USS Woodson (DE-359) was a acquired by the United States Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket.
Woodson was named in honor of Jeff Davis Woodson, who was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his valiant effort during the Battle of Midway. The ship's keel was laid down on 7 March 1944 at Orange, Texas, by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd. The vessel was launched on 29 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Joyce M. Woodson and commissioned on 24 August 1944.
Namesake
Jeff Davis Woodson was born on 10 June 1908 in Autman, Texas. He enlisted in the United States Navy on 23 June 1926 at Little Rock, Arkansas. Earning his first rating as a fireman third class in four months, he served on and advanced to the rating of fireman second class on 1 January 1929. That summer, he transferred to an aviation squadron, VJ-1B, and began training as an aviation machinist's mate. In April 1929, he took a reduction in rank to enter the aviation field and became an aviation machinist's mate third class. However, after training at the Naval Air Station, San Diego, California, and pilot training at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, he was advanced to the rating of aviation pilot first class.
During the 1930s he served in various patrol and scouting squadrons and served a tour of duty on . By the late spring of 1937, he had advanced to the rating of chief aviation machinist's mate. During 1940 and 1941, he served successively in VU-1, the destroyer and at the naval air stations located at Norfolk, Virginia, and Pensacola. On 2 September 1941, he joined Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) attached to . For the next few months, he and his ship conducted training out of Norfolk. That routine continued after the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December. On 7 April 1942 he was temporarily promoted to the rank of lieutenant, junior grade.
As a Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber pilot in VT-8, Woodson took part in the pivotal Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942. Woodson and the rest of the squadron attacked the Japanese aircraft carriers without fighter cover and in the face of withering antiaircraft fire and heavy Japanese fighter opposition. Though all of VT-8's aircraft were shot down, they succeeded in diverting Japanese fighter cover and preventing further launches of Japanese carrier aircraft, thus contributing to the United States Navys victory in the battle. Woodson was killed during the attack. Woodson was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously and shared in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to VT-8 for its actions in the Battle of Midway.
Operational history
World War II North Atlantic operations
After fitting out at Galveston, Texas, the destroyer escort embarked upon her shakedown cruise on 11 September. En route to her training area in the vicinity of Bermuda, she assisted the survivors of the destroyer which had sunk off the U.S. East Coast during a hurricane. Woodson rescued a number of survivors, carried them to Norfolk, Virginia, and then resumed shakedown training around Bermuda. The warship completed that training and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, on 25 October. After two weeks of post-shakedown availability, she stood out of Boston on 6 November, bound for Norfolk where she spent the remainder of the month serving as a school ship for the Operational Training Command, Atlantic Fleet.
Transferred to the Pacific Fleet
On the last day of November, she departed Norfolk and shaped a course for the Pacific Ocean and duty with the U.S. 7th Fleet in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Steaming via the Panama Canal, the Galápagos Islands, and Bora Bora in the Society Islands, she arrived at Hollandia on the northern coast of New Guinea on 3 January 1945. Upon her arrival, the destroyer escort was assigned to convoy duty between New Guinea and the Philippines, primarily on the Hollandia-to-Leyte run. Early in April, however, she dropped her runs to New Guinea and limited her operations to escort missions among major ports in the Philippines such as Leyte, Lingayen Gulf, and Manila Bay. That duty lasted until 25 May when she reported to the Commander, Task Group (TG) 71.5 at Subic Bay for duty escorting submarines to and from their war patrol release points. When not engaged in her primary duty, Woodson participated in post-refit exercises with submarines and conducted antisubmarine patrols. Such activities occupied her through the end of hostilities and until the end of August.