Qualla: USS Higbee

USS Higbee: Introduction

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit USN, Public domain. Her crew called her "Leaping Lenah," and the nickname captured something essential about the destroyer that would serve the United States Navy for three decades and three wars. USS Higbee (DD/DDR-806) was the first American warship ever named for a female member of the Navy, honoring Chief Nurse Lenah S. Higbee, who had led the Navy Nurse Corps during World War I. Launched in 1944, the Gearing-class destroyer would earn eight battle stars, survive a direct hit from a North Vietnamese MiG-17, and eventually meet her end as a target in the waters west of San Diego.

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Image: USN | Public domain

USS Higbee: A Pioneering Namesake

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit U.S. Navy, Public domain. Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee served as Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps from 1911 until 1922, transforming military nursing through World War I. She was the first woman to receive the Navy Cross for her wartime leadership. When the Navy chose to honor her by naming a warship in h...

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Image: U.S. Navy | Public domain

USS Higbee: Three Wars, Eight Stars

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit PH3 Stephen L. Fowk, USN, Public domain. After shakedown in the Caribbean, Higbee sailed for the Pacific in May 1945, joining Carrier Task Force 38 within 400 miles of Tokyo Bay just weeks before Japan's surrender. She screened the carriers during heavy air attacks on the Japanese mainland and spent seven months clearin...

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Image: PH3 Stephen L. Fowk, USN | Public domain

USS Higbee: Under Attack at Dong Hoi

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit U.S. Navy, Public domain. On April 19, 1972, during operations off the coast of Vietnam, two North Vietnamese MiG-17s from the 923rd Fighter Regiment made an audacious low-level attack on American warships. Pilot Le Xuan Di dropped a 250-kilogram bomb directly onto Higbee's rear 5-inch gun mount, destroyi...

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Image: U.S. Navy | Public domain

USS Higbee: Final Duty

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Thewellman, CC0. After Vietnam, Higbee served with the Naval Reserve Force, homeported in Long Beach and later Seattle. In 1978, she achieved the highest Naval Gunfire Support score of any ship in the U.S. Navy, earning recognition in Surface Warfare magazine. But her age and lack of modern capab...

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Image: Thewellman | CC0