USS Longshaw (DD-559), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Dr. William Longshaw, Jr. (1839–1865), who served in the Navy and was killed during the Civil War. Longshaw was laid down 16 June 1942 by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation, Seattle, Wash.; launched 4 June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Ella Mae Richards; and commissioned on 4 December 1943. She was lost to shore fire off Naha after grounding on a reef, on 18 May 1945. History Shakedown; 1943 Longshaw was launched, commissioned, and put to sea (15 December 1943) for tests, training, and shakedown off the west coast. She returned to port (26 January 1944) for post-shakedown availability (repairs). Raids, Hollandia Operation; February–May 1944 Following shakedown off the west coast, Longshaw sailed from San Francisco 18 February 1944, via Pearl Harbor, for the Marshalls arriving Kwajalein 4 March. Assigned to the 5th Fleet, the destroyer got underway for Majuro 15 March, where she then conducted a patrol off Wotje and Maloelap Islands until the 21st. The ship stood out from Majuro the next day, screening the replenishment group for the Fast Carrier Task Force (Task Force 38/58) during strikes on Palau, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai, 30 March and 1 April, returning to Majuro on the 6th. Six days later, she sailed again, steaming via Manus for Hollandia, escorting the same task group as planes from the flattops pounded the New Guinea coast to support landings by General Douglas MacArthur's troops. Longshaw return to Pearl Harbor 9 May for minor repairs and training. Marianas Operation, Tinian; May–August 1944 Getting underway for the Marianas on 30 May, escorting part of the northern attack force, the destroyer arrived off Saipan 15 June. For the next two months, except for a brief voyage to Eniwetok, she remained there, screening the escort carriers providing air support for the invasion and also operating as a rescue ship for downed aviators. Sailing to Eniwetok on 22 August, Longshaw departed on the 29th to guard the carriers of Task Group 38.3 (TG 38.3) during strikes against targets on Palau, Mindanao, and Luzon in support of the assault on the Palaus, the steppingstone to the Philippines. Western Caroline Islands Operation; September–October 1944 On 9 September, in company with other ships of her task group, the destroyer attacked a convoy of Japanese luggers off Mindanao, herself destroying three small coastal vessels. She continued to support