Walke, Found
USS Walke (DD-416) photographed soon after completion, circa 1940—official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command. Catalog #: NH 97912
The EV Nautilus has dived on the wreck of the second USS Walke (DD-416).
A Sims-class destroyer, DD-416, was laid down on 31 May 1938 at the Boston Navy Yard; launched on 20 October 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Dillon, grand-niece of the late RADM Henry A. Walke of Civil War fame; and was commissioned on 27 April 1940.
After tense service on the Caribbean Patrol keeping an eye on the Germans and Vichy French, followed by service in Icelandic waters in 1941, she was transferred to the Pacific post-Pearl Harbor. She was a plane guard and escort for USS Yorktown for several months before being detached with a damaged reduction gear that sent her home for repair.
USS Walke (DD-416) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 24 August 1942. Note her camouflage. NH 97911
Patched up, she was off Guadalcanal during its worst early phases and was lost in the great sea clash in those waters on 14/15 November 1942. She went down with at least 82 men, including her skipper, CDR Thomas E. Fraser (USNA ’24), whose family was presented a posthumous Navy Cross. A Smith-class destroyer minelayer was later sponsored by his widow.
Thank you so much for this. Here’s a link, from a website compiled by high school student Emily Pan, about Walke sailor Felix Estibal (“Mess Steward,” rather than “servant”) who wrote one of the most delightful letters home ever. I found the letter while researching a book on local World War II history. Two hour later I found the brief article noting his death in action. It was like a blow to the stomach.
https://www.centralcoastasianhistory.org/post/a-letter-from-filipino-sailor-felix-estibal