1950-1953 (Korean War)
In July 1950, Wiltsie sailed for the Far East to augment the American naval presence in Korean waters.
On the evening of 16 August, Helena (CA-75), with four LST's and escorting destroyers, closed the coast. Capt. J. R. Clark, Commander, Destroyer Division 111, embarked in the recently arrived Wiltsie, assumed direction of the embarkation operation for the ROK troops. He ordered the four LSTs to beach at a pre-arranged site, guided in by jeep headlights from shore. Before sunrise the next day, 327 officers and 3,480 men of the 3rd ROK Division, 1,260 civilians, and 100 vehicles had been loaded.
American forces went ashore at Inchon on 15 September 1950. Wiltsie participated in one phase of this assault, screening the fast carriers of Task Force (TF) 77— Philippine Sea (CV-47), Valley Forge (CV-45), and Boxer (CV-21)—as their aircraft hit communist ground targets to support the advance of troops ashore. For the remainder of the deployment, Wiltsie supported UN troops ashore with call-fire support; screened TF 77 as it conducted air strikes against supply lines and troop concentrations; and patrolled in the Taiwan Strait.
Wiltsie returned to San Diego in March 1951, underwent repairs at Long Beach, California and subsequently departed the west coast for her fourth tour of duty in the Far East. In Korean waters, she resumed her screening, call-fire, and interdiction duties. Highlighting her blockading activities of Wonsan, Wiltsie fired retaliatory gunfire missions against communist shore batteries.
Wiltsie returned to the west coast late in 1952, but soon found herself back in the Far East for her third Korean War deployment. After leaving the west coast on 2 January 1953, the destroyer patrolled the Formosa Strait for a time and operated off the North Korean coast before shifting to Wonsan. The Navy continued it operations to support UN ground troops, interdicted enemy supply lines by air and by surface gunfire, and blockaded the enemy's coasts.
Eight days after Wiltsie and Theodore E. Chandler (DD-717) had destroyed a train near Tanchon on 3 June, communist shore batteries took Wiltsie under fire off Wonsan, lobbing 45 105-millimeter shells in her direction, scoring a hit on the destroyer's fantail. The ship suffered no casualties and soon resumed her local patrol operations. On 15 June, Wiltsie evacuated 13 Korean civilians from Yo-do Island to Sokcho-ri.
While preparing to abandon the Wonsan siege in accordance with the armistice stipulations, Wiltsie screened minesweeping operations and joined in the last-minute shelling of communist ground targets. In company with Porter (DD-800) and Bremerton (CA-130), Wiltsie shelled targets at Wonsan until a few minutes before the 2200 deadline. On 27 July 1953, the Korean armistice finally came into effect. However, Wiltsie remained in Korean waters, screening the continuing minesweeping operations between Hungnam and Wonsan until 6 August 1953.
Read more about this topic: USS Wiltsie (DD-716)