USS Aaron Ward (DM-34)

The third Aaron Ward (DD-773) was laid down on 12 December 1943 at San Pedro, Calif., by the Bethlehem Steel Corp.; launched on 5 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. G. H. Ratliff; redesignated a light minelayer, DM-34, on 19 July 1944; and placed in commission on 28 October 1944, Cmdr. William H. Sanders, Jr., in command.

Between commissioning and the end of January 1945, Aaron Ward completed fitting out and conducted her shakedown cruise off the California coast. On 9 February, she departed San Pedro, bound for Pearl Harbor where she arrived on 15 February. The warship conducted additional training in Hawaiian waters before loading supplies and ammunition and getting underway on 5 March to join the Fifth Fleet at Ulithi. She entered the lagoon of that atoll in the Western Carolines on 16 March but put to sea again on the 19th with Task Force (TF) 52 bound for the Ryukyu Islands.

The Mine Flotilla, of which Aaron Ward was a unit, arrived off Okinawa late on the 22nd. The following day, the light minelayer got her first glimpse of the enemy when some of his planes approached the sweep group but did not attack. More came in later, but the combined gunfire of the group dissuaded them from approaching close enough to harm the American ships. The first actual air raid occurred on the 26th, and Adams (DM-27) knocked the intruder out of the sky.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Aaron Ward III (DM-34)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.