USS William R. Rush (DD-714)
USS William R. Rush (DD/DDR-714) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for William R. Rush.
For other ships with the same name, see USS William R. Rush and ROKS Gangwon.William R. Rush was laid down on 15 October 1944 at Newark, New Jersey, by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company; launched on 8 July 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy Flagg Biddle, a cousin of Captain Rush; and commissioned on 21 September 1945. Completed too late to serve in World War II, she later saw action in during the Korean War. Transferred to the navy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in 1978, she was finally decommissioned in 2000, then served as a museum ship until being broken up in 2016.
1978-2016[edit]
William R. Rush was transferred on 1 July 1978 to the navy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) under the terms of the Security Assistance Program and renamed ROKS Kang Won (DD-922).
The ship was involved in many patrol missions in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. In particular when she sank a mother ship spy vessel from North Korea in 1984 in the Sea of Japan, which was the first ever feat by the ROK Navy. As a result, the ship and crewmen were awarded medals and several promotions followed. The North Korean spy boat was hit by a missile launched from an Alouette III helicopter operating from Kang Won and later destroyed by the guns of the ship. It was only one year after the ship was equipped with a flight deck for French-made Alouette III helicopters. Kang Won was one of the most decorated vessels in ROK Navy history when she retired from the active duty in 1999. The ship was decommissioned from the ROK Navy on 31 December 2000. She was stationed as a museum ship at the South Korean naval headquarters in Jinhae, and was later transferred to Changwon Marine Park (창원해양공원). The vessel was returned to the ROK Navy on 30 November 2016.
In December 2016, she arrived at Busan Dadaepo port for dismantling.[1]