Uss Roark (DE-1053)

• Namesake: USS Roark (DE-1053) was named in honor of Lieutenant William Marshall Roark, a U.S. Navy pilot killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1965. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. • Class: Roark was a Knox-class destroyer escort (later reclassified as a frigate, FF-1053), designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare. • Commissioning: The ship was commissioned on 22 November 1969 at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, California. • Vietnam Service: USS Roark served during the Vietnam War, performing escort and patrol duties, including gunfire support and search-and-rescue operations. • Technological Edge: The ship was equipped with the latest sonar and anti-submarine weaponry of its time, including ASROC (Anti-Submarine Rocket) launchers. • Reclassification: In 1975, the Navy reclassified all destroyer escorts as frigates; Roark became FF-1053. • Humanitarian Aid: In the late 1970s, Roark took part in rescuing Vietnamese "boat people," refugees fleeing by sea after the fall of Saigon. • Cold War Patrols: Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Roark participated in numerous Pacific and Indian Ocean deployments, serving as a vital link in U.S. fleet operations during the Cold War. • Decommissioning: The ship was decommissioned on 14 December 1991 after over two decades of service. • Fate: After decommissioning, USS Roark was struck from the Naval Vessel Register and later sold for scrap in 2002.