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USS Simpson (FFG 56)

USS SIMPSON was the 46^th OLIVER HAZARD PERRY-class guided missile frigate and the first ship in the Navy named after Rear Admiral Rodger Whitten Simpson. USS SIMPSON held a decommissioning ceremony at her homeport of Mayport, Fla., on September 29, 2015, and was formally decommissioned one day later. SIMPSON was the last modern warship in the US Navy's fleet to sink an enemy warship during combat. SIMPSON sank Iran's gunboat JOSHAN in the Persian Gulf in 1988 in the Navy's only maritime battle since World War II. USS SIMPSON was the last ship of her class to be decommissioned. After nearly a decade laid up in Philadelphia as part of the inactive fleet, she was towed out to sea on 25 September 2025. Three days later, on 28 September 2025, SIMPSON was sunk as a target during a sinking exercise (SINKEX) held in conjunction with the multinational UNITAS exercise.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS SIMPSON. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

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• Click here to see which USS SIMPSON memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS SIMPSON Cruise Books:

• STANAVFORLANT Cruise Book 1995-96
• Mediterranean and Arabian Sea Cruise Book 2000-01

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

The lightning bolt breaking the metal prison bar symbolizes Admiral Simpson's quick attack to rescue Prisoners of War from Japanese concentration camps. This standard will guide the USS SIMPSON in striking for justice and against threats to our precious freedom. The Green Navy Cross with two stars against a rose red background symbolizes the decorations and awards presented to Admiral Simpson. The Navy Cross with gold star (in lieu of second award) for extraordinary actions taken against Japanese forces south of the Gilbert Islands while Commanding Officer of the USS MAHAN. The second award was for heroism during an engagement with enemy forces in Vella Gulf, Solomon Islands. The other star on the cross represents the Silver Star awarded for "Gallantry and intrepidity during operations in the Bismark Archipelago," while serving as Commander, Destroyer Squadron TWELVE and Destroyer Division TWENTY THREE. The rose red background symbolizes the Legion of Merit Medal presented to Admiral Simpson for his daring rescue of over 7,500 Allied Prisoners of War and civilians interned in Japanese concentration camps. He earned this while serving as Commander, Task Flotilla SIX.

The Crest:

Recognized as a swift and courageous hunter, the falcon characterizes the manner in which Admiral Simpson dispensed his duties during World War II as a defender of freedom. The falcon is also part of the Simpson family coat of arms. The palm branch is symbol of peace.

The Motto:

"Attaquer en Vigueur" is French for attack with vigor. The Simpson family traces their heritage to France.

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USS SIMPSON in the News:

• July 14, 2002 - Simpson Rescues Wounded Colombian Marine

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History of USS SIMPSON:

USS SIMPSON was an OLIVER HAZARD PERRY - class guided missile frigate originally designed as a multi-role open-ocean escort ship for merchant vessel convoys and amphibious task groups. The ship is named for Rear Admiral Rodger W. Simpson, who distinguished himself during World War II as a Destroyer Commanding Officer and Flotilla Commander. SIMPSON was built by Bath Iron Works, Maine, and commissioned on 9 November 1985. In January 1986, SIMPSON participated in the search and rescue efforts for the space shuttle CHALLENGER, receiving the U.S. Coast Guard Unit Commendation with Operational "O."

On SIMPSON's first overseas deployment in January 1988, the ship was assigned as an escort to U.S.-flagged merchant vessels in the Arabian Gulf. On 18 April 1988, SIMPSON was a principle unit of Operation Praying Mantis responding to the Iranian mine attack on USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG 58). Operating in conjunction with two other Navy ships, SIMPSON was responsible for the destruction of an Iranian oil platform and sinking the Iranian Navy missile patrol combatant, JOSHAN. The ship was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award and the Combat Action Ribbon for this operation. SIMPSON was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for the deployment.

SIMPSON's second overseas deployment in October 1990 saw her again operating in the Arabian Gulf, escorting U.S.-flagged and other neutral shipping in the Arabian Gulf.

