USS Smith (DD-378)

Joseph B. Smith was born in Belfast, Maine, in 1826 and was appointed midshipman in the United States Navy on 19 October 1841. He cruised on various stations from 1841 to 1860, when he was ordered to frigate, Congress. He was in command of Congress on 8 March 1861 when she was attacked and destroyed by the Confederate ironclad, Virginia, and lost his life in the action. When his father, Commodore Joseph Smith, heard of the surrender of Congress, he said, "Then Joe is dead," feeling that she never would have surrendered while his son lived.

The second Smith (DD-378) was laid down on 27 October 1934 by Mare Island Navy Yard, Mare Island, Calif.; launched on 20 February 1936; sponsored by Mrs. Yancey S. Williams; and commissioned on 19 September 1936, Comdr. H. L. Grosskopf in command.

At the outbreak of the war, Smith was in San Francisco attached to Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 5 and from then until April 1942, she performed escort duty from the west coast to Pearl Harbor. On 7 April, Smith was assigned to Task Force (TF) 1, composed of Battleship Division 3, which held extensive training exercises along the west coast until it departed for Pearl Harbor on 1 June. Upon her arrival, Smith was assigned to TF 17 commanded by Vice Admiral MarcMitscher. She engaged in war patrols and training exercises for a month and then escorted a convoy back to San Francisco. After overhaul and subsequent sea trials in the Bay Area, she returned to Pearl Harbor in mid-August and began a period of training and upkeep. On 15 October, she was assigned to TF 16 composed of Enterprise (CV-6) and South Dakota (BB-57). TF 16 departed Pearl Harbor on war patrol, on 16 October, and was joined the following week by Portland (CA-33) and San Juan (CL-54) with their destroyer screen.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Smith II (DD-378)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.