USS Willmarth (DE-638)

USS Willmarth (DE-638)

USS Willmarth (DE-638), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Ensign Kenneth Willmarth (1914-1942), who was killed in action when the cruiser Vincennes was sunk during the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942.

Willmarth was laid down on 25 June 1943 at San Francisco, California, by the Bethlehem Steel Company's Shipbuilding Division; launched on 21 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Eva Willmarth, the mother of Ens. Willmarth; and commissioned on 13 March 1944, Lieutenant Commander James G. Thorburn, Jr., USNR, in command.