RAYMON W HERNDON APD 121

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Rudderow Class Destroyer Escort Keel Laid 12 June 1944 Launched 15 July 1944 as Destroyer Escort DE-688 Reclassified High-speed Transport (APD) 17 July 1944 USS RAYMON W. HERNDON APD-121 Commissioned 3 November 1944 - Decommissioned 15 November 1946 Struck from Naval Register 1 September 1966 ROCS HENG SHAN (Taiwanese Naval Service) Transferred to the Republic of China October 1966 and renamed ROCS HENG SHAN PF-39 (Taiwanese Naval Service) Reclassifed (Date unknown) Scrapped 1976

 

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

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1. USS Raymon W. Herndon APD-121 Covers Page 1     (DATE RANGE)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

USPO Machine Cancel Quincy MA

1944-07-15

N/A

Launching.

 

Locy Type SLP2ts (68x2)

1946-06-06

Note:

 

Other Information

USS RAYMON W. HERNDON earned the China Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (w/ 1 Battle star), the World War II Victory Medal and the Navy Occupation Service Medal (w/ Asia clasp) during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - PFC Raymon W. Herndon, USMC (1 November 1918 - 14 September 1942)
Herndon reported for active duty with the United States Marine Corps on 29 April 1942 at New River, North Carolina. During World War II, Private First Class Herndon was serving with the 1st Marine Division during action against Japanese forces on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands on 14 September 1942. While engaged in a hazardous reconnaissance patrol on the southern slope of a hill, Herndon was mortally wounded. With the Japanese advancing rapidly on his position, and realizing that he had no chance to survive, he asked that he be left with a weapon to cover the withdrawal of his patrol to the top of the hill. Private First Class Herndon was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for "extraordinary heroism and outstanding courage...His brave and loyal fighting spirit above the call of duty, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave up his life in the service of his country."

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Raymon W. Herndon, widow of Pfc. Herndon.

 

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