Dickerson operated along the east coast and in the
Caribbean and in 1921 took part in the combined fleet maneuvers off
South America, visiting
Valparaíso,
Callao, and
Balboa, Panama, before returning to
Hampton Roads where the
U.S. Atlantic Fleet was reviewed by President
Warren G. Harding. Entering
New York Navy Yard in November 1921,
Dickerson was decommissioned there 25 June 1922. Recommissioned 1 May 1930,
Dickerson resumed operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean, engaging in tactical exercises with carriers, torpedo firing, and maneuvers with the Fleet. In 1932 and again in 1933–34, she transited the
Panama Canal for combined fleet maneuvers on the west coast. Upon her return from the latter cruise, she took part in the
Presidential Fleet Review on 31 May 1934 at
Brooklyn, New York, then entered
Norfolk Navy Yard in August where she was assigned to
Rotating Reserve Squadron 19 for overhaul. In 1935, she was attached to the
Training Squadron and served as training ship for members of the
Naval Reserve, operating between Charleston and
Florida and the Caribbean. Assigned to
Destroyer Squadron 10,
Atlantic Squadron, in 1938,
Dickerson acted as plane guard for operating off
Norfolk, then took part in the fleet landing exercises in the Caribbean in the spring of 1939. She sailed from Norfolk late that summer to join
Squadron 40-T at
Lisbon, Portugal. During the year spent in
European waters, she visited
Spanish ports; aided in the evacuation of refugees from
Casablanca; and executed special mission for the
State Department. She returned to Norfolk 25 July 1940.
World War II Dickerson was assigned to the
Neutrality Patrol at
Key West and except for brief duty at
New London with Submarine Squadron 2 in October 1940, remained on patrol in the Caribbean until October 1941. During this time she searched for and recovered six survivors of in September. After American entry into the war she was sent to
Naval Station Argentia,
Newfoundland, where she continued to patrol and escorted one convoy to
Iceland and return (December 1941 – January 1942). By March 1942,
Dickerson was back at Norfolk for coastal patrol and escort duty alongside
USCGC Dione. On 19 March, while returning to Norfolk, she sighted an unidentified ship which fired on the destroyer and badly damaged the charthouse. Four of
Dickersons crew was killed, including her commanding officer. The attacking ship was identified as a nervous merchantman, , and
Dickerson continued on to Norfolk for repairs. She returned to duty in April and escorted convoys between Norfolk and Key West until August; between Key West and New York until October; and between New York and
Cuba until January 1943. In the first half of 1943,
Dickerson operated in the Caribbean and escorted tanker convoys to
Gibraltar and
Algiers. She joined the hunter-killer group at Casablanca in June for offensive operations in the middle Atlantic. Between 17 July and 13 August, she sailed to
Derry,
Northern Ireland, for exercises with
British Fleet units, returning to Charleston, S.C., for conversion to a high-speed transport.
Convoys escorted As a high-speed transport Dickerson was reclassified
APD-21 on 21 August 1943. She sailed from Norfolk 1 November 1943 for the
Pacific. She escorted convoys from
Espiritu Santo to
Guadalcanal, and then remained in the
Solomons on patrol and local escort duty. On 30 January 1944, she landed a reconnaissance group of
New Zealanders on
Green Island, reembarking them shortly after midnight of 1 February after the boats were strafed by enemy airplanes. On the 15th and 20th, she landed troops on the island to capture and occupy it, and on 20 March
landed marines on Emirau Island without opposition. In April 1944,
Dickerson arrived at
Milne Bay, and during her 2 months in the
New Guinea area, supported the landings at
Seleo Island and
Aitape. After a brief repair period at
Pearl Harbor, she arrived at
Roi in the
Marshalls to embark an underwater demolition team from and carried them into action at
Saipan and
Guam. She remained in the
Marianas as supply, control and fire support ship for her team until the end of July, then returned to the west coast for overhaul the following month.
Fate Dickerson returned to action in November 1944 with her arrival at
Aitape,
New Guinea. After escort duty in New Guinea, she sailed 27 December for the invasion of
Lingayen Gulf,
Luzon, on 9 January 1945, again supporting the operations of an underwater demolition team. She reported to
Ulithi at the end of January for repairs, and then joined the screen of a logistics support force for the invasion of
Iwo Jima 19 February. She returned to
Leyte with 58 prisoners of war, then departed again 24 March with an LST-LSM convoy which was assigned to capture the island of
Keise Shima, on which heavy artillery would be placed for the bombardment of
Okinawa. Her mission complete,
Dickerson was with the transports southwest of Okinawa on the night of 2 April, when the
Japanese attacked in strength. One of the
kamikaze planes approached the destroyer in a long, low glide, and slashed off the tops of her two stacks before smashing into the base of her bridge, toppling her mast and starting intense gasoline fires. Almost simultaneously another plane scored a direct hit on the center of her forecastle. The explosion tore a hole in the deck almost the complete width of the ship. Despite immediate fire and damage control measures,
Dickersons crew was forced to abandon ship when the raging fires threatened her forward magazine. Fifty-four officers and men, including the commanding officer, were lost. and stood by to rescue survivors, and
Bunch succeeded in putting out the fires which had virtually demolished
Dickerson. The smoldering hulk was towed by to a captured Japanese Base,
Kerama Retto, the dead and salvageable material were removed, then it was towed out to sea and sunk on 4 April 1945. ==Awards==