Dubois County Veterans
USS Parle
Courtesy Wikipedia
USS Parle (DE-708), a Rudderow-class
destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was laid down on 8 January
1944 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company, in Bay City, Michigan. She was
launched on 25 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Harry V. Parle, mother of
Ensign John Joseph Parle, and commissioned in New Orleans on 29 July
1944, with Lieutenant Commander James C. Toft Jr., USNR, in command.World War II, 1944–1945After shakedown off Louisiana and Bermuda, Parle was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet for convoy duty, completing one Atlantic-Mediterranean voyage before her permanent assignment to Escort Division 60. Then, she returned to the yards to be fitted out for Pacific duty. On 28 December, she sailed for Panama, arriving there on 3 January 1945. After sailing to the South Pacific and reporting for duty with the 7th Fleet, she was assigned to the Philippine Sea Frontier, and routed to Leyte by way of Galapagos, Bora Bora, Manus and Palau. As an escort with Task Unit 94.18.12, she carried out numerous operations between Kossol Roads, Leyte, Lingayen, Subic, New Guinea, Okinawa, Ulithi, and Hollandia. Although engaging in repeated attack runs on sound contacts during these escort assignments, she never made positive contact with the enemy. Post-war activities, 1945–1946In August 1945, Parle was with the Amphibious Forces of the Pacific Fleet engaged in escorting occupation troops to Korea. In January 1946, she joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida, and decommissioned on 10 July. |