USS Sproston (DD-577) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was the second ship named for US Naval Lieutenant John G. Sproston, who was killed in action while leading an attack on a Confederate ironclad during the American Civil War. History Sproston was laid down on 1 April 1942 by the Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Tex.; launched on 31 August 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Aline G. Darst; and commissioned on 19 May 1943. World War II Following shakedown off Cuba, Sproston transited the Panama Canal on 4 November 1943. After a brief stop at San Francisco, California, she sailed for Pearl Harbor on 15 November and, 11 days later, headed for the Aleutian Islands. She entered Kuluk Bay, Adak, on 1 December and was assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 49, a unit of Task Force (TF) 94. She spent the next two months in gunnery practice and exercises. On 1 February 1944, Sproston departed Massacre Bay with TF 94 to shell targets in the Kuril Islands. On 4 February, she bombarded Kurabu Point in the Kurabu-Saki area of Paramushiro Island. One month later, the task force sailed north in the Sea of Okhotsk to strike targets in the Kurils again; but, because of extremely heavy seas and poor visibility, the mission was aborted. Sproston spent the next three months on antisubmarine sweeps and patrols off the Aleutians. On 10 June, she was again underway for the Kuriles where she participated in the pre-dawn bombardment of Matsuwa Island. On the 26th, she shelled Kurabu Zaki airfield on the southern end of Paramushiro Island. On 8 August, Sproston departed Sweeper Cove, Adak, for a two-week stay in San Francisco before sailing for the South Pacific war zone. En route, she made port at Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Manus. In October, she was assigned to Task Unit 79.11.2 whose primary mission was to screen transports of Task Group 79.2 off Dulag, Leyte Island, during the initial campaign to liberate the Philippines. On 25 October, with supporting fire from Hale (DD-642) and Pickens (APA-190), she shot down her first enemy plane. On 18 November, in San Pedro Bay, Sprostons gunners downed two "Zekes" of a five-plane attack force. In late December 1944 and early January 1945, Sproston patrolled in the Lingayen area of central Luzon. On 8 January, another Japanese plane fell victim to her guns. From Lingayen, she sailed to