Decommissioned in , the destroyer escort was returned to the United States. As of , fewer than 12 destroyer escorts survive, with Slater the only one in its wartime configuration. A mechanical issue aboard Dutch Apple was to blame for the collision. He grew up in Fyffe, Alabama. On 12 November he was killed in action at his battle station during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. The ship was commissioned on 1 May After a shakedown cruise near Bermuda in June , Slater assisted with the transfer of torpedoes from the captured German submarine U , from Bermuda to Maryland.
She was then sent to Key West where she served as a sonar school ship. On 3 October , Slater reported for convoy duty in Brooklyn, New York; she would spend the next 7 months alternating between convoy duty and additional training in Portland, Maine. By the end of the war in Europe, Slater escorted a total of five convoys to the United Kingdom , listed below:. From there she joined Task Unit Slater engaged in support operations in the Pacific through the remainder of the year.
She made another passage through the Canal on her way to Norfolk for deactivation. Slater was placed in the reserve fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida in Along with three other Cannon -class ships, she made up what was known as the "Wild Beasts" Flotilla. The ship did patrol duty in the eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese and also served as a training vessel for naval cadets.
Volunteers began restoring the ship and seeking a permanent home for her; Albany, New York, was decided upon. On 26 October , Slater arrived at the Port of Albany. In January , a welder accidentally started a fire aboard Slater which caused some minor damage to the ship. Repairs were completed within a few months. Restoration of the ship remains an ongoing project. Slater was refitted several times during her long service with two navies.
