USS Sterett (DD 407)

Notes: USS Sterett started the war in the Atlantic with the Operation Torch landings in North Africa, and escorted USS Wasp when the carrier flew off a load of Spitfires for Malta. Then the destroyer headed for the Pacific and the Guadalcanal campaign. Following the fleet across the central Pacific, she went on to survive a hit by a Kamikaze off Okinawa. In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Sterett earned 13 battle stars and the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service.

Prototype: USS Sterett started the war in the Atlantic with the Operation Torch landings in North Africa, and escorted USS Wasp when the carrier flew off a load of Spitfires for Malta. Then the destroyer headed for the Pacific and the Guadalcanal campaign. Following the fleet across the central Pacific, she went on to survive a hit by a Kamikaze off Okinawa. In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Sterett earned 13 battle stars and the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service.

Class History: The Benham class of ten destroyers was built for the United States Navy (USN). They were part of a series of USN destroyers limited to 1,500 tons standard displacement by the London Naval Treaty and built in the 1930s. The class was laid down in 1936-1937 and all were commissioned in 1939. Much of their design was based on the immediately preceding Gridley and Bagley-class destroyers. Like these classes, the Benhams were notable for including sixteen 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, the heaviest torpedo armament ever on US destroyers. They introduced a new high-pressure boiler that saved space and weight, as only three of the new boilers were required compared to four of the older designs. The class served extensively in World War II in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific theaters, including Neutrality Patrols in the Atlantic 1940-1941. Sterett received the United States Presidential Unit Citation for the Battle of Guadalcanal and the Battle of Vella Gulf, and the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service. Two of the class were lost during World War II, three would be scrapped in 1947, while the remaining five ships would be scuttled after being contaminated from the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

Country: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.