Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War

United States Navy — Destroyer

USS Brush — service history

This is the full service history. For the vessel's particulars, photograph and specifications, see the entry.

In the words of the US Navy. The account below is reproduced verbatim from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command — a work of the United States Government, in the public domain, and the only text on this site not written here.

Before commissioning

Charles Francis Brush, a physicist, inventor, and manufacturer, was born in Euclid, Ohio, 17 March 1849. In 1878, after successful experimentation with electric lighting, he produced the electric arc light which bears his name. In 1880 he founded the Brush Electric Co., which became the owner of his numerous patents in the filed of electric lighting. He died at Cleveland, Ohio, 15 June 1929.

Second World War 1939–1945

1943

Brush (DD-745) was launched 28 December 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N. Y.; sponsored by Miss Virginia Perkins, great-granddaughter of Charles Brush; and commissioned 17 April 1944, Commander J. E. Edwards in command.

1944 Iwo Jima

USS Brush
USS Franklin (CV-13), at right, and USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) afire after being hit by Japanese "Kamikaze" suicide planes, while operating off the Philippines on 30 October 1944. Photographed from USS Brush (DD-745. Note "flak" bursts over the ships. Official U.S. Navy Photograph — Naval Historical Center — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons

On 30 August 1944 Brush arrived at Pearl Harbor and after training got underway for Eniwetok, Marshall Islands, 28 September. From Eniwetok she escorted convoys to Ulithi and the Palau Islands.

Serving with the 5th and 3d Fleets she took part in the Leyte operation (5 November-16 December 1944); Luzon-Formosa-China coast-Nansei Shoto strikes (3-22 January 1945); invasion of Iwo Jima and the supporting 5th Fleet raids (15 February-5 March), and Okinawa operation (17 March-27 April), including the 21 April bombardment of Minami Daito Shima. She retired to Ulithi, Caroline Islands, where she lay 30 April-10 May before joining the 5th Fleet for the projected invasion of Kyushu, Japan. Brush lay at anchor in Leyte Gulf from 13 June to 1 July 1945 and then departed for a raid on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. On 22 July Brush and other destroyers of her squadron conducted an anti-shipping sweep near the entrance of Tokyo Bay. She remained in this area on air-sea rescue duty until 14 September when she steamed into Tokyo Bay. On 24 September 1945 she left the Far East for the United States.

1945

USS Brush
USS Brush (DD-745) coming alongside USS Lexington (CV-16), January 25, 1945. Task Force 38 has attacked Cam Ranh Bay and Okinawa in January, and is heading back to Ulithi for rest. Tracy White — National Archives (College Park, Maryland), Photo #80-G-299871 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons

She arrived at Seattle, Wash., 15 October 1945 and operated along the west coast until early 1946 when she departed for Guam. She remained at Guam until 9 March and then steamed to Tsingtao, China, arriving on the 19th. With the exception of two voyages to the Philippine Islands, she operated in the East China Sea between Tsingtao and Shanghai until January 1947. Brush returned to Guam 18 January 1947 for repairs.

Post-war 1946–1949

1947

Repairs completed 16 February 1947, she sailed to San Diego, via Saipan, Kwajalein, and Pearl Harbor, arriving 24 March. Until May 1950 Brush remained on the west coast participating in local operations, plane guard duties, and type training. In May 1950 she was ordered to the Far East and entered Formosan waters as a unit of TF 77 on 29 June 1950. She screened the carrier units during the United Nations air strikes against North Korea and participated in shore bombardment. On 26 September 1950 while shelling the shore off Tanchon, Korea, Brush struck a mine, ripping her midships section and breaking her keel. Thirteen men were killed and 31 injured. Brush received temporary repairs at Japan and returned under her own power to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, arriving 22 December 1950.

