Named for Lieutenant Paul Riley, a naval aviator who died during the Battle of Midway, the USS Riley (DE-579) was a Rudderow-class destroyer built by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard in Hingham, Massachusetts. She was commissioned on 13 March 1944.
Soon after a shakedown cruise off Bermuda, the Riley was assigned to Escort Division 67. The Riley departed for her first transatlantic escort mission on 23 June 1944 with convoy UGS 46. After fighting off a German air attack in the Mediterranean Sea on 12 July, she arrived in Bizerte, North Africa, the following day.
The Riley returned to the United States, where she conducted sonar tests off New London, Connecticut, during August 1944. On 30 August, the Riley escorted another Bizerte-bound convoy and, following the successful completion of the mission, returned to the East Coast on 17 October. Within two weeks, the Riley was at sea again, arriving in Bora-Bora on 25 November and continued, reaching Humboldt Bay on 11 December.
The Riley left for a round-trip escort mission to Leyte on 19 December, returning on 2 January 1945. The next day, the Riley got under way to escort the Lingayen Support Group from New Guinea to Luzon. Assigned to TG 78.9, she protected her vessels from kamikaze attacks on 12 January, and the next day delivered her herd to an area off the Lingayen Gulf invasion beaches.
After patrolling off Yellow and Orange Beaches, the Riley escorted a return convoy to Leyte. On 26 January she set sail, screening the "Mark VII" assault force, escorting it to the landing area in southern Zambales Province, Luzon. Relieved of this mission, the Riley patrolled off the beaches, taking part in the operation to seal off the Bataan Peninsula and prevent Japanese forces from escaping Manila.
The Riley returned to Leyte and conducted interisland escort runs until 20 March 1945. After a trip to the Admiralty Islands and Palau and further escort work in the Philippines and to New Guinea, the Riley departed Hollandia on 7 July with a convoy bound for Okinawa. She arrived on 23 July and set sail two days later for the Philippines. Following Japan's surrender, the Riley returned to Okinawa and escorted two convoys full of occupation troops to Jinsen, Korea.
On 5 November 1945, the Riley arrived at San Diego, where she was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was decommissioned on 15 January 1947. The Riley was transferred to the Republic of China on 10 July 1968 and was renamed RCS Tai Yuan. She continues her service today as a patrol vessel with the Taiwanese Navy.