USS Lewis Hancock

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USS Lewis Hancock (DD-675) was a Fletcher-class destroyer in the United States Navy, in service from 1943 to 1957. After wartime service, she was sold to Brazil in 1967 and served there as Piaui (D31) until scrapped in 1989.

Namesake and building
The ship was named for Lewis Hancock Jr., born October 15, 1889, in Austin, Texas. Hancock graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1910 and went on to command submarines during World War I, earning the Navy Cross for distinguished service. He died in 1925 when the airship Shenandoah crash-landed in Ohio. The Lewis Hancock was laid down on March 31, 1943, by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Kearny, New Jersey; launched August 1, 1943; and commissioned September 29, 1943.

World War II service
After shakedown, Lewis Hancock joined the Pacific war effort with Task Force 58. She took part in major campaigns across the Central and Western Pacific:
- Marshall Islands: neutralized enemy airpower on Kwajalein Atoll in January–February 1944, supporting landings on January 31.
- Truk raid: February 1944.
- Majuro, Palaus, and the Marianas: supported campaigns from March through June 1944, including the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
- Leyte Gulf: in September 1944, as a picket ship, helped sink an enemy destroyer during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
- 1945 operations: raided Tokyo Bay area and the Japanese home islands, supported Okinawa in April–May 1945, and continued air and surface strikes until preparing to return home.
Lewis Hancock returned to the United States in July 1945, was briefly overhauled, and was ready for another deployment when Japan surrendered. She earned nine battle stars for World War II service.

Korean War and postwar service
The ship was decommissioned in January 1946 but was recommissioned on May 19, 1951, in Long Beach, California, for service during the Korean era. She operated along the Atlantic and in the Western Pacific, including a 1952 voyage to Yokosuka, Japan, and service off the Korean coast. Lewis Hancock also took part in deployments with allied navies, circumnavigated the globe, and operated in the Mediterranean and Red Sea. She continued duty off the East Coast and in European waters until 1957.

Decommissioning and Brazilian service
Lewis Hancock was decommissioned again on December 18, 1957, and placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On August 1, 1967, she was transferred to Brazil and commissioned as Piaui (D31). Piaui served with the Brazilian Navy until she was stricken in 1989 and scrapped the same year.

Awards
The ship earned nine battle stars for World War II service and two for Korean War service.