Post War
The warship remained in Japanese waters until 30 September when she headed via Guam for the northwest coast of the United States. She arrived in Seattle on 24 October and operated along the western seaboard until the following spring. On 18 March 1946, the ship departed San Diego for a round-trip voyage to Pearl Harbor, returned to San Diego on 10 April, and remained there until 13 May. After steaming back into Pearl Harbor on the 19th, she departed that port again two days later, but this time she continued west toward the Marshall Islands. She reached Bikini Atoll on 26 May and, for the next two months, supported the atomic tests carried out there, such as Operation Crossroads. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 August, remained overnight, and got underway for the west coast on the 16th. Walke entered San Diego on 22 August and then moved to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for three months of repairs.
The warship returned to San Diego on 15 November and remained there through the end of the year. On 6 January 1947, Walke departed San Diego for Pearl Harbor whence she operated with Tarawa (CV-40), and later with Shangri-La (CV-38), on special duty under the auspices of the Commander, Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet. That duty lasted until 1 May when she joined the unit sent to Sydney, Australia, to commemorate the Battle of the Coral Sea. The ship returned to San Diego in mid-June and was decommissioned there on the 30th.
Read more about this topic: USS Walke (DD-723)
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