Chevalier was a Fletcher-class destroyer, hull DD-451. She was launched on 11 April 1942 and commissioned on 20 July 1942.
On 18 August 1943 she was off the north coast of Vella Lavella with Nicholas, O'Bannon, and Taylor. Nicholas led Captain Ryan's division. Four Japanese destroyers were covering barges bound for Horaniu. Shigure was one of them. Chevalier fired four torpedoes at Shigure from about 9,000 yards. None hit. Shigure's torpedoes missed the American destroyers. Gunfire nicked Hamakaze and Isokaze. Those hits belong to Ryan's destroyers, not to Chevalier alone. Shigure was not hit. Most of the barges still landed their troops.
On 6 October she was northwest of Vella Lavella with Selfridge and O'Bannon. A second American division had not arrived yet. Shigure and Samidare were covering the last Japanese troops leaving the island. Yugumo charged the three destroyers. Gunfire and a torpedo from Selfridge, Chevalier, and O'Bannon finished her. The kill is not pinned to Chevalier.
One of Yugumo's own torpedoes hit Chevalier and blew up her forward magazine. That torpedo was not Shigure's. O'Bannon then ran into the crippled Chevalier, and the two ships locked together. O'Bannon was damaged and stayed afloat. Selfridge was firing at Shigure and Samidare when a torpedo took her bow off. The ship that fired it is not known.
The wounded were taken off. The next day La Vallette scuttled the abandoned Chevalier. Ralph Talbot and Taylor had come up after the shooting. The evacuation still got away.
