USS O'Hare (DD-889)

USS O'Hare (DD-889). USS O'Hare (DD-889) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy named for Edward "Butch" O'Hare, a Lieutenant (j.g.) and Medal of Honor recipient. Commissioned in July 1945, O'Hare served in the immediate post-World War II period, saw extensive service during the Korean War and the Cold War, underwent Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) overhaul, and was later transferred to the Republic of China Navy where she served as ROCS Lai Yang (DD-920).

Construction and commissioning

O'Hare was laid down by Consolidated Steel Corporation (Orange, Texas) on 30 August 1944, launched 31 March 1945 and sponsored by Mrs. Mildred O'Hare, widow of Edward "Butch" O'Hare. Her commissioning on 28 July 1945 brought her into service as the United States Navy was transitioning from World War II operations to occupation of Japan and peacetime deployments. Built to the Fletcher-class destroyer design derived from Preston C.-era concepts and influenced by lessons from the Battle of Midway and Guadalcanal Campaign, O'Hare carried the standard armament layout and machinery typical of her class.

United States Navy service history

Following shakedown training off Guantanamo Bay, O'Hare transited the Panama Canal and reported to the Pacific Fleet amid demobilization after V-J Day. Assigned to peacetime patrols and training, she visited Pearl Harbor, operated with carrier task groups including USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42), and participated in exercises connecting bases such as San Diego, California, Long Beach, California, and Yokosuka. The destroyer supported naval aviation flight operations, anti-submarine warfare drills focused on contacts like those typified by Soviet submarine activity during the early Cold War, and took part in fleet problem-style maneuvers with units from the Seventh Fleet and Third Fleet.

Korean War and Cold War operations

With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, O'Hare was deployed to the Western Pacific and performed screening duties for aircraft carriers on United Nations missions, delivered naval gunfire support along the Korean Peninsula coast, and escorted logistics convoys between Sasebo and forward areas. She operated alongside ships such as USS Leyte (CV-32), served in task groups under commanders linked to Task Force 77, and engaged in operations coordinated with United States Marine Corps and United States Army amphibious and coastal campaigns. During the 1950s and 1960s O'Hare alternated Western Pacific deployments with training and readiness operations out of San Diego and Long Beach, participated in multinational exercises with the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and conducted surveillance missions tied to crises such as the Taiwan Strait Crisis.

FRAM modernization and later deployments

In the early 1960s O'Hare underwent extensive Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM I/II) work at yards influenced by modernization programs exemplified by conversions performed on sister ships including USS Radford (DD-446) and USS The Sullivans (DD-537). Upgrades included new Anti-Submarine Rocket (ASROC) capability, modernized sonar and radar suites such as models akin to AN/SQS-23 and AN/SPS-10, and reconfigured living spaces to extend her service life into the Vietnam War era. Post-FRAM deployments saw O'Hare resume Western Pacific cruises, plane-guarding for carriers like USS Hancock (CV-19), participating in SEATO-era exercises, and standing ready during incidents involving the People's Republic of China and tensions in Southeast Asia.

Decommissioning, transfer, and fate

O'Hare was decommissioned on 7 January 1973 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register before being transferred under the Military Assistance Program to the Republic of China Navy where she was recommissioned as ROCS Lai Yang (DD-920). Serving with the Republic of China Navy through the late 1970s and 1980s, Lai Yang participated in patrols and regional exercises involving partners such as the Republic of China Armed Forces and conducted modernization efforts paralleling other transferred Fletcher-class destroyer conversions. Ultimately decommissioned and discarded by the Republic of China in 1999, she was broken up for scrap, closing the service life that began under the United States Navy flag.

Category:Fletcher-class destroyers of the United States Navy Category:Ships built in Orange, Texas Category:1945 ships Category:Cold War destroyers of the United States Category:Korean War destroyers of the United States