SIMPSON departed on her third deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea and a third visit to the Arabian Gulf in December 1991. In the Mediterranean Sea, SIMPSON rendezvoused with two CIS warships and conducted ship maneuvering exercises, the first such between U.S. and CIS forces. SIMPSON then proceeded to the Red Sea to participate in the United Nations embargo against Iraq. Assigned as an escort to USS AMERICA (CV 66) in the Arabian Gulf, SIMPSON participated in two major joint exercises and qualified for the Southwest Asia Service Medal and the Kuwait Liberation Medals issued by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

In the spring of 1993, SIMPSON again prepared for a major overseas deployment. During a three day port visit and Independence Day Celebration, SIMPSON was adopted by the City of Stamford, CT.

In August 1993, SIMPSON sailed with USS AMERICA on her fourth overseas deployment. While assigned to Joint Task Group AMERICA, SIMPSON participated in Operations Deny Flight and Provide Promise in the Adriatic Sea and U.N. Operation Continue Hope off the coast of Somalia. After a brief assignment in the Red Sea supporting U.N. sanctions against Iraq, SIMPSON returned home in February 1994.

Shortly after her return home, SIMPSON was called upon to participate in Operations Support Democracy and Able Manner off the coast of Haiti in support of the U.N. embargo against HAITI. After returning to Newport, RI for three weeks, SIMPSON shifted homeports to Norfolk, VA in May 1994. Enroute, SIMPSON was tasked to return to the Caribbean to participate in Operation Restore Democracy, finally arriving in Norfolk in June 1994.

Upon completion of post-deployment maintenance, SIMPSON returned to the Caribbean to participate in Counter Drug Operations with the Coast Guard. SIMPSON returned to Norfolk in December and deployed again to the Caribbean in February 1995 to continue Counter Drug Operations.

After a summer at home, SIMPSON deployed for the fifth time in November 1995. This trip was to the Mediterranean as part of NATO's Standing Naval Forces Atlantic. During this deployment, SIMPSON primarily operated in the Adriatic Sea in support of NATO Operation Sharp Guard, enforcing the U.N. Security Council's arms embargo against Bosnia-Herzegovina. The ship earned the Armed Forces Service Medal and the NATO Medal for the deployment.

USS SIMPSON celebrated the arrival of 1996 while inport Barcelona, Spain as part of the Standing Naval Forces, Atlantic (SNFL). SIMPSON operated with the forces of OPERATION SHARP GUARD enforcing the arms embargo against Croatia, throughout the 1996 deployment. SIMPSON also enjoyed port visits in Augusta Bay Sicily, Valencia Spain, Palma de Mallorca Spain, Trieste Italy, Corfu Greece, Napels Italy, Toulon France, Genoa Italy, and Gibraltar United Kingdom.

SIMPSON conducted turn over with the USS MCINERNEY (FFG 8) as the United States Representative SNFL. SIMPSON arrived in Bermuda on May 5th, where she picked up family members for the remainder of SIMPSON's transit home. SIMPSON returned to Norfolk, Virginia on May 8th to an enthusiastic crowd of friends and family and immediately began post deployment stand down.

In 1996, SIMPSON conducted a training availability for Surface Warfare Officer's School Division Officer's Course, and proceeded to Maine, where she conducted a series of port visits in Castine and Booth Bay Harbor in support of Castine's 200th anniversary and the Booth Bay Harbor Windjammer Festival.

SIMPSON's served as the surface support unit for CNO Project Emerald II and Operation Global Yankee, and visited Rockland, Maine where she anchored in support of the Maine Lobster Festival. After a three day visit, during which the crew was pampered with lobster dinners and lunches, SIMPSON returned to sea and transited to Annapolis, Maryland where she hosted Midshipmen and their parents for three days in support of Plebe Parent's Weekend at the United States Naval Academy.

SIMPSON returned to sea in October as Opposing Force for the THEODORE ROOSEVELT Battle Group Joint Task Force Exercise, followed by a trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Navy League.

