for brief underway periods to conduct training exercises through early December. Transiting the Gulf of Mexico from 6 to 7 December, O'Bannon celebrated the holidays in port from 16 December 2003 – 12 January 2004. From 14 to 15 August 2004, O'Bannon participated in a passing exercise (PASSEX) off the Florida coast. She began a routine six-month deployment to the Mediterranean on 29 November, in chopping from Second Fleet to Sixth Fleet on 2 December. On 15 December, O'Bannon celebrated 25 years of service while also remaining only one of five Spruance-class destroyers left in the U.S. Navy. On 25 April 2005, O'Bannon assisted two crewmembers on board a 45-foot fishing vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, after receiving a distress signal and sighting an emergency flare from the fishing vessel off Corsica. Fate Originally scheduled to remain in service through 2010, decommissioning of the Spruance-class destroyers was accelerated as a cost-saving measure, and by June 2005 O'Bannon was the last Spruance destroyer in service in the Atlantic Fleet. O'Bannon was decommissioned on 19 August 2005 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. In 2004 O'Bannon was to be sold to Chile, but in 2005 she was scheduled to be transferred via FMS to the Turkish Navy. In the end she was sunk off the coast of Virginia at 3:23pm on 6 October 2008 in a training exercise by the carrier group, using missiles, guns and finally a Mk 82 bomb. Awards Joint Meritorious Unit Award - (Aug-Oct 1990) Navy Unit Commendation - (Oct 1997-Apr 1998) FIFTH FLEET BATTLE FORCE Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - (Sep 1994-Mar 1995) Operation Uphold Democracy Battle "E" - (1993, 1996) Navy Expeditionary Medal - (Feb-Mar 1987) Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon - (Oct-Dec 1987, Jul-Sep 1988) Gallery References External links navsource.org: USS O'Bannon navysite.de: USS O'Bannon Spruance-class destroyers Cold War destroyers of the United States 1978 ships Ships sunk as targets