activities, Roberts joined the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean on 31 March 1960. On 29 May, the ship headed through the Suez Canal to join the Middle East Force; on 30 June, the destroyer rejoined the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. On 15 October, Roberts returned to Newport. 1962 – 1966 Roberts spent most of 1961 undergoing a FRAM (Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization) overhaul in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The refurbished destroyer returned to Newport on 26 February 1962 and remained in the western Atlantic for the rest of 1962 and most of 1963. During April and June of the latter year, the ship operated off the northern New England coast in search of the missing submarine, . In October 1963, Roberts resumed overseas operations; and, for the next two years, rotated between duty in the western Atlantic and tours with the 6th Fleet. In the fall of 1965, however, the ship headed south; transited the Panama Canal; and moved to the western Pacific to join the 7th Fleet. The destroyer operated primarily in Vietnamese and Philippine waters until 19 February 1966, then steamed for home via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. Returning to Newport, R.I., on 8 April, Roberts cruised in the Atlantic and Caribbean until deploying to the Mediterranean again on 8 December. 1967 – 1971 Samuel B. Roberts returned to Newport on 20 March, and remained in Atlantic and Caribbean waters until 10 January 1968, when the ship sailed on another tour of Mediterranean duty, returning to Newport on 17 May. The remainder of the year was spent in Atlantic operations, then Atlantic and Caribbean duty until deploying to the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean on 22 November 1969. The ship steamed in the Black Sea from 9 to 12 December and returned to Newport on 22 May 1970. In August 1970, the Inspection and Survey team ruled the ship unfit for further service. The crew stripped her for decommissioning, and the ship was struck from the Navy List on 2 November. Roberts joined the Inactive Fleet at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until she was sunk as a target in the Atlantic Ocean north of Puerto Rico on 14 November 1971. The ship's final resting place is , below the surface. References External links Cold War destroyers of the United States Vietnam War destroyers of the United States Ships built in Orange, Texas 1945 ships Ships sunk as