USS Wesson (DE-184) was a built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She returned home at war's end with a very respectable seven battle stars to her credit.
She was laid down on 29 July 1943 at Newark, New Jersey, by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.; launched on 17 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Eleanor Wesson; and commissioned on 11 November 1943.
World War II Pacific Theatre operations
Wesson departed New York on 28 November for shakedown off Bermuda. She returned to New York on 28 December 1943 for post-shakedown availability which lasted until 9 January 1944 when she sailed for the Panama Canal Zone. After transiting the Panama Canal, Wesson departed Balboa on the 19th, bound for Hawaii in company with , and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 1 February. Following minor repairs and training exercises, the destroyer escort joined the screen of a westward-bound convoy. On 18 February, the convoy split; and Wesson headed for Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Captures Japanese cutter
She arrived at Roi Namur the following day and began patrolling the entrance to the harbor. On 22 February, Wesson sighted and fired upon a Japanese cutter, killing six of the enemy and bringing five prisoners on board. She later turned them over to the island commander at Roi.
The destroyer escort set course for Majuro, also in the Marshalls, on 4 March 1944 and, in company with , sailed for Oahu three days later, screening . Wesson arrived at Pearl Harbor on 13 March and spent a week there undergoing minor repairs and receiving fuel, stores, and provisions. On 20 March, she got underway to escort to the Gilbert Islands and arrived at Tarawa on the 31st. After a one-day stop, Wesson again set her course for Hawaii as an escort for . She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 10 April and conducted torpedo and anti-submarine exercises until 29 April when she received orders sending her to Majuro as an escort for .
Heavy convoy schedule
Wesson returned to Hawaii on 13 May and received repairs and conducted anti-submarine exercises before getting underway on 27 May to escort a convoy to Majuro. Having moored at Majuro harbor on 3 June, Wesson departed three days later for a rendezvous with Task Group (TG) 58.1 to conduct fueling operations. On 12 June, she made rendezvous with and ; and, two days later, the destroyer escort took position in the screen while fueling operations were in progress. She continued to support fueling operations until 16 June when she set her course for Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands. After a brief stop there, the ship received orders to make a round-trip voyage to the Marianas and back, escorting three oilers. She returned to Eniwetok on 11 July and, five days later, put to sea to support several fuelings and mail transfers. On 31 July, Wesson arrived off Saipan Island screening .
Drydocked at Eniwetok
On 1 August 1944, Wesson steamed for the Marshalls and arrived at Eniwetok on 5 August for upkeep and availability. From 29 to 30 August, the ship was drydocked to repaint her underwater hull. On 2 September, Wesson got underway to rendezvous with and and proceed in company with the escort carriers to Manus in the Admiralty Islands. The force arrived at Seeadler Harbor, Manus, on 10 September and, four days later, sortied for a rendezvous off the Palau Islands in the Western Carolines. During flight operations, Wesson rescued three airmen who had crashed upon launching. The destroyer escort screened Sitkoh Bay as the escort carrier headed back to the Admiralty Islands for repairs to her catapult. On 22 September, she and left Seeadler Harbor, Manus Island, escorting to a fueling area in the Palau Islands; but, on 29 September, Wesson received orders to return to Manus.
The first three days of October found Wesson anchored in Seeadler Harbor. On the 4th, she got underway as part of a task unit centered around , , , and . During fueling operations in the Philippine Sea, Wesson assumed plane guard duty. On 22 October – two days after American forces returned to the Philippine Islands with landings on Leyte – Wesson got underway to escort Sitkoh Bay to Manus, and they arrived back in Seeadler Harbor on 26 October. Wesson remained there undergoing availability for the remainder of the month.