Stuff You Should Know
USS Formoe was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort laid down on January 3, 1944 and launched on April 2, the same year. It was commissioned on October 5, 1944 under Lt. Cmdr. J. C. Spencer’s command as DE-509 and served in the US Navy for 10 years until it was decommissioned on February 7, 1957. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 215 people on board and had the main missions in Manus, San Diego, Lingayen, Morotai, Panay, Tarakan, Leyte, Ulithi, Hollandia, Okinawa or Newport. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on October 1, 1968 and sold to Portugal where it was renamed NRP Diogo-Cao F-333. For the services brought to the country during the World War II, USS Formoe received 2 battle stars.