USS Willard Keith (DD-775)
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | Willard Keith |
| Namesake | Willard Keith |
| Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding, San Pedro |
| Laid down | 5 March 1944 |
| Launched | 29 August 1944 |
| Commissioned | 27 December 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 1 July 1972 |
| Stricken | 1 July 1972 |
| Motto | Per Angusta Ad Augusta, Latin for "By Narrow Paths to High Places" |
| Fate | To Colombia 1 July 1972 |
| Colombia | |
| Name | Caldas |
| Acquired | 1 July 1972 |
| Stricken | 1977 |
| Identification | DD-02 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1977 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 2,200 tons |
| Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.76 m) |
| Beam | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Draft | 15 ft 8 in (4.78 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
| Range | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 336 |
| Armament |
|
_off_San_Pedro,_California_(USA),_in_January_1945_(19-N-76873).jpg){kind=link}
USS Willard Keith (DD-775), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, is currently the only completed ship of the United States Navy ever named for Willard Keith, a United States Marine Corps captain who died in combat during the campaign for Guadalcanal. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions.
Willard Keith (DD-775) was laid down on 5 March 1944, at San Pedro, Los Angeles, by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding and launched on 29 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Willard W. Keith, the mother of Capt. Keith. The ship was commissioned on 27 December 1944.