USS Heyliger

History
United States
Laid down	27 April 1944
Launched	6 August 1944
Commissioned	24 March 1945
Decommissioned	20 June 1946
In service	28 March 1951
Out of service	2 January 1958
Stricken	1 May 1966
Fate	Sunk as target in 1969
General characteristics
Displacement	1,350 long tons (1,372 t)
Length	306 ft (93 m) (oa)
Beam	36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
Draught	13 ft 4 in (4.06 m) (max)
Propulsion	2 boilers, 2 geared steam turbines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws
Speed	24 knots
Range	6,000 nm @ 12 knots
Complement	14 officers, 201 enlisted
Armament	2-5 in (130 mm), 4 (2×2) 40 mmAA, 10-20 mm AA, 3-21 inch (533 mm) TT, 1 Hedgehog, 8 DCT's, 2 DC tracks

USS Heyliger (DE-510) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket.

Heyliger (DE-510) was named in honor of George Heyliger who was awarded the Navy Cross for his brave actions during an overwhelming attack by the enemy during the Guadalcanal Campaign.

George Heyliger was born 8 May 1919 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of George Heyliger, Sr. and Augusta Weissent. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on 3 February 1942. Private First Class Heyliger was serving with the 1st Marine Division during the Guadalcanal Campaign.

On 9 October 1942, his platoon's position was attacked by approximately 150 Japanese. The fighting swiftly changed from automatic weapons to bayonets and then hand-to-hand combat. He refused to be dislodged from his position by the enemy and was killed at his post. For his actions he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

She was launched 6 August 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. Augusta Foss, mother of Private First Class Heyliger; and commissioned at New York 24 March 1945.

After shakedown in the Caribbean, Heyliger sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, for the Pacific Ocean 25 May, reaching Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal and San Diego, California, 19 June. The new destroyer-escort spent 6 weeks at Pearl for various training exercises and then departed for Guam 14 August, the day before Japan agreed to unconditional surrender.

Heyliger reached Guam 30 August and then continued on to Rota Island in the Marianas, where. Colonel H. H. Stent, USMC, accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison 2 September. From 19 September to 21 October Heyliger searched through the Carolines to find Allied survivors and Japanese soldiers, as well as examining conditions in the islands. After a stint of patrol and air-sea rescue operations, Heyliger returned to the States 22 January 1946 and decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Florida, 20 June.

Heyliger recommissioned at Green Cove Springs 28 March 1951 and reported to her new home port, Brooklyn, New York. From there she participated in tactical exercises and fleet maneuvers along the American coast and in Caribbean waters. Antisubmarine warfare, her main mission, took Heyliger to European waters 13 June-10 July 1953 and again 17 June-15 July 1955. During my time as the Disbursing Clerk on Heyliger, her duty was to provide opportunity for Navy reservists to perform their required active duty for training in a sea-going environment. She went out-bound for 2 weeks, spent a week-end visiting a port (often Caribbean, sometimes Canada) and returned to Brooklyn the next week. The crew was 5 officers and about 100 enlisted with anywhere from 20 to 40 or so reservists along on the cruise. The June–July cruise permitted reservists the opportunity to meet their requirements for two fiscal years with one cruise. There was also a 6-week refresher training cruise operating mostly out of Guantanamo Bay for just the regular crew. There were five other DEs doing the same thing out of Brooklyn including Osberg, Kyne and Allen. More of the same operations were carried out from other ports.

She decommissioned and was placed in reserve at Bayonne, New Jersey, 2 January 1958 and later transferred to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Heyliger was struck from the Navy List 1 May 1966 and sunk as a target in 1969 by the Atlantic Fleet.

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive – USS Heyliger (DE-510)