Korean War period 1950–1953

1951

Almost a year later Brush departed on her second Korean cruise. She stopped at Pearl Harbor for the month of December 1951 and then joined TF 77 for anti-submarine and anti-aircraft duties off Korea. On 20 December the destroyer joined battleship Wisconsin (BB-64) for shore bombardment operations near Wonsan. In March Brush was assigned to the Formosan patrol and then participated in hunter-killer exercises off Okinawa. She returned to Japan 12 April and joined the blockade of Korea's west coast with TF's 95 and 77. She returned to San Diego 26 June 1952.

1953

Brush operated off the California coast until February 1953 when she commenced her third Korean cruise. During gunline operations in May, the destroyer was struck by one enemy shell, injuring nine men in the forward 5-inch gun mount. In July, Brush conducted a short Formosa patrol to the Pescadores Islands before returning to Korea for bombardment operations with battleship New Jersey (BB-62). She returned to the United States 30 August.

Brush conducted seven more Western Pacific deployments over the next decade (4 May - 5 Dec 54; 30 Jun 55 - 15 Feb 56; 31 Aug 57 - 1 Mar 58; 25 Oct 58 - 22 Apr 59; 1 Jan - 28 Jul 60; 29 Jul 61 - 9 Mar 62; 13 Mar - 1 Oct 64), each involving carrier escort, ASW exercises and the occassional Formosa patrol. During the last 1964 deployment, Brush cruised in the Gulf of Tonkin as American intervention in Vietnam escalated.

Over the next five years, Brush conducted three Vietnam deployments (20 Nov 65 - 13 May 66; 8 Apr - 6 Oct 67; 20 Aug 68 - 4 Mar 69), each marked by intensive patrol and gunnery operations in the South China Sea.

Vietnam War period 1964–1975

1969

Brush decommissioned at San Francisco on 27 October 1969 and transferred to the Republic of Taiwan on 9 December 1969. The destroyer served in the Taiwanese Navy as Hsiang Yang (D 986, then D 901) until scrapped in 1993.

Brush received five battle stars for World War II service, four battle stars for her Korean operations and seven battle stars for Vietnam service.

Other photographs

Held for this vessel, and not tied to any part of the account above.

USS Brush
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Brush (DD-745) underway in the 1960s, after being fitted with Mk 32 anti-submarine torpedo tubes. Unknown author — U.S. Navy photo NH 91905 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Brush
ROCS Hsiang Yang (DD-1) ROCN (Republic of China Navy) — https://www.facebook.com/ROCNAVY.tw/photos/a.280029418842120/1880950068750039/?type=3 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Brush
330-PS-844 (USN 707992): U.S. Navy’s First Arlington Burial of Korean Casualty. A bugler blows taps at the first funeral in Arlington National Cemetery for a Navy combat victim of the Korean action, Chief Fire Controlman William Duffy Morris, USN. Morris was born in November 1907. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in May 1927 and had continuously served until his death. He was killed on September 26, 1 National Museum of the U.S. Navy — 330-PS-844 (USN 707992) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Brush
USS Brush (DD-745) insignia Unknown author — https://www.navsource.net/archives/05/745.htm — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Brush
"DD-745 and the USS Valley Forge are fueled off each side of the AO- 36 USS Kennebec." From the Warren Smith Collection (COLL/5713) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH USMC Archives from Quantico, USA — USS Brush and USS Valley Forge Receives Fuel, circa 1964 — CC BY 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons
USS Brush
From the Warren Smith Collection (COLL/5713) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH USMC Archives from Quantico, USA — USS Brush Comes Alongside for Fuel, circa 1964 — CC BY 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons
USS Brush
From the Warren Smith Collection (COLL/5713) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH USMC Archives from Quantico, USA — USS Brush Comes Alongside for Fuel, circa 1964 — CC BY 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons
USS Brush
Ships of the U.S. Navy Task Force 77 underway in the South China Sea, circa in 1966. The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) is visible in the background. In the center are the destroyers USS Edson (DD-946) and USS Brush (DD-745) and a Charles F. Adams -class guided missile destroyer. The photo was taken from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19). The tail of a Douglas A-4E Skyhawk (BuNo U.S. Navy — U.S. Navy photo [1] from the USS Hancock (CVA-19) 1965-1966 cruise book available at Navysite.de — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Brush
The U.S. Navy destroyer tender USS Piedmont (AD-17), with destroyers alongside at Yokosuka, Japan. The photo was taken before any of the destroyers entered the FRAM moderization program. Ships moored at the pier are (l-r): USS Walker (DD-517), USS Taylor (DD-468), USS O'Bannon (DD-450), USS James E. Kyes (DD-787), USS McMorris (DE-1036), USS George K. MacKenzie (DD-836) and USS Rupertus (DD-851). U.S. Navy — U.S. Navy All Hands magazine April 1963 , pp. 35 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Brush
"You could watch the USS Kennebec get higher in the water as it pumps oil into both the USS Valley Forge and USS Brush." From the Warren Smith Collection (COLL/5713) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH USMC Archives from Quantico, USA — USS Valley Forge and USS Brush get Supplied, circa 1964 — CC BY 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons

