Stuff You Should Know
USS Riley was a Rudderow-class destroyer escort laid down on October 20, 1943 and launched on December 29, the same year. It was commissioned on March 13, 1944 under Lt. Cmdr. H. D. Johnson’s command as DE-579 and served in the US Navy for 3 years until it was decommissioned on January 15, 1947. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 186 people on board and had the main missions in Norfolk, Hingham, New Guinea, Hollandia, Korea, Lingayen, Okinawa or China. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on June 29, 1948 and sold to Taiwan where it was renamed ROCS Tai Yuan DE-27. For the services brought to the country during the World War II, USS Riley received 2 battle stars.