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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive
Ship's Name Tab Courtesy of Al Grazevich

USS Silverstein (DE 534)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - K - U - N
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 2 stars - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row: Korean Service Medal w/ 3 stars - United Nations Korean Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal
Specifications:
Class: John C. Butler
Type: WGT (geared-turbine drive, 5" guns)
Displacement: 1350 tons (light), 1745 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 11' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 2 - 5"/38 cal. DP guns (2x1), 4 - 40mm AA (2x2), 10 - 20mm AA, 3 - 21" TT, 1 Mk10 Hedgehog, 8 Mk6 Depth Charge Projectors, 2 Mk9 Depth Charge Stern Racks
Complement: 14 / 201
Silverstein (DE 534) Building and Operational Data:
  • 08 October 1943: Keel laid at the Boston Naval Shipyard, Charlestown, Mass.
  • 08 November 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Ruth B. Silverstein
  • 14 July 1944: Commissioned, Lcdr F.A. Reece, Jr., USNR, in command
  • 15 January 1947: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal. after 2 years and 6 months of service
  • 28 February 1951: Recommissioned at San Diego, Cal., Lcdr J. R. Kittrell, in command, homeported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
  • 28 May 1958: Operating off Pearl Harbor, she struck and sank USS Stickleback (SS 415); Silverstein, Sabalo (SS 302), and Sturtevant (DE 239) successfully rescued all 82 men from the sub
  • 01 November 1958: Entered the Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Shipyard, San Francisco, Cal. for inactivation overhaul
  • 30 January 1959: Decommissioned at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Hunter's Point, Cal. after 7 years and 11½ months of service
  • 01 December 1972: Struck from the NVR with a total of 10 years and 3½ months of service
  • 03 December 1973: Sold for scrapping to the Levin Metals Corp. of San Jose, Cal.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Silverstein 49k Max Silverstein was born in Chicago, Ill., on 15 February 1911 and was appointed midshipman at the Naval Academy on 18 June 1928. He was commissioned ensign on 02 June 1932 and went to sea in Chester (CA 27) on the 26th as an aircraft gunnery observer. He was promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) on 2 June 1935 and subsequently served in Chaumont (AP 45), Tattnall (DD 125), and Seattle (CA 11). After being promoted to lieutenant on 13 March 1940, later changed to date from 01 August 1939, Lt. Silverstein reported for duty as Engineer and Damage Control Officer in Sims (DD 409). On 07 May 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, Sims came under aerial attack. Though knocked unconscious by the first bomb, Lt. Silverstein quickly recovered and "coolly directed the securing of the boilers, the jettisoning of topside weights to preserve stability and the preparations for repairs to save the vessel from sinking." Lt. Silverstein died soon thereafter when Sims sank. For "his relentless determination and inspiring heroism . . . ," Lt. Silverstein was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal and the Purple Heart.

    USS Silverstein (DE 534) (1944-1959) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    (Photo from the U.S. Naval Academy Yearbook; The Lucky Bag, Class of 1932)    		 Bill Gonyo
    Downey, Cal.
    Silverstein 57k undated, souvenir ship portrait Alfred F. McDonald
    GM2c 51-52
    Silverstein 103k undated, another souvenir ship portrait Tommy Trampp
    Benton City, Wash.
    Silverstein 59k undated Ronald W. (Fett) West
    Silverstein 299k 1955: off the coast of Hawaii - Silverstein underway off Pearl Harbor.

    (Photo by John's Dad, BMC Albert Curry)    		 John M. Curry
    Silverstein 96k 1956: off Enewetok and Bikini Atoll, the Marshall Islands - Photo was taken when Silverstein was part of a flotilla of ships involved in a series of 17 tests of A-bomb and H-bomb devices, under the code name of "Redwing." John W. Smith
    EM3, USN
    1954 - 1957
    Silverstein 137k USS Silverstein Commanding Officers 1944 - 1959

    (Photo © Ron Jensen, 1944 crew)
    Silverstein 329k 28 May 1958: off the coast of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - Silverstein shown lying on the hull of USS Stickleback (SS 415) following a collision that took place during ASW exercises. Robert M. Cieri
    Silverstein 397k 28 May 1958: off the coast of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - Silverstein, shortly after separating from Stickleback following a collision that took place during ASW exercises. Charles Hansen
    (ex-PH2, USN)
    Silverstein 227k Page from Silverstein's Scrapping Booklet showing her laid up in storage. Ed Zajkowski
         and
    Tim Rizzuto
    Silverstein 219k Page 11 from Silverstein's Scrapping Booklet designating which items have to be demilitarized.
    Silverstein History
    View the USS Silverstein (DE 534) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Silverstein as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Silverstein's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.)   14 Jul. 1944 - 29 Nov. 1944Lcdr. Franklin A. Reece Jr., USNR (Comm. CO)
    2.)   29 Nov. 1944 - 05 Dec. 1945Lcdr. Frederick Charles Hartman Jr., USNR
    3.)   05 Dec. 1945 - .. .... 1946Lt. R. E. Peters, USNR
    4.)   .. .... 1946 - 15 Jan 1947Lt.(jg) E. V. Farrell, USN (Decomm. CO)
    5.)   28 Feb. 1951 - .. Sep. 1952Lcdr. James Revely Kittrell (Recomm. CO) (El Paso, Ark.)
    6.)   .. Sep. 1952 - .. Dec. 1953Lcdr. Gould
    7.)   .. Dec. 1953 - .. Mar. 1954Lcdr. Melvin Earl Bustard Jr. (Harrisville, Ut.)
    8.)   .. Mar. 1954 - .. Nov. 1955Lcdr. Robert Dale Wood
    9.)   .. Nov. 1955 - .. .... 1957Lcdr. Jack Hardin Pennington (USNA '44) (Hillsboro, Tex.)
    10.) .. .... 1957 - 30 Jan. 1959Lcdr. Charles Shuford Swift (Decomm. CO) (Alameda, Cal.)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Next Reunion:
    20 September 2020 at Bloomington, Minn.
    Contact: David Cregut
    Address: 2470 W. 253rd Street
    City/State: Lyndon KS 66451
    Phone: (785) 828-3446
    E-mail: ksstick at embarqmail.com
    Note About Contacts

    Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has been
    made to list the newest contact. However, our entry is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list only
    a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the Frequently
    Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.

    Additional Resources
    Tin Can Sailors
    The U.S. Navy Memorial
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
    The Destroyer History Foundation
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Silverstein
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    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 17 August 2020