In November 1996, SIMPSON moved up the Elizabeth River to Marine Hydraulics International (MHI), Incorporated. SIMPSON remained at MHI through the remainder of the year, where she began work on habitability projects in the Combined Office Complex (COC) and Operations Berthing, and installation of a Passive Countermeasure System (PCMS).

USS SIMPSON began 1997 in the middle of an Extended Selected Restricted Availability (ESRA) at MHI, Incorporated.

After much work, refurbishment, completion of a successful Light-Off Assessment and sea trials, SIMPSON returned to Norfolk in February 1997. In February 1997, SIMPSON completed the first FFG to FFG weapons transfer at Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Yorktown with USS ROBERT G. BRADLEY (FFG 49).

USS SIMPSON started 1998 enroute to the Puerto Rican Oparea for JTFEX 1-98 with the JOHN C. STENNIS BATTLE GROUP. After completion of a successful exercise, the ship was ready for deployment. 26 February, SIMPSON deployed to the Mediterranean to participate in STANDING NAVAL FORCE MEDITERRANEAN 98-1. Conducting a group sail with USS CARON, USS LABOON, and USNS SANTA BARBARA, she arrived at the Strait of Gibraltar ready to rendezvous with USS UNDERWOOD for turnover and inchop to STANDING NAVAL FORCE MEDITERRANEAN.

Joining NATO ships from Germany, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Britain, and the Netherlands, SIMPSON became the United States representative for STANAVFORMED. After participating in EXERCISE STRONG RESOLVE 98, all STANAVFORMED ships sailed to Portsmouth, UK for some well deserved R&R.

SIMPSON was then underway with STANAVFORMED ships enroute Amsterdam, NL. After two days of maintenance, SIMPSON was underway for Hamburg, Germany. This continuous, fast paced, cycle of underway exercises and inport maintenance continued during SIMPSON's entire stay with STANAVFORMED including visits to Antwerp, Belgium, Malaga and Cadiz Spain, Taranto, Italy, and Koper, Slovenia.

SIMPSON completed her highly successful operation with STANAVFORMED, turned over with USS KAUFFMAN, and proceeded to Rhodes, Greece. On the 16th of June, with less than twenty four hours notice, SIMPSON was tasked to go to the Adriatic Sea to assume duties as Undersea and Surface Warfare Commander for the WASP Amphibious Ready Group. She conducted a twenty-two hour full power run arriving in the Adriatic the next morning. Upon completion of that assignment, SIMPSON had to play some "catch-up". On single engine operations, SIMPSON was ordered to make best speed to rendezvous with Destroyer Squadron Twenty-Two ships that left a couple of days earlier. She ran at flank speed for six days straight travelling 3,360 nautical miles meeting the LABOON and CARON just in time for a Engineering Mid-Cycle Assessment in the Atlantic enroute to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

On 2 July, SIMPSON arrived in Norfolk, Virginia and began her post deployment stand down. Less than a week after completing stand down, SIMPSON was underway again, this time for Midshipman training. In the Vacapes OpArea, she conducted multiple ship-handling evolutions, BECCE's, and weapons familiarization, CIWS and 76mm gun shoots.

In late August, Hurricane Bonnie threatened the coast of Virginia, and SIMPSON joined the Sortie to the Atlantic. She conducted various ship-handling evolutions, General Quarters drills, and BECCE's prior to returning to port.

On 4 September, Commander Roland J. Mulligan was relieved as Commanding Officer, USS SIMPSON by Commander Gerald F. DeConto. Two weeks later, SIMPSON was underway again, in the Vacapes OpArea for OPFOR JTFEX 98-2 in support of the ENTERPRISE BATTLE GROUP. Setting new standards in harassment operations, SIMPSON returned to port.

A short upkeep period was next in line for SIMPSON followed by a highly successful Logistics Management Assessment. SIMPSON then commenced a Restricted Availability period where she completed work on the Gas Turbine Engines, SSDG's, various decking jobs, non skid work, flight deck maintenance, RAST maintenance, and gun maintenance. In addition, habitability work in the Chief Petty Officer berthing, Operations head, Officers head and ventilation, and the Engineering Berthing made the RAV a success.

