USS Willard Keith (DD-775) - 1950-1952

1950-1952

Recommissioned on 23 October 1950, Willard Keith was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. After her activation was completed on 27 November, the ship departed Charleston, shaping course for Norfolk, Virginia. Subsequently pushing on to Guantanamo Bay, planeguarding for the Fleet carrier Intrepid (CV-11) en route, Willard Keith reached her destination on 13 January 1951 to commence her shakedown soon thereafter.

Completing that training phase on 22 February 1951, Willard Keith stopped briefly at Culebra for gunnery exercises before proceeding on to Norfolk and upkeep. After a three-month overhaul, the destroyer returned to the Guantanamo region for further refresher training. She then returned to Norfolk for a tender upkeep.

On 3 September 1951, Willard Keith departed the east coast, bound for the Mediterranean and duty with the 6th Fleet. Relieving Dennis J. Buckley (DD-808) as a unit of that force on the 22nd of the month, Willard Keith spent the next six months in the "Med," making operational visits to such ports as Gibraltar; Naples and Trieste, Italy; Augusta Bay, Sicily; Istanbul, Turkey; Leros, Greece; and Suda Bay, Crete.

From November 1951 to February 1952, Willard Keith operated in company with John W. Weeks (DD-701) as a unit of the Northern European Force under the overall command of Rear Admiral W. F. Boone. During that period of time, the destroyer visited Plymouth, England; Copenhagen and Bornholm, Denmark; Bremerhaven, Germany; Bordeaux, France; and Derry, Northern Ireland. While operating out of the last-named port, she conducted exercises jointly with British destroyers.

While in northern European waters, Willard Keith performed rescue and escort duties for a week, assisting the crippled SS Flying Enterprise before that ship broke apart and sank in heavy seas. That incident gained the United States Navy international attention at the time. The owners of the lost ship, the Isbrandtsen Lines, later presented a plaque to Willard Keith in appreciation for her assistance rendered to their vessel.

Completing her duty in European waters early in February 1952, Willard Keith shaped course for home, reaching Norfolk on 6 February for leave and upkeep. Once the needed voyage repairs had been accomplished and both officers and men refreshed after their deployment overseas, the destroyer headed north, departing Norfolk on 21 April 1952. She was bound for Argentia, Newfoundland, with a party of observers from the United States Naval Underwater Sound School embarked on board. From 21 April to 12 May, the destroyer then conducted antisubmarine warfare (ASW) drills for the benefit of the observers.

Upon the ship's return to Norfolk, all hands began to make preparations for a scheduled midshipmen's cruise. In early June, the ship sailed to Annapolis, Maryland, and embarked 72 officers-to-be, taking them to Norfolk. Subsequently, Willard Keith sailed to European waters and then to Guantanamo Bay. Ports visited during the midshipmen's cruise included Torquay, England, and Le Havre, France.

Returning to Norfolk via Guantanamo, Willard Keith disembarked her passengers and resumed her routine of training. She conducted two weeks of hunter/killer training in company with the escort carrier Block Island (CVE-106), a task group under the command of Rear Admiral D. V. Gallery. Willard Keith put back into Norfolk at the end of November and spent the remainder of the year there.