval Reserve as an Apprentice Seaman July 9 1940. Appointed to the Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School August 9, he was commissioned Ensign November 14 and assigned to USS CALIFORNIA BB-44, where he served until November 24 1941. He then reported to the 12th Naval District for duty at the Armed Guard Center, San Francisco, January 22 1942. While serving as Commanding Officer of the Naval Armed Guard on board freighter SS STEPHEN HOPKINS, he was promoted to Lieutenant (j.g.) June 15. While en route from Capetown, South Africa, to Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, STEPHEN HOPKINS was attacked September 27 by two enemy surface raiders. Though seriously wounded by one of the first enemy shells, Lt. Willett courageously manned the 4-inch gun and fired shell after shell into the nearer, more heavily armed raider. Inflicting heavy damage on both enemy ships, his accurate fire eventually sank one of them. Even after an exploding magazine silenced his gun, Lt. Willett refused to give up his struggle for both ship and crew. When last seen, although weakened and suffering, he was helping to launch life rafts from the flaming freighter in a desperate effort to save lives. For his "great personal valor and gallant spirit of self-sacrifice," Lt. Willett was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
The ships sponsor is Mrs. D. C. Willett, mother of Lt. (j.g.) Willett.
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
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