USS Hudson (DD-475), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Captain William L. Hudson (1794–1862). Hudson (DD-475) was launched 3 June 1942 by the Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Henry H. Hough, wife of Admiral Henry H. Hough (Ret.); and commissioned 13 April 1943. History After shakedown and escort duty along the Atlantic coast, Hudson sailed for Efate, New Hebrides, where she was just in time to provide fire support for the initial landings on Bougainville 1 November. As the Japanese staged a heavy air attack 8 November, Hudson helped repel them by splashing two "bogies" and assisting on a third. She then made antishipping sweeps in the Truk area and participated in operations against the Green Islands 1 February 1944. En route to the invasion, Hudson attacked and sank a Japanese submarine on 31 January. Following a brief respite in Australia, Hudson steamed to Kwajalein to join the armada readying for the invasion of the Marianas. After delivering shore bombardment to clear the way for landings on Saipan, Guam, and Tinian, the destroyer took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 June. She contributed two kills to the massive destruction of Japanese planes later known as "The Marianas Turkey Shoot". In mid-July, as the invasion of Guam was launched, Hudson steamed off the island to screen transports and shot down another enemy aircraft, as well as rescuing three downed Navy pilots and a Japanese flier. From the Marianas, Hudson steamed to Palau to support landings on Peleliu and Angaur from 12–25 September. Departing Manus in the Admiralty Islands on 4 October, she reached San Francisco 2 weeks later for overhaul. After refresher training at Pearl Harbor, Hudson returned to action, arriving off Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945. she provided vital radar picket protection during the initial invasion of the enemy stronghold. While returning from Iwo Jima after the island was secured, Hudson rescued eight survivors of a B-29 Superfortress which had crashed at sea on 8 March. Her next action came as a radar picket ship off Okinawa on 1 April, when American troops stormed the last Japanese stronghold before the home islands. On 5 April the Hudson gained credit for her second Japanese submarine, when a 6-hour attack with six barrages of depth charges resulted in the sinking of the Ro-49 off Okinawa. Although