Destroyer Squadron 1

Destroyer Squadron One was present during the Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.[9] DESRON-1 destroyers served as part of Task Force 11 in the aborted relief efforts for Wake Island and Rabaul, as well as seeing action during the Battle of Coral Sea.[2][3][10] DESRON-1 destroyers subsequently saw further action during the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons as part of Task Force 16.[2][3][11][12] DESRON-1 destroyers subsequently provided shore bombardment as Fire-Support Group Love and anti-submarine/anti-aircraft support as Air Support Group 1 to the initial phase of the Guadalcanal campaign, and Destroyer Squadron One saw action during the Battle of the Komandorski Islands, the invasion of Attu, and the invasion of Kiska during the Aleutian Islands campaign.[2][3][13] In September 1943, the squadron returned to the West Coast for overhaul.[3]

With Guadalcanal and the Aleutians secured, the U.S. Navy began its Central Pacific offensive with the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign undertaken between November 1943 and February 1944. DESRON-1 destroyers Farragut, Monaghan, and Aylwin screened the escort carrier task group during the invasion of Tarawa while Dewey and Hull screened the shore bombardment task group during the assault on Makin Island. Phelps and Macdonough served as control ships for the assault craft. Subsequently, DESRON-1 destroyers Farragut, Dale, and Monaghan screened the escort carrier force while Macdonough and Aylwin escorted the amphibious transport force during the landings on Kwajalein. Also, Dewey and Hull provided support to the amphibious reserve force, and Phelps supported mine-sweeping operations and Marine landings on Roi-Namur. Macdonough, Monaghan, and Aylwin provided shore bombardment support to the amphibious landings on Parry Island.[3][14]

Following the conclusion of the Gilbert and Marshall campaign, DESRON-1 destroyers screened Task Group 58.1 during carrier air strikes against Palau, Yap, Ulithi, Woleai, Truk, Satawan, and Ponape. DESRON-1 destroyers also provided naval gunfire support to the Hollandia invasion which initiated the Western New Guinea campaign.[3]

The next objective of the Central Pacific offensive was the Mariana Islands campaign that occurred between June and November 1944. DESRON-1 destroyers screened Task Group 58.1 during this operation, while also carrying out individual ship assignments during the invasion. Dewey, Hull, and Macdonough supported minesweeping and underwater demolition pre-invasion operations at Saipan while Farragut, Dale, Monaghan, and Aylwin carried out patrol and shore bombardment duties. Later, Task Group 58.1 and Destroyer Squadron One saw combat action during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.[3][15]

In December 1944, while operating in support the Philippines Campaign, Task Force 38 was hit by a powerful typhoon, and DESRON-1 destroyers Monaghan and Hull were lost. In February 1945, DESRON-1 destroyers Dewey, Farragut, Dale, and Aylwin screened the fleet logistic force supporting the invasion of Iwo Jima.[3][16] On 1 March 1945, Destroyer Squadron One was re-designated as Destroyer Division 10 of Destroyer Squadron 5, and in this capacity, it participated in the invasion of Okinawa in April.[2][3][17]

DESRON 1's original nine destroyers earned a combined total 103 service stars during the Asiatic-Pacific campaign, with 97 while attached to Destroyer Squadron 1.[3]

Destroyer Squadron One subsequently participated in the Korean War and the Taiwan Strait Patrols. Destroyer Squadron One was re-designated as Reserve Destroyer Squadron 27 (ResDesRon 27), established on January 13, 1958, which was subsequently re-designated Destroyer Squadron 27 (DesRon 27) in 1970 and Surface Squadron 1 (SS-1) in 1980 before being returned to its original designation of Destroyer Squadron One in October 1993.[2][3]

Commander, Destroyer Squadron One (COMDESRON 1) was assigned as the Task Group Commander of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) WESTPAC deployments to Southeast Asia from 2002-2007. CARAT is a rolling series of bilateral exercises conducted with the navies of the Republic of the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. The primary mission of these deployments is to enhance cooperative engagement and naval interoperability with the participating Southeast Asian countries.[2]

On 10 January 2011, two DESRON-1 guided-missile destroyers, Stockdale and Gridley, and their embarked detachments from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 49 (HSL-49) participated in a Passing Exercise (PASSEX) with the JMSDF helicopter destroyer Kurama in the Sea of Japan. Later in the same day, Stockdale and Gridley participated in separate PASSEX maneuvers with units of the Republic of Korea Navy.[18] On 23 April 2011, the news media reported that the squadron's commodore, Captain Donald Hornbeck, was relieved of command by Carl Vinson strike group commander Rear Admiral Samuel Perez during an investigation into a possible improper relationship. At the time, the squadron was on a deployment to the Arabian Sea.[19][20]