SIMPSON conducted PLOT III, and completed her Light Off Assessment. She then completed an ammunition onload, enjoyed a children's and adult Christmas party, and stood down for the holidays.

The year 1999 was spent in upkeep, maintenance and training along the East Coast with preparations for SIMPSONS next overseas deployment. On 8 August 2000, SIMPSON along with the guided missile destroyer USS COLE (DDG 67) and the Military Sealift Command oiler USNS JOHN LENTHALL (T-AO 189) deployed from Norfolk bound for a cruise that would take the small task group across the Mediterranean Sea, through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and into the Indian Ocean. During this long cruise, SIMPSON's embarked helicopter detachment flew well over a thousand hours of maritime surveillance and support sorties over waters ranging from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, in line with the wider U.S. effort to monitor shipping routes, deter terrorism and enforce United Nations sanctions in the region.

On 12 October 2000, while the group was deployed, USS COLE was attacked by suicide bombers while refueling in Aden, Yemen, an event that killed 17 sailors and triggered a re-evaluation of U.S. Navy force-protection measures. Open sources do not specify SIMPSON's exact position at the moment of the attack, but they agree that the frigate was part of the same deployment that took COLE to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean that year.

In the immediate aftermath of this demanding cruise, SIMPSON completed her return to the United States in early 2001. As part of a reorganization of Atlantic Fleet surface forces, the ship was directed to shift homeport from Norfolk to Naval Station Mayport, Florida. A summary of Destroyer Squadron 22 notes that FFG 56 was ordered to relocate to Mayport as of July 2001, with an administrative transfer from Destroyer Squadron 22 to Destroyer Squadron 6 in March 2001. From this point on, Mayport remained her operational base for the rest of her active career.

By 2002, SIMPSON had been placed in the Active Naval Reserve Force, Category A, a status in which she remained until decommissioning in 2015. This meant that, while still a deployable front-line frigate, she operated with a mix of active-duty and selected reserve personnel but under regular fleet tasking.

In July 2002, the frigate's operational focus took her to the Eastern Pacific and the waters off Colombia. Naval Sea Systems Command's historical evaluation records that in that month SIMPSON diverted to the remote Colombian outpost at Malpelo Island to conduct an emergency medical evacuation of a wounded Colombian marine who had sustained three gunshot wounds. Working with Colombian authorities, SIMPSON's crew and embarked helicopter detachment transported the casualty to higher-level care, an example of the bilateral cooperation that characterized U.S. regional engagement in the early 2000s as Colombia fought insurgent and narcotics-linked violence.

After several years dominated by counter-drug work and Middle East deployments, SIMPSON returned to a more traditional Atlantic and European profile in 2004. On 22 September 2004, she departed Mayport as the U.S. representative to NATO's multinational Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT), embarking Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (Light) 44, Detachment 10. STANAVFORLANT assembled destroyers, frigates and auxiliaries from core NATO navies - including Canada, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom - to provide a continuous ready force for alliance missions. During this three-month Western Atlantic deployment, SIMPSON participated in numerous combined exercises and naval presence operations and made port visits in ten cities across the United States, Canada and Bermuda, underscoring NATO solidarity in the post-9/11 security environment.

On 12 October 2004, she made a high-visibility entry into New York Harbor, mooring in Manhattan and hosting visitors against the backdrop of the city's skyline - a moment that also yielded widely circulated photographs showing her with her Mk 13 missile launcher still in place. STANAVFORLANT operations concluded with her return to Mayport on 20 December 2004.

