Reeves was named in honor of
Chief Petty Officer Thomas J. Reeves (1895–1941), who was killed in action, while serving aboard the
battleship during the
attack on Pearl Harbor. For his distinguished conduct to bring ammunition to
anti-aircraft guns, he was posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor. The ship was laid down by the
Norfolk Navy Yard,
Portsmouth, Virginia, on 7 February 1943; launched on 23 April 1943; sponsored by Miss Mary Anne Reeves, niece of Chief Radioman Reeves; and commissioned on 9 June 1943. Following shakedown,
Reeves returned to
Norfolk and on 16 August got underway on her first transatlantic escort run, a slow
convoy to
Casablanca. Arriving at New York six weeks later, she underwent availability and further training, at
Casco Bay, then returned to escort duty and for the next 12 months shepherded fast
tanker convoys between New York and the
United Kingdom. On 18 March 1944, after SS
Seakay had been sunk,
Reeves rescued 83 of the merchantman's 84-man crew. For heroism during that rescue, one of the escort's
coxswains, E. E. Angus, was awarded the
Navy and Marine Corps Medal. The following day,
Reeves took in tow after she had been
torpedoed, stood by until relieved by tugs, then continued on carrying the damaged escort's more seriously wounded men. Through
D-Day and the summer of 1944,
Reeves continued to escort fast convoys. On 23 September she completed her last
Atlantic escort mission and entered the
Philadelphia Navy Yard for conversion to a
Charles Lawrence-class
high speed transport. Redesignated
APD-52 on 25 September,
Reeves emerged from the shipyard on 23 December and after
amphibious training, headed for the
Panama Canal and duty in the
Pacific. Arriving at
Ulithi on 26 February 1945, she continued on to the
Philippines in early March to rehearse for
Operation Iceberg, the invasion of the
Ryukyus. On 26 March
Reeves arrived off the
Kerama Retto invasion area and, after initial duties as a standby ship for
Underwater Demolition Team operations, shifted to
anti-submarine and
anti-aircraft screening duties. She served on that harrowing duty for 109 days interrupted only for a fast convoy to Ulithi and a brief availability in the Philippines. Detached 18 August, the APD delivered men, mail, and provisions to ships of the fleet, then sailed north to
Japan. There, into October, she assisted in the repatriation of former
POWs, including Maj.'Pappy' Boyington. Then supported the United States
Strategic Bombing Survey mission assigned to the
Nagasaki area. She was the first American ship to drop anchor in Japanese waters (off
Tokyo) before the surrender.
Reeves departed for the
United States on 26 November and, after stops in the
Volcano,
Marshall, and
Hawaiian Islands, arrived at
San Diego on 23 December. Three days later she continued on, and, on 10 January 1946, she arrived at
Boston to begin inactivation. Assigned to the Florida Group,
Atlantic Reserve Fleet, she decommissioned on 30 July at
Green Cove Springs, Florida where she remained until struck from the
Navy List on 1 June 1960 and transferred to the Government of
Ecuador for use as an electric generator plant. ==Awards==