USS Underhill (DE-682)

USS Underhill (DE-682)

USS Underhill (DE-682), a Buckley-class destroyer escort, was named in honor of Ensign Samuel Underhill, a naval aviator of the United States Navy who was killed in action during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Her keel was laid down on 16 September 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Company's Fore River Shipyard at Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 15 October 1943 sponsored by Mrs. David (Bertha) Underhill, aunt and guardian of Ensign Underhill. Underhill was commissioned exactly one month later under the command of Lieutenant Commander Sidney R. Jackson.