In 2005, SIMPSON underwent a significant configuration change that paralleled class-wide modifications across the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY-frigates. Navy histories note that sometime during that year, between her 2004 and 2006 deployments, her Mk 13 guided-missile launcher was permanently removed. This reflected the broader decision to retire the Standard missile loadout from the class and to concentrate on their roles as helicopter-centric escorts with a 76-mm gun, Phalanx close-in weapon system and anti-submarine torpedoes. Photographs from June 2006 show SIMPSON operating alongside the Algerian frigate EL KIRCH with the missile launcher removed, confirming the change by that time.

On 3 January 2006, SIMPSON again left Mayport, this time joining Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) with Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (Light) 42, Detachment 9 embarked. Over the following months she took part in a series of multinational exercises and patrols in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and eastern Mediterranean. These activities were framed by NATO's evolving response to post-Cold War security challenges: presence operations near northern Europe, interoperability drills with allied navies and contributions to maritime situational awareness. After almost six months deployed, SIMPSON returned to Mayport on 24 June 2006.

Her next major deployment, beginning 5 October 2007, shifted the frigate's focus firmly back to counter-narcotics operations in the Eastern Pacific. On that date, SIMPSON sailed from Mayport with Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (Light) 46, Detachment 7, and a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 405 embarked, assigned to a six-month mission to interdict drug trafficking routes on the high seas. Operating under U.S. Southern Command and joint interagency tasking, the ship patrolled well off the Central and South American coasts, where traffickers had increasingly turned to "go-fast" boats and self-propelled semi-submersible craft to move cocaine northward. During this deployment, SIMPSON was credited in Navy and Navy-Sea Systems Command documentation with helping remove approximately 16 metric tons of cocaine from the maritime supply chain.

The most notable event occurred on 29 November 2007, when she detected and intercepted a low-profile self-propelled semi-submersible loaded with several tons of cocaine. The crew of the craft scuttled their vessel to destroy evidence, but SIMPSON's boarding teams, supported by embarked Coast Guard personnel, captured four Colombian crewmen, who were subsequently transferred to Colombian authorities.

After completing this extended patrol, SIMPSON returned to Mayport on 5 April 2008, where a Navy NewsStand release described the deployment as a successful contribution to multinational maritime counter-narcotics efforts.

Even outside formal deployments, SIMPSON remained active at sea. On 28 June 2008, she is documented in an Atlantic Ocean "total ship survivability exercise", in which her crew rehearsed responses to multiple simultaneous threats, including simulated missile strikes, small-boat attacks and a torpedo engagement. This type of high-stress training reflected the Navy's emphasis on damage control, command and control resilience, and integrated warfare in an era of increasingly complex littoral threats.

In 2009, the frigate again played a direct role in saving lives at sea: on 2 June 2009, SIMPSON rescued the stranded fishing vessel MALEY whose failed starter had left her adrift in the Eastern Pacific for 18 days. SIMPSON provided assistance, restored power and ensured the crew's safety. This episode sits alongside her 2002 Colombian medevac as an example of the human-security dimension of her operations in Latin American waters.

By mid-2010, SIMPSON's operations had once again taken her to European waters. Photographic archives show the frigate transiting the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal (Kiel Canal) near Kiel, Germany, on 2 June 2010, en route to the Baltic Sea to participate in BALTOPS 2010. Ports visited during this cruise included Portsmouth, UK; Gdynia, Poland and Kiel, Germany.

The culmination of SIMPSON's Atlantic and African work came with two closely spaced deployments to the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of responsibility in the early 2010s. On 17 January 2012, she deployed from Mayport for Africa Partnership Station (APS) 2012 and NATO's Operation Active Endeavor, a long-running maritime security operation in the Mediterranean aimed at deterring terrorism and monitoring shipping. During this cruise, SIMPSON served as the flagship for APS West 2012, a multinational maritime security cooperation initiative coordinated by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa.

On 14 February 2012, she arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, for the opening of APS 2012, bringing aboard African "shipriders" from navies including Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, who would live and work with the crew to gain practical experience in maritime law enforcement and seamanship. Four days later, on 18 February, SIMPSON shifted to Tema, Ghana, for another key APS port visit that focused on training Ghanaian naval personnel. On 19 February, sailors from the frigate were documented conducting a community-relations project at the Kaiser King Community Catholic Church Center in Accra, underscoring the program's broader emphasis on civil-military engagement.

