USS Southard (DD-207/DMS-10) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second Navy ship named for Secretary of the Navy Samuel L. Southard (1787–1842). Construction and commissioning Southard was laid down on 18 August 1918 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by William Cramp & Sons; launched on 31 March 1919, sponsored by Miss Francesca Lewis Steward; and was commissioned on 24 September 1919. Service history 1919–1940 During the early fall of 1919, Southard completed fitting-out and steamed for the Florida coast for shakedown. She next headed for New York City to join six other destroyers in escorting the British battlecruiser out to sea as that warship departed carrying Edward, the Prince of Wales, after his visit to the United States. On 19 November 1919, Southard departed Newport, Rhode Island, for duty with U.S. naval forces in the eastern Mediterranean. For about a year, she operated in the Adriatic Sea. She then departed the Dalmatian coast, transited the Suez Canal, and, after calling at ports in Egypt, Arabia, India, and China, put in at Cavite in the Philippines on 16 February 1921. Southard underwent repairs at Cavite Navy Yard until 21 March 1921, when she resumed operations. On 27 August 1922, she departed for the United States, and she arrived in San Francisco, California, on 2 October 1921. From there, she moved on to San Diego, California, where she was decommissioned on 7 February 1922. After almost seven years in reserve, Southard was recommissioned on 6 January 1930. She operated off the United States West Coast throughout 1930 and in the vicinity of the Panama Canal during the first months of 1931. For the next nine years, Southard continued operations in the Pacific Ocean with the Battle Force. The only exceptions to this schedule came in 1934 and 1939, when she made short cruises in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1940, she was converted to a destroyer minesweeper, and accordingly on 19 October 1940 she was reclassified DMS-10. World War II Stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Southard departed that base on 5 December 1941 to participate in exercises in the vicinity of Johnston Island. Southard was still at sea when World War II broke out in the Pacific on 7 December 1941 with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 9 December 1941, and thereafter patrolled the approaches to Pearl Harbor