The first Sims (DD-409) was laid down on 15 July 1937 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine, launched on 8 April 1939- sponsored by Mrs. William S. Sims and commissioned on 1 August 1939, Lt. Comdr. W. A. Griswold in command. After shakedown training in the Caribbean and post shakedown availability in the Boston Navy Yard Sims joined the Atlantic Squadron at Norfolk on 2 August 1940. The destroyer operated with the Neutrality Patrol in Caribbean and South Atlantic waters. In November and December 1940, Sims patrolled off Martinque. On 28 May 1941, the ship arrived at Newport, R.I., and began operating from there. She sailed for Iceland on 28 July with an American task force. In August, the destroyer patrolled the approaches to Iceland. In September and October, the ship made two lengthy North Atlantic patrols. Sims had been attached to Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 2 since she began making Neutrality Patrols. With the outbreak of war on 7 December DesRon 2 became part of a task force ( Task Force 17) formed around Yorktown (CV-5). The task force sortied from Norfolk on 16 December 1941 for San Diego. From there, it sailed as part of a convoy taking marines to Samoa, arriving on 23 January 1942. At the time, it was believed that the Japanese would attack Samoa to sever Allied communications with Australia. To thwart such a move, a carrier raid against Japanese bases in the Marshall Islands was planned. The Yorktown task force was to strike the islands of Mili, Jaluit, and Makin, while another force centered around Enterprise (CV-6) was to hit Kwajalein, Wotje, and Maloelap. Task Force 17 departed Samoa on 25 January with Sims in the screen. At 1105 on the 28th, she sighted an enemy bomber. At 1114, a stick of four bombs fell approximately 1,500 yards astern, straddling the wake of the destroyer. The next day, the two carrier forces and a bombardment group attacked the islands and with drew. Sims, with TF 17, sailed from Pearl Harbor on 16 February to attack Wake Island. Shortly after departing, their sailing orders were changed; and they proceeded to the Canton Island area. Canton is a small island on the Honolulu-New Caledonia air route, and it was thought to be endangered by the Japanese. Three waves of Japanese fighters and bombers attacked Sims on May 7, 1942 as she escorted the Fleet Oiler USS Neosho (AO-23) to a safe refueling point in the Coral Sea. Sims, hit by three 500-pound bombs, slid beneath the waves at 12:30 PM, taking all but 13 of her crew with her.  For years, historians have glossed over the pivotal role played by Sims and Neosho, during the Battle of the Coral Sea. When a Japanese scout mistakenly identified the destroyer and oil tanker as an aircraft carrier and a cruiser, the Japanese fleet launched the bulk of its airpower against the two hapless ships. Sims put up a blistering barrage of fire to protect Neosho against impossible odds. In the end, she accomplished her mission, shooting down four Jap planes and enabling Neosho to stay afloat long enough so that her survivors could be rescued four days later. But she did so at great cost, losing 235 men. Sims received two battle stars for World War II service. |