“Have you heard of a ship called the good Reuben James, Manned by hard fighting men both of honor and fame?”
The USS Reuben James was a Clemson-class destroyer, built just after World War I in 1919. Clemson-class, also known as four stackers, were the most common destroyer ever built by the US Navy, with 156 built, until the Fletcher-class in World War II.
It was armed with 4, four-inch guns, and 12 torpedo tubes. It also carried depth charges for anti- submarine warfare. The USS Reuben James was commissioned on 24 September 1920.
The ship was named after Reuben James, a sailor who gained fame for stepping in front of Lieutenant Decatur during a battle in the Barbary Wars and taking a sword blow to the head that was intended for Decatur, who went on to gain great fame in the Navy. Interestingly, it appears in retrospect, that story might be in error and another man actually took the blow.
In 1921, she helped escort the remains of the Unknown Soldier of World War I from Europe back to the United States.
The Reuben James was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Heywood L. Edwards. A 1926 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Heywood had wrestled in the 1928 Summer Olympics, placing 4th in the light heavyweight division.
