 After her May 1916 commissioning , Wainwright sailed off the east coast and in the Caribbean . After the United States entered World War I in April 1917 , Wainwright was part of the first U.S. destroyer squadron sent overseas . Patrolling the Irish Sea out of Queenstown , Ireland , Wainwright made several unsuccessful attacks on U @-@ boats , and rescued survivors of several ships sunk by the German craft . 
