History of the U.S.S. Foote
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The USS FOOTE DD-511, one of 175 Fletcher Class destroyers constructed in less than a
thousand days during WWII, was built in Bath, Maine, launched Oct. 11, 1942 and commissioned
in December, 1942 at Boston, Massachusetts. After rigorous training and drills from Maine to
Guantanamo, Cuba, the ship got her first assignment - to convoy merchant ships to Casablanca,
French Morocco, Africa. But the real test for the ship and crew was to come in the Pacific.
May, 1943 saw the FOOTE underway from Norfolk, VA to Neuma, New Caledonia in the South Pacific
via the Panama Canal. There she operated in anti-submarine patrols and escort duty until September,
1943 when she joined seven other Fletcher Class destroyers to become DesRon-23. This was the
squadron that would become known all over the Pacific as the "LITTLE BEAVERS" under
the command of Captain Arleigh "31-Knot" Burke. The name derived when it was observed
that "those men work like little beavers."
It was during the battle of Empress Augusta Bay off Bougainville on the night
of November, 2, 1943, that Captain Burke's "LITTLE BEAVERS" proved
that fast destroyers operating in unison could defeat a superior enemy force.
However the FOOTE's participation in the Solomon's Campaign was cut short when
a Japanese torpedo hit her fantail, destroying 55 feet and killing 19 gallant
men. The blow, while nearly fatal, did not destroy the ship. With quick action
by the crew, the flood of seawater was slowed. During the battle, other ships
in the squadron surrounded the ship and ith the sunrise, she remained afloat.
The tugboat, USS Bobolink helped to tow the FOOTE to San Pedro, California where
she was repaired. After a new stern was welded into place, the ship and her
crew returned to the Pacific in fighting trim to join the assault on the Philippines.
Off Tacioban, Leyte her crew saw the first evidence of Japan's suicide air attacks, the dreaded "Kamikaze."
The FOOTE was further tested in the first re-supply convoy to Mindoro and the shore bombardments
at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon where Allied Forces landed to retake Manila.
When the "LITTLE BEAVERS" reassembled and sailed for Okinawa, they
entered into what was to be, the greatest battle of all. It was during the battle
for Okinawa in the Ryukyu Chain at the southern tip of Japan that the Japanese
sent their Death Squadrons against the fleet in a last ditch effort to turn
back the American forces. They nearly succeeded in turning the invasion into
disaster. Destroyers were especially vulnerable to the "Kamikaze"
on their Radar 
Picket stations 20 to 45 miles off the Japanese coast. It was during one such
attack that a Kamikaze scored a near-hit. The gunners destroyed the plane 10
yards from the ship with members of the FOOTE crew looking into the eyes of
the fated pilot. The FOOTE was showered with plane fragments and another American
crewman lost his life that day.
The FOOTE's luck held and after several more close calls, the day finally came when the Japanese requested surrender terms. Her duty well done, the USS FOOTE DD-511 raised her anchor on September 10, 1945 for the last time in foreign waters. With homeward bound pennants flying, she along with 56 other ships of the Pacific fleet sailed for New York Harbor and the Victory Parade. On October 7, 1945, President Harry Truman reviewed these gallant ships and men in one of the greatest salutes to human courage. In doing so, he acknowledged "The Greatest Generation" our nation has had the privilege to honor.