USS Yarnall (DD-541)

USS Yarnall (DD-541)

USS Yarnall (DD-541), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant John Yarnall (1786–1815).

Yarnall was laid down on 5 December 1942 at San Francisco, Calif., by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched on 25 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Earl Groves; and commissioned on 30 December 1943, Commander Benjamin F. Tompkins in command.

The destroyer spent the first two months of 1944 conducting her shakedown cruise and other training exercises in the San Diego operating area. She departed the west coast early in March and arrived at Oahu on the 19th. For the next 10 weeks, Yarnall carried out additional tactical exercises in the Hawaiian Islands.