References

Every work this entry draws on. There are no numbered markers in the text above: what we hold is the provenance of the page — this history, this article, these photographs.

  1. History Brush (DD-745) Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command. A work of the United States Government, in the public domain — the only text on this site reproduced verbatim.
  2. Facts USS Brush Structured facts only — dates, dimensions, armament and fate. No wording is taken from it. Harvested 1 August 2026.
  3. Photograph USS Brush (DD-745) underway on 22 May 1944 (80-G-237963) U.S. Navy — Official U.S. Navy photo 80-G-237963 available at Destroyerhistory.org — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  4. Photograph USS Lexington CV-16 heading Ulithi, January 25, 1945 Tracy White — National Archives (College Park, Maryland), Photo #80-G-299871 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  5. Photograph USS Brush (DD-745) underway at sea in the 1960s (NH 91905) Unknown author — U.S. Navy photo NH 91905 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  6. Photograph ROCS Hsiang Yang (DD-1) ROCN (Republic of China Navy) — https://www.facebook.com/ROCNAVY.tw/photos/a.280029418842120/1880950068750039/?type=3 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  7. Photograph 330-PS-844 (USN 707992) (19554344861) National Museum of the U.S. Navy — 330-PS-844 (USN 707992) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  8. Photograph USS Brush (DD-745) insignia Unknown author — https://www.navsource.net/archives/05/745.htm — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  9. Photograph USS Brush and USS Valley Forge Receives Fuel, circa 1964 (49277978943) USMC Archives from Quantico, USA — USS Brush and USS Valley Forge Receives Fuel, circa 1964 — CC BY 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons
  10. Photograph USS Brush Comes Alongside for Fuel, circa 1964 (49277979023) USMC Archives from Quantico, USA — USS Brush Comes Alongside for Fuel, circa 1964 — CC BY 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons
  11. Photograph USS Brush Comes Alongside for Fuel, circa 1964 (49278451701) USMC Archives from Quantico, USA — USS Brush Comes Alongside for Fuel, circa 1964 — CC BY 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons
  12. Photograph USS Franklin (CV-13) and USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) afire 1944 Official U.S. Navy Photograph — Naval Historical Center — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  13. Photograph USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), USS Edson (DD-946) and USS Brush (DD-745) underway in the South China Sea, circa in 1966 U.S. Navy — U.S. Navy photo [1] from the USS Hancock (CVA-19) 1965-1966 cruise book available at Navysite.de — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  14. Photograph USS Piedmont (AD-17) with destroyers at Yokosuka c1960 U.S. Navy — U.S. Navy All Hands magazine April 1963 , pp. 35 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  15. Photograph USS Valley Forge and USS Brush get Supplied, circa 1964 (49277978858) USMC Archives from Quantico, USA — USS Valley Forge and USS Brush get Supplied, circa 1964 — CC BY 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons