USS Turner Joy

USS TURNER JOY was the last ship in the FORREST SHERMAN – class of destroyers and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. Her keel was laid down on September 30, 1957, in Seattle, Washington by the Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging Company, launched on May 5, 1958, and commissioned on August 3, 1959, Comdr. Ralph S. Wentworth, Jr. in command.

Turner Joy’s distinctive service included a double-duty role as the flagship for Destroyer Squadron 13 and Destroyer Division 131 with several tours in the Pacific. She also stood air-sea rescue duty near the Marianas Islands for President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s visit to several Asian nations. In terms of history, this vessel is most remembered for her participation in the Gulf of Tonkin incident which escalated the United States involvement in the Vietnam War.