U.S.S. Henley commissioning pennant with a photographic view of the destroyer. Presented in a 13 x 12 inch frame.

The USS Henley was launched on 12 January 1937 and was named after Captain Robert Henley, a Naval officer who served in the Quasi-War, the War of 1812, and the Second Barbary War. 

She joined the Pacific Battle Force, Destroyer Division on 12 September 1938. On 7 December 1941, the Henley was moored at East Loch at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. A new sailor accidentally sounded general quarters instead of quarters for muster, so battle stations were manned and the Henley fired the first destroyer shots as the initial wave of Japanese planes attacked. Speeding out of the channel, she shot down one dive bomber and shared credit for another. She also dropped depth charges on a sonar contact, possibly a midget submarine. In the aftermath, she operated with the task forces to reinforce Wake Island patrol convoy lanes. 

Throughout 1942, she carried out convoy and antisubmarine duty, primarily in Australian waters and the South Pacific. In September 1943, she helped format a protective screen when Australian troops established a beachhead at Finschafen, New Guinea. Engaging her antiaircraft guns yet again, she shot 3 Japanese torpedo bombers and assisted in 3 others. 

A month later, however, she was attacked by torpedos from a submarine off the coast of Finschafen. Her boilers destroyed and keel broken. The crew abandoned ship and the Henley sunk. Her companion destroyers were able to rescue 18 officers and 225 men, losing only 1 officer and 14 men. 

An important relic from a destroyer that played a pivotal role at Pearl Harbor. 

[World War II, WWII, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Adolf Hitler, Allied, Axis, George S. Patton, Air Force] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards] [Relics, Militaria]