Throughout the first half of 2012, SIMPSON's APS itinerary took her to a series of ports on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar and along the West African coast including Funchal (Madeira), Rota (Spain), Casablanca (Morocco), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos (Nigeria), Accra and Tema (Ghana), Mindelo (Cape Verde), Souda Bay and ports in Sicily (Italy), Naples (Italy) and Praia (Cape Verde).

At sea, SIMPSON and her embarked Coast Guard and African shiprider teams executed maritime law-enforcement boarding operations, including documented joint inspections of fishing vessels in Senegal's exclusive economic zone on 23 June 2012 as part of the Africa Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership (AMLEP). In the Mediterranean, she contributed to Operation Active Endeavor's pattern of shipping surveillance and presence patrols. A notable technological milestone of this deployment was SIMPSON's embarkation of the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle. Contemporary reporting highlighted the frigate as the first U.S. guided-missile frigate to complete a full deployment with its own organic UAV capability, expanding her ability to conduct over-the-horizon surveillance and targeting in support of APS and security operations in the Gulf of Guinea. After nearly six months deployed, SIMPSON returned to Mayport on 17 July 2012.

Barely more than a year later, SIMPSON again headed east. On 18 September 2013, she departed Mayport for another deployment to the U.S. Sixth Fleet area. During this cruise, she carried out a mix of maritime security and theater-security-cooperation tasks in the Mediterranean, visiting Ponta Delgada in the Azores, ports in Sicily, Bari (Italy), Athens (Greece), Valletta (Malta), Souda Bay (Crete) and Casablanca (Morocco). These port calls reflected a route that linked Atlantic transit points, central and eastern Mediterranean waters and the western Mediterranean approaches, and they framed SIMPSON's participation in multinational exercises and routine presence patrols characteristic of U.S. Sixth Fleet surface deployments in that period. The ship completed this deployment with her return to Naval Station Mayport on 20 March 2014.

After 2014, SIMPSON's career entered its final phase. As of July 2014, she was homeported at Mayport, assigned to Destroyer Squadron 14, and scheduled to be the second-to-last OLIVER HAZARD PERRY-class frigate to decommission, with an initially planned date of 14 August 2015. In practice, the retirement schedule shifted. Other U.S. frigates left service ahead of her, and by the time SIMPSON reached the end of her active career, she was both the Navy's last OLIVER HAZARD PERRY-class frigate and the last modern U.S. surface combatant to have sunk an enemy warship in combat, a distinction stemming from her destruction of the Iranian missile boat JOSHAN during Operation Praying Mantis in 1988 - a fact underlined in the Navy's own evaluation, which contrasted her record with that of the historic frigate CONSTITUTION.

SIMPSON's final months in commission were spent largely in local operations, maintenance and preparations for decommissioning at Mayport. On 29 September 2015, the Navy held a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Station Mayport marking her retirement from active service after three decades. The ship was formally decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 September 2015, with plans announced to hold her in reserve status pending possible foreign military sale.

The story of USS SIMPSON did not, however, end with decommissioning. After nearly a decade laid up in Philadelphia as part of the inactive fleet, she was towed out to sea on 25 September 2025. Three days later, on 28 September 2025, SIMPSON was sunk as a target during a sinking exercise (SINKEX) held in conjunction with the multinational UNITAS exercise.

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Homeports of USS SIMPSON:

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About the Ship's Name, about Rear Admiral Rodger Whitten Simpson:

USS SIMPSON honors Rear Admiral Rodger Whitten Simpson (1898-1964). RADM Simpson spent one year at the University of Oregon before entering the United States Naval Academy in June 1917. As a midshipman, he served in USS OHIO which operated with the Atlantic Fleet in World War I. He was commissioned an Ensign in June of 1920, graduating with the class of 1921.

