The USS Presley (DE 371)

The USS Presley (DE 371)

A History of the USS Presley Written by Its Commanding Officer

on 14 November 1945

[Click here to see the original typscript of this report, along with many photos of the crew, and other photos of the ship.]

The USS Presley (DE-371) was commissioned at Orange, Texas on 7 November 1944, by Commander H.G. Chalkley, USNR, representing the Commandant, Ninth Naval District. Lt. Comdr. R.S. Paret, USNR, assumed command of the ship upon commissioning.

The USS Presley was named in honor of Sam Davis Presley, AMM1c, US Navy, who was born at Carthage, Mississippi, on 17 December 1918, and died in action in the Battle of Santa Cruz on 26 October 1942.  The vessel was built by the Consolidated Steel Corporation, Ltd., of Orange, Texas, and was launched in the building ways on 19 August 1944, and was sponsored by Mrs. Willie Lynn Presley, the mother of the man for whom the ship was named.

The Presley fitted out at Orange and Galveston, Texas, and on 22 November 1944 proceeded to Bermuda for shakedown.  Upon completion of shakedown, she reported to Boston Navy Yard for overhaul and repairs, and on 15 January 1945 reported to ComInCh for duty, and proceeded to the Canal Zone.

After transiting the Panama Canal on 24 January 1945, the Presley reported to CinCPac for duty and proceeded to Pearl Harbor via San Diego.

At Pearl Harbor the ship reported to ComDesPac for duty and began further training excercises in the Hawaiian area.

On 6 March 1945 the Presley in company with the USS Williams (DE-372) was ordered to ComSoPac at Noumea, New Caledonia, and arrived there after stopping at Guadalcanal and Purvis Bay, on the 22nd of March.  The Williams was detached shortly after leaving Pearl Harbor and the Presley proceeded alone.

On 25 March 1945, Comander W.C. P. Bellinger, Jr., USN, ComCortDiv 87, hoisted his pennant in the Presley and assumed command of CortDiv 87.  CortDiv 87 at this time consisted of the Presley and the Williams only, and so it turned out, the other ships scheduled for this division were not completed and the division never filled up.

The Presley remained at Noumea under the command of ComSoPac with no activity until 3 May 1945 when she departed to escort a group of transports from Noumea to Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.  Although she was ordered to return to ComSoPac, the Presley was retained at Manus Island and later reported to Commander Task Unit 94.7.2 at Saipan, Marianas Islands.

At this time the Presley was released from the command of ComSoPac and ordered to ComMarianas.  On 14 July 1945 the ship was ordered to Ulithi to report to Commander Task Unit 94.6.2 for duty.

The Presley made two trips to Okinawa without incident and the end of the war found her anchored in Ulithi Harbor.

On 8 September 1945 Commander W.C.P. Bellinger, Jr., USN, ComCortDiv 87, was detached without relief, and the Presley hauled down his pennant.  From this time on, officers and men were being detached almost daily in accordance with the domobilization plan for the Navy.

On 19 September 1945 the Presley was ordered to Guam for duty.  While detached there she made two trips to Truk in the Carolines, acting as harbor patrol and station ship pending the occupation of that enemy post by U.S. forces.

On 5 November the ship was ordered to the United States to be placed in an inactive status, and on 14 November 1945 the Presley reported to ComDesPac at Pearl Harbor for routing to the mainland.

As the ship concluded her tour of active duty in the forward areas, her log showed that she had never engaged the enemy, nor took part in an action, nor encountered any of the disasters of the sea, but, on the other hand, the Commanding Officer noted with pride that the Presley was invariably ready for any assignment given her and never failed to carry out such assignment with credit.

                                                     R.S. Paret,

                                                 Commander, USNR

                                                      Commanding Officer, USS Presley (DE-371)

Distr: Orig. to SecNav

         cc: CincPac, Pearl (12)

USS Presley (DDE-371) in camouflage

Sam Davis Presley, for whom the ship was named, was born at Carthage, Leake County, Mississippi, on 17 December 1918 and enlisted in the Navy on 7 November 1939.  On 30 September 1942, he became Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class.  He received the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942.  When his ship, the aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CV-6), came under sustained enemy air attack, he voluntarily abandoned the shelter of his normal battle station, and, climbing into a plane parked on the flight deck, he manned the guns in the rear cockpit and effectively fired against the attacking aircraft.  As the battle continued, a bomb explosion blew the plane overboard.  AM1 Presley was listed as missing in action and presumed dead on 27 October 1943.

[Above information from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (1970), vol. 5, pp. 375-376]

Sam Davis Presley was a son of Willie Lynn Presley and his wife, Annie Catherine Cooper.  It was his mother who sponsored the ship, as noted in the history given above.  Willie Lynn Presley was born 27 May 1894 in Leake County, Mississippi, and died 15 July 1977 in Leake County. He was a son of Oscar Lynn Presley, born 8 February 1868 Leake County, died 19 November 1952 Leake County.  Oscar Lynn Presley, who married Florence Birdie Waggoner, was a son of Elias Harrison Presley and Harriet Virginia Jones.

Thus, the descent of Sam Davis Presley from the immigrant ancestor, Johann Valentine Pressler, is established.

USS Presley (DDE-371)

Displacement: 1,745 tons (full load)

Length: 306 ft.

Beam: 36 ft. 7 in.

Draft: 13 ft. 4 in.

Speed: 24 knots

Complement: 222 men

Armament: two 5in.; six 40mm.; three 21 in. torpedo tubes; eight depth charge projectors; two depth charge tracks; one hedge hog

Class: John C. Butler

The Presley was decommissioned on 20 June 1946 and became part of the Pacific Reserved Fleet berthed at San Diego.  She was removed from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 June 1968 and sold on 2 April 1970.

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