In September 1942, during the early stages of World War II’s Solomon Islands campaign, the first of the 2100-ton Fletcher-class destroyers arrived on station to form what became Destroyer Squadron TWENTY-ONE (DesRon 21). Admired for their speed and rakish design, these ships were the latest and most advanced warships of the period. They swung right into action, participating in most of the surface engagements, shore bombardments, anti-submarine and air defense actions and amphibious landings throughout the Solomons chain.
   Organized as a squadron in March 1943, there quickly developed an esprit de corps among officers and crews, knowing that they had been and were going to be the lead ships in surface engagements with the best of the Imperial Japanese Navy. In fact, to have the crews of ships in Tulagi Harbor and Purvis Bay “man the rails” to cheer DesRon 21 DDs returning from a night action up the “Slot” was pretty heady stuff.
   In October 1943, the squadron was ordered north to the central Pacific to join the fast carrier task forces in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns. Later it was to see action in most Pacific naval operations, ending with a leading role in the victorious entrance to Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender, September 1945, before being disbanded.
   Through these three years at war, the ships of Squadron TWENTY-ONE and its predecessor “Cactus Striking Force”—Fletcher (DD 445), Radford (DD 446), Jenkins (DD 447), La Vallette (DD 448), Nicholas (DD 449, flagship), O’Bannon (DD 450), Chevalier (DD 451, sunk), Strong (DD 467, sunk), Taylor (DD 468), De Haven (DD 469, sunk) and replacements Hopewell (DD 681), Howorth (DD 592) and Ross (DD 563)—earned three individual Presidential

“Give my regards to Broadway.    “On your detachment from the South Pacific fighting forces, I wish you Godspeed. Your habit of getting into winning scraps with the Japs has made history ... DesRon TWENTY-ONE always will be remembered when Cactus, Munda, Kula, Vella and the Slot are mentioned. You may be sure I will welcome you back with open arms anytime, any ocean.    “Halsey    “Hearts and Flowers“

Unit Citations and one Navy Unit Commendation in addition to 123 engagement stars on their collective Atlantic and Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbons, and left a “legacy of courage and fighting skill” that inspired the present Destroyer Squadron TWENTY-ONE insignia: a Rampant Lion with a trident, sweeping the seas beneath the Southern Cross, and the motto “Solomons Onward.”
   A new Destroyer Squadron TWENTY-ONE was formed in January 1946, when eight 2250-ton Gearing-class destroyers of Squadron 64 were redesignated, but was disbanded by the end of that year.
   Destroyer Squadron TWENTY-ONE was reformed again in 1954, when DesRon 18’s Fletcher-class destroyers were transferred to San Diego from the east coast. For more than 30 years until 1986, as old ships were gradually replaced by new ones, the squadron operated with the Pacific Fleet, routinely deploying to the Western Pacific. During the Vietnam War, 1965–1973, the squadron also provided gunfire support, escorted carrier strike groups, and conducted search and rescue, radar surveillance, and coastal patrol missions.
   In 1986, Destroyer Squadron TWENTY-ONE deployed as part of the USS New Jersey Battle Group—the first battle group equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles. There followed deployments to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans in 1989 with the USS Enterprise Battle Group, to the Arabian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm in 1991 with the USS Nimitz Battle Group, and again to the Arabian Gulf in 1993, 1995, and 1998 with the USS Abraham Lincoln Battle Group, which introduced Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
   With the USS John C. Stennis Battle Group—now the USS John C. Stennis Strike Group—beginning in 2000, the squadron interdicted and diverted violators of United Nations sanctions against Iraq. In 2001–2 it operated in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the global war against terrorism and in 2003–4 operated again in the Pacific.