USS Grayson (DD-435), a , is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral Cary Travers Grayson, who served as personal physician and aide to President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. He also served as chairman of the American Red Cross from 1935 until his death on 15 February 1938. Grayson was laid down on 17 July 1939 by the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina and launched on 7 August 1940; sponsored by Mrs Alice Gertrude Gordon Grayson Harrison (Mrs George Leslie Harrison), widow of Rear Admiral Grayson. The ship was commissioned on 14 February 1941. Service history After shakedown along the New England coast and in Chesapeake Bay, Grayson joined Destroyer Division 22 (DesDiv 22) of the Atlantic Fleet. On 28 August she became the flagship of Destroyer Squadron 11 (DesRon 11) operating in the Caribbean out of Guantanamo Bay. She reported for neutrality patrol in the North Atlantic waters between Newfoundland and Iceland on 26 October. After ten months patrolling and escorting convoys in the North Atlantic, Grayson was ordered to the Pacific to join an American fleet battered but resolutely carrying the war to the enemy. She sailed from San Diego on 2 April 1942 as part of aircraft carrier s escort and rendezvoused at sea 13 April with under Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. From this fast carrier group, less than 800 miles from the Japanese home islands, General Jimmy Doolittle launched a B-25 raid on Tokyo on 18 April. The task group sailed into Pearl Harbor on 25 April. Grayson departed almost immediately for repairs in California, before returning to the Pacific war. Guadalcanal Grayson sailed from Pearl Harbor 15 July to escort Enterprise and Hornet. Reaching Guadalcanal via Tongatapu on 7 August 1942, the carriers launched their aircraft to cover the landings there and then operated in the area to block Japanese reinforcements. As they manoeuvred off Guadalcanal, Enterprise was hit by Japanese bombs on 24 August in an action lasting half an hour which saw Grayson claim two Japanese aircraft and damage a third. The task group then dispersed, with Enterprise returning to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Grayson joined Task Force 11 (TF 11), built around under Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. On the 25 August, Grayson sighted a Japanese submarine on the surface the next day and after expending her entire supply of 46 depth charges,