USS Lester (DE-1022)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | USS Lester |
| Namesake: | Fred Faulkner Lester |
| Builder: | Defoe Shipbuilding Company |
| Laid down: | 2 September 1954 |
| Launched: | 5 January 1956 |
| Commissioned: | 14 June 1957 |
| Decommissioned: | 14 December 1973 |
| Struck: | 14 December 1973 |
| Homeport: | Naval Station Newport, RI |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 18 June 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Dealey-class destroyer escort |
| Displacement: | 1,877 long tons (1,907 t) full load |
| Length: | 314 ft 6 in (95.86 m) |
| Beam: | 36 ft 9 in (11.20 m) |
| Draft: | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 26 knots (30 mph; 48 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 12/161 |
| Armament: |
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USS Lester (DE-1022) (1957-1973) was a United States Navy Dealey-class destroyer escort, named after Fred Faulkner Lester, a Navy Corpsman who was killed in action while assigned to the United States Marine Corps during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions on 8 June 1945.
Lester was laid down at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan, on 2 September 1954; launched on 5 January 1956, sponsored by Mrs. Fred W. Lester, mother of Hospital Apprentice First Class Fred F. Lester. The ship was commissioned on 14 June 1957 and decommissioned in 1973.
In December 1957, after shakedown cruise, Lester arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, just before Christmas, reporting for duty to Escort Squadron 14. She trained off New England until 8 February 1958, and then participated in convoy and ASW exercises off the Florida coast. On 17 February, she steamed from Savannah, Georgia, to rescue the survivors of the sunken Italian oreship Bonitoz, and then returned to Newport. On 12 May, the ship departed for the Mediterranean with units of CORTRONs 14 and 10 and the aircraft carrier Wasp. She arrived in Gibraltar on 21 May joining the 6th Fleet. When the fleet acted in Lebanon and averted world crisis in July, Lester played an important role in barrier patrol and other duties supporting the operations.
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