USS Harry F. Bauer

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USS Harry F. Bauer (DM-26) was a Robert H. Smith-class destroyer minelayer in the United States Navy. Named for Lieutenant Commander Harry F. Bauer (1904–1942), the ship was launched on July 9, 1944, and commissioned on September 22, 1944. Bauer’s namesake had a long Navy career and, after a heroic action near Guadalcanal, was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart and promoted.

After training, the Bauer joined the Pacific war, taking part in the Iwo Jima operation in February 1945 as a picket ship and antisubmarine patrol vessel, also helping bombard shore targets. In March 1945 she moved to Ulithi to prepare for the Okinawa campaign. At Okinawa, from late March through May, she fought off frequent air attacks, shooting down several planes. A kamikaze crash near the stern damaged depth charges on deck but did not explode. On May 11 she helped destroy a submarine, and for her actions at Okinawa she received a Presidential Unit Citation.

After Okinawa, the Bauer escorted another ship to safety and later underwent repairs at Leyte. She then patrolled and mined with the Atlantic Fleet after the war, including a Mediterranean cruise in 1950–1951. The ship ended active service in September 1955 and was decommissioned on March 12, 1956, entering the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in Philadelphia.

The Bauer was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on August 15, 1971, and sold for scrap on June 1, 1974. She earned a Presidential Unit Citation for Okinawa and four battle stars for World War II service. As of 2009, no other ship has carried the name Harry F. Bauer.