Abbot Crew, December 1945
This photo was taken in San Diego, December 1945, while many of the World War II crew were still aboard. Commander Ingling is in the middle of the front row, with three sleeve stripes. Abbot is moored immediately behind the crew, with nine other Fletcher-class destroyers stretching along the dock. Another Fletcher-class destroyer is barely visible to the left; its bridge is sporting 11 painted flags, representing Japanese aircraft shot down.
The destroyer immediately behind Abbot is not known with certainty, though the last digit of its hull number is “6”; it is probably Benham or Halsey Powell, though it could be Marshall, Hailey, Brown or Owen. Behind the unidentified destroyer is Lewis Hancock (identifiable by its life ring, enlarged at right).
Abbot was decommissioned in May 1946, about six months after this photo was taken. This is the only known group photo from Abbot’s World War II service.
A high-resolution version of this photo suitable for reprinting can be downloaded.
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Panorama photo courtesy of Charlie Angevine.