USS Cassin Young

The Fletcher Class destroyer is a National Historic Landmark and is on long term loan to the National Park Service from the U.S. Navy. It has been moored in the Charlestown Navy Yard across from USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides” since 1978. 

The ship was named for Captain Cassin Young who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor and killed during the Battle of Guadalcanal in the fall of 1942.

…you felt like you were really living…you’d turn into the wind and get a little bit of spray in your face and, you’d taste the salt…you’d feel those propellers turning…and you could feel the power in that thing…

Heath Haggerty, Gunner’s Mate 1944-1945

Service in World War II

Designed for speed and capability, USS Cassin Young engaged in seven Pacific battles during WWII and survived two Kamikaze hits.  Built in 1943 in San Pedro California, she is one of 175 Fletcher-class destroyers built between March 1941 and February 1945. 

Assigned to the pacific, Cassin Young first engaged in combat in April 1944 attacking Japanese strongholds in the Caroline Islands.  For the remainder of the pacific war, Cassin Young would be in the forefront of the naval offensive against the Japanese before being decommissioned in 1946.

The Ship in Korea

With the outbreak of the Korean Conflict, USS Cassin Young was recommissioned on September 7th 1951 and initially served in the atlantic and mediterranean.  In 1954, as part of a round-the-world cruise, the ship carried out patrols in Korean waters.

From 1955 – 1959, USS Cassin Young performed duties in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean.  On April 29th 1960, USS Cassin Young was again decommissioned.

Want to Learn More!

Click below for a more comprehensive history provided by the National Park Service