World War II

Pearl Harbor • Coral Sea • Midway • Guadalcanal & Tulagi
Eastern Solomons • Aleutians

1934-1943

This site is dedicated to the crew of USS Worden (DD 352), whose ship foundered during the Aleutians operations in January 1943. Worden was a Farragut-class destroyer designed by the naval architecture center at Carderock, Maryland, and launched in 1934 at Puget Sound, Washington.

Worden survived the Pearl Harbor attack and served in the battles of Coral Sea and Midway, assisted the invasion of Guadalcanal, and finally ran aground while landing a spearhead unit of Alaska Scouts and army volunteers on Amchitka Island, Alaska. Out of a crew of 186, 14 died — most from freezing in the midwinter Bering Sea.

Worden’s mission was so secret that the sinking was not announced until 1945. Its name does not appear in the official published history of the Aleutians campaign. Nothing marks its grave, and the entire island remains off-limits to civilians.

Today, Worden’s bell is preserved as the official command bell at the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. A mural depicting Worden is nearby.

Comments, memoirs and images of Worden memorabilia are appreciated. Please e-mail scanned images or your suggestions to Walter Baranger Jr.. Reminiscences of Worden veterans are especially solicited.