The last 1630-ton Gleaves- (Bristol-) class destroyer completed by Maine’s Bath Iron Works was also one of the first to enter Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender: USS Macomb
   Laid down 3 September 1940, she was built concurrently with Emmons; and at her launch 23 September 1941, she was named for cousins who attained flag rank in the US Navy during the Civil War. Commissioned 26 January 1942, she completed her shakedown and with Emmons and Federal-built sisters Ellyson, Hambleton and Rodman, was attached to Destroyer Division 19 of Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 10.
   Known as the “Mac” or the “Dipsy Doodle” by her crew, she operated mainly in the Atlantic, initially on the North Atlantic Patrol and in 1943 with the British Home Fleet from its base at Scapa Flow.
   In  and later in the Mediterranean Sea over the next two years

participated in the sinking of U-616 in the Mediterranean.

Unlike the remainder of the squadron, she did not go to Murmansk in ... or Normandy for the D-day invasion, but.

 DesRon 10 to the Mediterranean for the invasion of southern France.

Following shakedown, she operated off the east coast escorting convoys and aircraft carriers. These convoy missions took Macomb south to the northern coast of South America, east to the west African coast, and north to Newfoundland. Standing out of Boston on 5 July 1942, Macomb escorted a U.S. Army transport and an English ship to Greenock, Scotland, arriving 12 July. She operated between Scotland and Iceland, making one round-trip voyage to New York for availability, until 25 September 1942, when she anchored at Norfolk, Va. Departing Norfolk on 11 October, she screened aircraft carrier antisubmarine patrols in the Caribbean until heading for the North African coast 7 November. Arriving on the 11th, she acted as carrier screen during the landings at Casablanca and returned to Boston after the landings were secure.

   After overhaul at Boston, Macomb again operated as convoy escort along the east coast and in the Caribbean. Following a cruise which took her close to the coast of North Africa, the destroyer commenced operating out of Argentia, Newfoundland, on North Atlantic patrol. While on this patrol her convoy and antisubmarine duties took her to Iceland and England. During this early 1943 period, German submarines were extremely active, sinking many Allied ships with their “wolfpacks.”
   In August of 1943 Macomb returned from a tour of duty with the British Home Fleet and operated again off the Atlantic seaboard with only one break until mid-1944. On this one exception she made an uneventful cruise to the Azores; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Dakar, Senegal; and Bermuda before returning to Boston in late December 1943.
   On 20 April 1944 the destroyer got underway for the Mediterranean where she operated off the Algerian coast on antisubmarine duty. On 16 May, just before midnight, she commenced a 72-hour submarine chase that ended when U-616 was blasted to the surface by Macomb’s depth charges and then sunk by her guns. In mid-August 1944 she took part in the invasion of southern France, returning to antisubmarine patrol afterward.

   Converted at Charleston as fast minesweeper DMS 23 in November–December 1944, Macomb, with her squadron, then was sent to the Pacific as part of Mine Squadron 20 for the invasion of Okinawa. Joining TG 52.2 and steamed toward Okinawa. They were the first task group to enter Okinawan waters and remained until after the completion of the operations.
   Macomb shot down many enemy planes, including three on 27 April. At Radar Picket Station No. 9 on 3 May, during a twilight enemy raid, she shot down another enemy plane but was crashed by a second, causing extensive damage.

For this campaign, Macomb was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for having, “... by her own aggressiveness and the courage and skill of her officers and men, contributed essentially to the success of the Okinawa invasion ... .”
   Repaired at Saipan, she rejoined her MinRon 20 sisters operating off Japan with the Third Fleet on 13 August, entering Sagami Wan on 27 August. On the 29th, with Ellyson and Jeffers, she swept the Uraga Suido in advance of the Third Fleet’s grand entrance into Tokyo Bay and remained on station there to witness the surrender ceremony on 2 September. Departing two days later, she resumed minesweeping duties elsewhere in Japanese waters and off Okinawa, near the entrance to the Yellow Sea and in the Chosen Straits.
   Finally departing Sasebo on 5 December, Macomb steamed for Norfolk. Operating with the Atlantic Fleet with Charleston as her home port from June 1946, Macomb participated in patrols and exercises along the Atlantic seaboard and in the Caribbean Sea.
   In September-October 1949, March-October 1951 and April-October 1953, she saw tours of duty in the Mediterranean Sea with the Sixth Fleet, supporting diplomatic efforts.
   In July 1954, Macomb was placed in reserve, then decommissioned 19 October and transferred to Japan as Hatakaze (“flag-fluttering breeze,” DD-182) in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.
   In addition to her Navy Unit Commendation, Macomb earned five battle stars during World War II.