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USS Chevalier (DD 805)

FRAM II configuration

USS CHEVALIER was one of the GEARING - class destroyers and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Reclassified as radar picket destroyer DDR 805 on March 18, 1949, CHEVALIER underwent a FRAM II upgrade in 1962 and her designation was reverted to DD 805 again on July 13, 1962. Decommissioned on July 1, 1972, she was transferred to South Korea on July 5, 1972, where she was recommissioned as CHUNG BUK.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS CHEVALIER. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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• Click here to see which USS CHEVALIER memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS CHEVALIER Cruise Books:

• WestPac Cruise Book 1967-68

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USS CHEVALIER History:

USS CHEVALIER was launched 29 October 1944 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. G. DeC. Chevalier; and commissioned 9 January 1945, Commander F. Wolsieffer in command.

After commissioning, she moved quickly from fitting out to shakedown and war-readiness as the Pacific war reached its final months. After trials in the Atlantic and Caribbean she cleared Guantanamo Bay on 18 June 1945, arrived at Pearl Harbor on 9 July 1945, and departed on 24 July 1945 to participate in the bombardment of Wake on 1 August 1945. She reached Eniwetok on 2 August 1945, joined Task Force 38 off Honshu on 18 August 1945, and entered Tokyo Bay with her force on 26 August 1945. Through late 1945 and early 1946, she performed patrol and escort assignments supporting the occupation across the Marianas and the Philippines, then sailed from Saipan on 25 March 1946 for the U.S. west coast, arriving at San Diego on 11 April 1946 to begin peacetime upkeep, training, and the first of many Western Pacific deployments.

In the early Cold War years, CHEVALIER alternated 7th Fleet forward duty with west coast training. She completed WESTPAC cruises in 1946–1947 and again in 1948–1949, providing presence and escort services as occupation responsibilities settled into routine while the post-war fleet refined air defense and screening tactics. On 18 March 1949 she was reclassified DDR 805 as a radar picket destroyer, reflecting the Navy's emphasis on long-range air warning and fighter-direction in carrier task forces. During the summer and fall of 1949 she operated in the Hawaiian Islands, then resumed the familiar pattern of local operations from San Diego and periodic deployments to the Far East.

War in Korea sent CHEVALIER back to combat. She served in the Far East from 6 July 1950 to 25 March 1951; from 15 October 1951 to 31 May 1952; and from 2 January 1953 to 22 August 1953. Across these tours she primarily screened the fast-carrier force of Task Force 77, providing plane-guard, anti-submarine, and anti-air defense while carrier air wings conducted sustained strikes in support of United Nations operations. She also periodically shifted to Taiwan Strait patrols as regional tensions demanded. After the armistice she returned to the alternating rhythm of overhauls and training on the west coast and forward deployments with the 7th Fleet in 1954, 1955, 1956-1957, 1957-1958, 1958-1959, and 1960, visiting Far Eastern and Australian ports, exercising off Japan and Okinawa, and conducting Taiwan Strait patrols when required.

CHEVALIER's 1960s modernization centered on a FRAM II conversion at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, completed in August 1962, which extended her service life and refocused her on anti-submarine and general-purpose destroyer roles. As part of this work she received DASH drone-helicopter capability. On 13 July 1962, her classification reverted from DDR 805 to DD 805. With updated sensors and weapons, she resumed Pacific Fleet operations and workups out of San Diego as the Vietnam conflict intensified.

Vietnam brought CHEVALIER into coastal and inland operations. She operated on the Saigon River from 15 June 1966 to 21 June 1966 - an assignment in the Rung Sac Special Zone that reflected the Navy's push to interdict enemy logistics and support allied ground sweeps in the delta. After later workups and another WESTPAC, she again entered inland waters on 25 January 1968 in the Vung Ganh Rai area of the Mekong River delta, a period that coincided with the broader Tet Offensive and intense Seventh Fleet demands for gunfire support and coastal surveillance.

During the 1967-1968 deployment CHEVALIER's routine mirrored that of other destroyers on the line: gunline assignments alternating with carrier plane-guard duty, logistics calls at forward hubs such as Subic Bay, and brief rest periods at major ports between periods of sustained operations.

CHEVALIER's 1970 employment is precisely documented. On 18 March 1970 she deployed from San Diego for WESTPAC in company with the carrier USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA 31), joining the carrier task group as a plane-guard and screen unit during a Vietnam-focused cruise that staged out of centers such as Yokosuka, Subic Bay, and Sasebo. Throughout the deployment she cycled between carrier support on "Yankee Station", naval gunfire support periods along the South Vietnam coast, and the steady seamanship of frequent underway replenishments.

CHEVALIER continued Vietnam-era duties into 1971, alternating gunline fire missions and carrier escort with upkeep at forward bases. By mid-1972, as U.S. operations in Southeast Asia reached their culminating phase, her U.S. service drew to a close. She decommissioned on 1 July 1972 and was transferred four days later, on 5 July 1972, to the Republic of Korea, entering service as ROKS CHUNG BUK (DD 915). The U.S. Navy struck her from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 June 1975. She remained in Korean service for decades, ultimately being sold for scrap and dismantled in December 2000.

CHEVALIER received one battle star for World War II service, and nine for Korean War service.

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About the Ship's Name:

Born in Providence, R.I., 7 March 1889, Godfrey DeCourcelles Chevalier graduated from the Naval Academy in June 1910. He was appointed a Naval Air Pilot 7 November 1915 and a Naval Aviator 7 November 1918. In 1916 he participated in the installation of the first real catapult used in the Navy and piloted the first plane to be launched by catapult, from NORTH CAROLINA. In November 1917 he commanded the first naval air station in France, at Dunkerque and for World War I service was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. In 1922 he was attached to LANGLEY, in connection with fitting her out. On 26 October 1922 Lieutenant Commander Chevalier flew plane No. 606 which made the first landing on LANGLEY's deck. This distinguished pioneer of naval aviation died at the Norfolk Naval Hospital 14 November 1922 as a result of injuries sustained in an airplane crash.

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USS CHEVALIER Image Gallery:

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