USS Halsey Powell (DD-686), was a of the United States Navy. Namesake Halsey Powell was born on 3 August 1883 in McAfee, Kentucky. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1904, the same year as his cousin future Admiral William "Bull" Halsey. During the next years he served on the battleships , and and studied at the Naval War College. As commander of the , he received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding performance as a destroyer division commander on convoy duty during World War I, and Britain's Distinguished Service Order for his rescue of the survivors of the torpedoed hospital ship HMHS Glenart Castle. During his command of the he became one of the US Navy officers who played a major role in protecting and evacuating Armenians and Greeks from the September 1922 destruction of Smyrna in Turkey. He rose to the rank of captain and served as an aide to the Secretary of the Navy in 1926, then served as Naval Attaché at Peking from 1927 to 1929. After commanding he was promoted to rear admiral and returned to Washington, D.C., where he died on 24 December 1936. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. Construction and commissioning Halsey Powell was launched by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y., on 30 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Halsey Powell, widow of Captain Powell; and commissioned on 25 October 1943. Service history, United States Navy World War II 1944 Marshalls Halsey Powell conducted her shakedown training off the East Coast, and sailed on 20 January 1944 from Norfolk to join the Pacific Fleet. Arriving Pearl Harbor on 12 February, the destroyer steamed to Majuro to escort tankers back to Hawaii, returning to the Marshall Islands in March for escort and patrol duty. As the islands fell to American amphibious troops, Halsey Powell and other ships protected the task force from air and submarine attack. The destroyer carried out a series of effective attacks on on 23 March, and after running out of depth charges yielded to and to complete the kill. Marianas Following the Marshalls operation, Halsey Powell departed Pearl Harbor on 30 May for rehearsals in connection with the upcoming Marianas invasions. She sortied with the assault force from Eniwetok on 11 June, and as troops stormed ashore on Saipan four days later she took up fire-support station off the beaches, and was an effective