USS Gilmore (DE-18)

USS Gilmore (DE-18)

USS Gilmore (DE-18) was an Evarts-class short-hull destroyer escort in the service of the United States Navy, named after Commander Walter William Gilmore, Supply Corps, killed on 8 May 1942 while serving as the supply officer of the Lexington (CV-2) in the Battle of Coral Sea.

Originally allocated to the United Kingdom under terms of the Lend-Lease Program the ship was launched as HMS Halder (BDE-18) on 22 October 1942 by Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California; sponsored by Mrs. Otis J. Boyer, wife of a Quarterman Rigger of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. She was reallocated back to the United States Navy and renamed USS Gilmore on 19 February 1943, and commissioned on 17 April 1943, with Lt. Cmdr. S. C. Small in command.