Memorial service on board Lac du St. Sacrament off Bolton Landing, Lake George, New York during the DesRon 30 reunion, 4 October 2002. Inset: Presidential Unit Citation award ceremony for Dallas, Bernadou and Cole, 24 May 1943—click to view in more detail.

Between the world wars, the battle against the submarine advanced

Destroyer Squadron 30 6 October 1941 USS Dallas, DD 199, Flagship Destroyer Division 60 USS Ellis, DD 154, Flagship USS Bernadou, DD 153 USS Cole, DD 155 USS Du Pont, DD 152 Destroyer Division 61 USS Greer, DD 145, Flagship USS Tarbell, DD 142 USS Upshur, DD 144 USS Lea, DD 118

with the development of sonar. By 1939, with

Destroyer Squadron 30 12 April 1943 Destroyer Division 60 USS Dallas, DD 199, Flagship USS Ellis, DD 154 USS Bernadou, DD 153 USS Du Pont, DD 152 USS Cole, DD 155 Destroyer Division 61 USS Greer, DD 145, Flagship USS Tarbell, DD 142 USS Upshur, DD 144 USS Lea, DD 118

approximately sixty destroyers equipped with sonar, the Navy opened its first sound schools at San Diego and New London, CT.
   In the Pacific, the first destroyers to carry echo-ranging equipment were DesDiv 20’s Rathburne, Waters, Talbot and Dent while graduates of the first sonar class at New London were assigned to destroyers Du Pont, Bernadou, Ellis and Cole.
   In the spring of 1941, DesLant DDs were engages in “short-of-war”

Memorial Wall plaque National Museum of the Pacific War, Fredericksburg, Texas.

activities. On 1 March, in preparing for convoy escort activities, the Navy organized a Northeastern Escort Support Force of destroyers, aircraft and support vessels. Three squadrons of destroyers were assigned: DesRon 7, made up entirely of Benson- and Gleaves-class destroyers, and DesRons 30 and 31, all flush-deckers.
   On 27 May, the same day that British forces sank battleship Bismarck, President Roosevelt declared an “Unlimited National Emergency” and extended the patrol into North and South Atlantic waters. On 15 July, bleak Argentia, Newfoundland was commissioned as base for the Support Force, from which patrols ranged as far east as 30 W.
   On 1 July, the first American Naval Task Force organized for foreign service stood out from Argentia, escorting Marines to relieve the British garrison in Iceland. Leading the way in the outer screen were DesDiv 60’s Ellis, Bernadou, Upshur and Lea, with Sims-class Buck.