The third ship named USS Aaron Ward (DD-773/DM-34) in honor of Rear Admiral Aaron Ward was a destroyer minelayer in the service of the United States Navy.
She was laid down as an (DD-773) on 12 December 1943 at San Pedro, California by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding and launched on 5 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. G. H. Ratliff. The ship was redesignated a destroyer minelayer, DM-34, on 19 July 1944, and commissioned on 28 October 1944.
Service history
Between commissioning and the end of January 1945, Aaron Ward completed fitting out and conducted her shakedown cruise off the California coast. On 9 February, she departed San Pedro, bound for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 15 February. The warship conducted additional training in Hawaiian waters, before loading supplies and ammunition and getting underway on 5 March to join the 5th Fleet at Ulithi. She entered the lagoon of that atoll in the Western Carolines on 16 March, but put to sea again on 19 March with Task Force 52, bound for the Ryūkyū Islands.
The Mine Flotilla, of which Aaron Ward was a unit, arrived off Okinawa late on 22 March. The first enemy air raid occurred on 26 March, and knocked the intruder out of the sky.
Aaron Ward supported minesweeping operations around Kerama Retto and Okinawa until the first landings. During that period, she accounted for three enemy aircraft. On 1 April, the day of the initial assault on Okinawa, the destroyer minelayer began screening the heavy warships providing gunfire support for the troops ashore. That duty lasted until 4 April, when she headed for the Marianas. She arrived at Saipan on 10 April, but sailed to Guam later that day. After several days of minor repairs, Aaron Ward headed back to Okinawa to patrol in the area around Kerama Retto. During that patrol period, she came under frequent air attack. On 27 April, she shot down one enemy plane, and the next day accounted for one more and also claimed a probable kill. Then she returned to Kerama Retto to replenish her provisions and fuel. While she was there, a kamikaze scored a hit on . Aaron Ward moved alongside the stricken evacuation transport to help fight the inferno blazing amidships. She also rescued 12 survivors from Pinkney.
On 30 April, she returned to sea to take up position on radar picket station number 10. That night, she helped repel several air attacks; but, for the most part, weather kept enemy airpower away until the afternoon of 3 May. When the weather began to clear, the probability of air attacks rose. At about dusk, Aaron Wards radar picked up bogies at distance. Two of the planes in the formation broke away and began runs on Aaron Ward. The warship opened fire on the first from about and began scoring hits when he had closed range to . At that point, he dipped over into his suicide dive, but crashed about off the ship's starboard quarter. The second began his approach immediately thereafter. Aaron Ward opened fire at about and destroyed him while he was still away.
Awards
Aaron Ward earned one battle star and the Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service.