In early September 1923 , when he learned that Tokyo and Yokohama had been nearly destroyed by an earthquake , tsunami , and fire on 30 and 31 August , Admiral Edwin Anderson , Jr. , Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet , immediately sent '' Smith Thompson '' and her destroyer division with medical supplies to render assistance . '' Smith Thompson '' arrived on 5 September and acted as radio relay ship at Yokohama and station ship at Tokyo until departing on 21 September . The American destroyers were the first foreign vessels to arrive at Yokohama and earned the gratitude of the Japanese government . The following year , '' Smith Thompson '' carried out another special mission , providing support off the China coast between 7 and 10 June for the flight of four United States Army aircraft around the world . '' Smith Thompson '' returned to the East Coast of the United States in 1925 via San Diego , California and the Panama Canal , arriving in Hampton Roads on 16 July
earthquake , tsunami , and fire
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
USS Smith Thompson (DD-212)