After graduation, RADM Simpson served in the cruiser BROOKLYN and destroyers FARQUHAR, TWIGGS, SLOAT, WILLIAM JONES, LUDLOW and WHIPPOORWILL. Following sea duty, he attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Annapolis and Yale University, completing courses in communications engineering in 1928.

RADM Simpson was then assigned to the staff of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 14, Scouting Fleet (USS HOPKINS flagship). He later became Assistant District Communications Officer of the 12th Naval District, San Francisco, and served until July 1933. After a two year tour in USS COLORADO, he was assigned as Assistant to the Officer in Charge, Navy Recruiting Bureau, New York City.

RADM Simpson assumed command of the destroyer USS MAHAN in March of 1941. During that tour, he was awarded the Navy cross for extraordinary heroism during action against enemy Japanese forces south of the Gilbert Islands in October of 1942. The citation reads in part, "Boldly engaging an enemy patrol line in a daring daylight raid, (he)...launched determined and aggressive attacks in which two Japanese vessels were sunk by the effective gunfire of his ship and that of an accompanying destroyer. Despite terrific aerial opposition, he brought his ship and crew through this successful engagement without loss or damage..."

RADM Simpson received the Gold Star in lieu of a second Navy Cross while serving as Commander, Destroyer Division 15 for heroism during an engagement with enemy forces in Vella Gulf, Solomon Islands on the night of August 6, 1943. The citation in part states "...He disposed the units of his command for maximum fire power and combat efficiency, striking at the enemy boldly and with relentless determination and annihilating the entire hostile force of one Japanese cruiser and three destroyers..."

As Commander, Destroyer Squadron 12 and Destroyer Division 23, RADM Simpson was awarded the Silver Star and cited "...for gallantry and intrepidity during operations in the Bismark Archipelago."

On April 6, 1944, with the rank of Commodore, RADM Simpson was assigned as Commander, Task Flotilla 6. He planned and organized the rescue of over 7,500 Allied prisoners of war and civilians interned in Japanese concentration camps. For this rescue, he was awarded the Legion of Merit. The citation in part follows: "...by freeing the prisoners before the actual signing of the surrender, he saved the lives of hundreds of sick and starving U.S. service people..."

RADM Simpson also served tours as Commander, Training Command, Marianas; Commander Fleet Training Group, Western Pacific; Commander, Underway Training Unit , Guam; Commanding Officer, USS ATLANTA; and Commanding Officer, Naval Station Treasure Islands. He retired in 1951.

In addition to the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, and the Legion of Merit, RADM Simpson was awarded the Victory Medal, Atlantic Fleet Clasp (USS OHIO); the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; the Asian-Pacific Medal with two Silver Stars (ten engagements); the Philippine Liberation Ribbon; and the World War II Victory medal.

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USS SIMPSON Patch Gallery:

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USS SIMPSON Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Rob van Kan and show the SIMPSON and the Polnish ORP PULASKI (former USS CLARK (FFG 11)) at Antwerp, Belgium, on April 15, 2006. At that time, both ships operated as part of NATO's SNFL. The photo on the left nicely shows the differences between the PERRY's long- and short-hull versions.

The photos below were taken by me and show the SIMPSON at Kiel, Germany, on June 2, 2010. The SIMPSON was underway from Portsmouth, UK, to Gdynia, Poland, for exercise BALTOPS 2010. The photos below show the ship passing the locks at Kiel-Holtenau after transiting the Kiel Canal. Note the "poker table" in front of the starboard hangar door.

The photos below were taken by me and show the SIMPSON arriving at Kiel, Germany, on June 18, 2010, after participating in exercise BALTOPS 2010.

The photos below were taken by me and show the SIMPSON moored alongside the USS STEPHEN W. GROVES (FFG 29) at Naval Base Kiel, Germany, on June 19, 2010, after participating in exercise BALTOPS 2010.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the SIMPSON laid up between her sisterships KAUFFMAN (FFG 59) and ELROD (FFG 55) at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on October 17, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the SIMPSON laid up at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on October 7, 2018.

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