Pacific ships

USN · Commander

Veeder, W. S.

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WS

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W. S. Veeder, William Schuetze Veeder, was a United States Navy destroyer officer. He was born in Washington, D.C., on 19 January 1903, and he died in Nokesville, Virginia, on 4 April 1978. He became a lieutenant commander on 29 December 1939, a temporary commander on 1 August 1942, and a temporary captain on 20 July 1943.

As a lieutenant he was captain of the Clemson-class destroyer Edsall (DD-219) from 24 July to 9 August 1937. The ship was with the Asiatic Fleet, and earlier captains on that station had included A. H. Rice, Halsey Powell, Jules James, and Byron Scott Dague. During his tour Edsall joined the search for the Pan American Hawaii Clipper, which had gone missing on the flight from Guam toward Manila. She searched from 30 July until the search was called off on the morning of 5 August. No trace of the flying boat was found, and the nine crewmen and six passengers were never recovered.

He left Edsall on 9 August 1937. The destroyer stayed in the Far East and was sunk south of Java on 1 March 1942, with Lieutenant Joshua J. Nix in command. None of her company survived the war.

On 28 January 1942 he was awarded the Navy Cross. On 28 May 1942 he took command of the destroyer McCall (DD-400) as a lieutenant commander. His temporary promotion to commander came on 1 August 1942, while he still had that ship, and he remained in command until 27 February 1943.

On 11 June 1943 he commissioned Clarence K. Bronson (DD-668) at Kearny, New Jersey, and became her first captain. The Fletcher-class destroyer had been launched on 18 April 1943 at the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. He was a commander at the commissioning, and on 20 July 1943 he received the temporary rank of captain while still aboard. Clarence K. Bronson reached Pearl Harbor on 21 November 1943 for final training and, aside from one escort voyage to Tarawa, stayed in Hawaiian waters through the rest of his tour. He left the ship on 3 January 1944. Afterward she joined the fast carriers and screened strikes in the central Pacific under the captains who succeeded him.