USS Robert I. Paine (DE-578)

USS Robert I. Paine (DE-578)

USS Robert I. Paine (DE/DER-578), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Marine Corps Private Robert I. Paine (1923-1942), who was killed in action during the attack on Tulagi on 7 August 1942. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

Robert I. Paine was laid down at the Bethlehem Hingham Shipyards, Hingham, Massachusetts, on 5 November 1943; launched on 30 December 1943; sponsored by Mrs. John Paine, mother of Private Paine; and commissioned on 26 February 1944, Lieutenant Commander Drayton Cochran in command.