USS Mayo, DD 422, was one of the first pair of ships of the 1,620-ton Benson class, one of the first ships to enter action in the early 1940s with her sister ships of Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 7, and one of the few also at Tokyo Bay for the surrender of Japan in September

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1945.
   Laid down alongside Benson at Bethlehem Steel’s Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts on 16 May 1938, Mayo’s construction progressed slowly. When launched on 26 March 1940, nearly 22 months later, she was named for the late Commander-in-Chief of the US Atlantic Fleet during World War I.
   The “Mighty Mayo” served the US Navy actively from 18 September 1940 through 18 March 1946. Through this time frame, DD422 and her crew were awarded two battle stars for action at Salerno and Anzio, Italy for outstanding fire support missions. Prior to engagements with German tanks and aircraft during the invasion of Italy, Mayo supported convoy runs to and from Europe on an almost-continuous basis from the early months of 1941 through 1945. Firing on German U-boats and supporting the landing of Marines on Iceland in pre-Pearl Harbor 1941 were stressful and risky duties.
   With the Battle of the Atlantic won by early 1945, Mayo and her sister ships of DesRon 7 headed for the Pacific. The famous “Tank Buster” of Salerno was now nicknamed the “Mayo

Mayo’s data plate.

Maru” and almost immediately began escorting transports and materials to Okinawa for a possible invasion of Japan.
   In December 1940, the squadron was reformed at Newport, Rhode Island and until the end of the European War was actively engaged in escort duties throughout the Atlantic and Mediterranean Theaters. In May 1945, the squadron was reformed at San Diego, California and operated with the Pacific Fleet for the remainder of World War II.
   With final victory over Japan in August 1945, Mayo and her sister ships escorted troop transports to Tokyo Bay, Japan for occupation of that country. Arriving early on 2 Sept 1945, United States Ship Mayo passed and anchored within Tokyo Bay in view of USS Missouri for the Surrender Ceremony of Japan. It had been a long, hard fight from 1941 to 1945 for this ship and her crew. It was with great pride that the Mayo Maru was honored as a participant in the Surrender Ceremony thus ending World War II.