Launched on 19 December 1943, the Fletcher (DD-445)-class destroyer USS Van Valkenburgh (DD-656) was commissioned on 2 August 1944. On 27 October 1944, she transited the Panama Canal and arrived at Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945.
Operating off Iwo Jima, the Van Valkenburgh took part in bombardment operations as well as screening and escorting friendly ships in the war zone. On 27 March 1945, she sailed for Okinawa where she was part of a feint landing on the southwest coast of the island. The landing, however, was not unopposed, and when the LST-844 was damaged in a Kamikaze attack, the Van Valkenburgh successfully assisted with fire fighting efforts, saving the LST-844. Continuing to operate around the island, the Van Valkenburgh and other vessels in the area put up a spirited antiaircraft defense against attacking enemy suicide planes. Despite their best efforts, however, some vessels were hit, and the Van Valkenburgh assisted the victims of these attacks, the LCS-15 and the destroyers USS Daly (DD-519), USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779), and USS Shubrick (DD-639), which were all hit in separate but deadly incidents.
Following the Japanese surrender, she sailed into Nagasaki harbor, staying in Japanese waters for six weeks before departing for Charleston, South Carolina. The Van Valkenburgh was decommissioned on 12 April 1946, but another Asian war soon called her back into service.
On 8 March 1951, the destroyer was recommissioned to take part in action off Korea, arriving in Japan on 17 June. She joined Task Force 77 and screened fast carriers as they attacked North Korean forces ashore. She later joined the "bomb line," shelling inshore enemy positions with more than 2,400 rounds.
The Van Valkenburgh was decommissioned on 26 February 1954. She was loaned to the Turkish Navy in 1967, and eventually sold to Turkey in 1974, to serve the remainder of her days as the Turkish destroyer Izmir (D-340).
—Eric Wertheim