Commissioned on 14 February 1944, the USS Monssen (DD-798) was destined for a life of action. She began rehearsals for the Marianas campaign in May 1944 and, arriving off Saipan on 15 June, she began her two-day fire support mission almost immediately, stopping only after her guns had assisted in breaking up a Japanese counterattack.
On 19 June 1944, the Monssen and other ships in Task Group 58.7 suffered heavy attacks from Japanese carrier aircraft. During the engagement, the Monssen destroyed two enemy aircraft and damaged a third. U.S. airplanes counterattacked on the night of 20 June, and the Monssen was among the warships that pursued the retreating enemy naval forces. Returning to Saipan the following day, she resumed her screening duties.
In October, she set out for offensive operations in Leyte Gulf. After delivering attacks on the beach, she joined Destroyer Squadron 54, screening Surigao Strait. On 25 October, an enemy surface group attempted to force its way into Leyte Gulf. In the ensuing action, the Monssen launched a torpedo attack against the Japanese attackers. Though one of the destroyer’s torpedoes scored a hit against the battleship Yamashiro, the immense vessel kept coming and the Monssen sailed north toward safety while larger U.S. forces successfully engaged the enemy.
In January 1945, the now veteran destroyer engaged several Japanese kamikazes off Lingayen Gulf. The Monssen provided fire support to the Americans fighting on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Throughout much of the remainder of the war, the Monssen bombarded the Japanese home islands. After the Japanese surrender, she sailed to Pearl Harbor and and was decommissioned on 30 April 1946.
Recommissioned on 31 October 1951, the Monssen was a replacement destroyer, filling in for Second Fleet warships deployed to support the Korean War effort.
The Monssen was decommissioned in September 1957 and sold for scrap in October 1963.
USS Monssen (DD-798)
By Eric Wertheim
—Eric Wertheim