Dennis was named after Radioman Third Class Otis Lee Dennis was born in Scottsville, Allen County, Kentucky on 25 March 1913. He was killed in action 1 February 1942 with Carleton Thayer Fogg (namesake of ) when their
Douglas SBD Dauntless was lost during an attack launched by on
Roi-Namur,
Kwajalein. It was one of the first offensive operations following
Pearl Harbor.
Dennis was
launched on 4 December 1943 by
Brown Shipbuilding, in
Houston,
Texas; sponsored by Mrs. J. L. Dennis, mother of the late Radioman Third Class Dennis; and
commissioned on 20 March 1944.
Dennis differed from most ships in her class in that she had a quadruple mount and a twin mount of
Bofors guns instead of two twin mounts. This represented a 50% increase in medium anti-aircraft guns.
Pacific War Dennis arrived at
Pearl Harbor on 19 June 1944 to escort a
convoy to
Eniwetok and
Kwajalein. She returned to Eniwetok on 29 July screening the
light carrier . Joining the
5th Fleet, she escorted
Carrier Division 22 to
Manus for exercises, then sortied with
Task Force 77 on 10 September to supply air support for the landings on
Morotai Island from 15 to 27 September. From 12 October,
Dennis screened the
escort carriers supplying the air cover for the invasion of
Leyte. On 25 October, she joined her carriers in making history as they fought a gallant action with the Japanese counter-attacking force in the
Battle off Samar phase of the
Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Dennis was positioned alone as the final destroyer escort between the screen of
destroyers and destroyers escorts and the escort carriers being shielded.
Dennis was credited with torpedoing and sinking a Japanese
heavy cruiser in that action.
Dennis rescued 434 survivors from the escort carrier , which had been sunk by a
kamikaze. For this action, she shared in the
Presidential Unit Citation awarded to TU 77.4.3, "Taffy 3". Arriving at
Kossol Roads,
Palaus on 28 October, she sailed three days later for the west coast, arriving at
San Francisco,
California on 26 November for an overhaul. Returning to the forward area
Dennis departed
Guam on 16 February 1945 for the invasion of
Iwo Jima, patrolling off the island until 8 March, when she sailed to escort a convoy to
Ulithi. On 21 March, she proceeded to join a carrier group launching air strikes in preparation for the invasion of
Okinawa. She remained with the carriers as they gave close support to the invasion forces ashore. On 4 May, she rescued 88 of the crew of the escort carrier , a
kamikaze victim. She served on
radar picket duty at Ulithi from 9 May-3 June, then returned to Okinawa to join the
Third Fleet for strikes against the Japanese mainland until 26 June. From 30 June 1945 until the end of the war,
Dennis escorted convoys among Ulithi, Okinawa, the
Philippines, and
New Guinea. After the war, she escorted
landing craft to Okinawa, then departed
Leyte Gulf on 14 October for the west coast, arriving at
San Diego, California on 6 November. She was placed out of commission in reserve there on 31 May 1946. ==Honors==