U.S. World War II Navy

The USS LSM(R) 404  Underway ca. 1946.

Specifications:
Displacement 758 t.(light), 993 t.(attack) 1,175 t. (fully loaded)
Length 203' 6" o.a.
Beam 34' 6"
Draft 7' forward, 9' aft
Speed 13 kts.
Complement 6 officers, 137 enlisted
Armament

one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount

two twin 40mm gun mounts

four twin 20mm gun mounts

ten twin tube continuous loading 5" spin stabilizer rocket launchers

four 4".2 mortars

two .50 cal machine guns on the forecastle

two .30 cal machine guns on the bridge wings.
Armor 10-lb. STS on conning station, pilot-house, radio room, radar plot, and rocket control, 10-lb. ASPP around 40 and 20mm gun mounts and directors
Propulsion two General Motors 16-287A (non-reversing with airflex clutch) diesels, direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm, twin screws, Endurance, 3,000 miles @ 13kts 

LSM(R)-401 Class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket); 

As you can see above, LSM(R) was the class of ship.  

 Laid down, 6 January 1945, at Charleston Naval Yard, Charleston, S.C.

Launched, 25 January 1945

Commissioned USS LSM(R)-404, 25 April 1945, LTjg. J.P. Ryan, USNR, in command

My father Donald J. Howie served aboard this ship.

His final rank was Seaman First Class.

NOTICE OF SEPARATION FROM THE U.S. NAVAL SERVICE
serial no. 567-XX-XX
HOWIE, Donald James
Seaman First Class USNR V-6
315 E. Howard Street
Pasadena, California
Los Angeles, County
Place of Separation: PSC NB TI, SAN PEDRO, CALIF.
Character of separation: HONORABLE
Race: White
Sex: Male
Marital Status: Single
U.S. Citizen: Yes
Date and place of birth: 28 Sept 1927, Derby, Orleans County Vermont.
Means of entry: Enlisted
Date: 04 AUG 1945
Date of active service: 28 SEPT 1945
Place of entry: Pasadena, Calif
Qualifications, Certificates held.
See rating booklet # 15165
Seaman First Class
Marksman
Ratings Held: AS, S2c, S1c
Services schools completed: None
Service (Vessels and stations served on)
USS LSM (R) 404
Remarks:
Victory Medal World War II
Signed by: J.B. Warner, LT. COMDR., USNR


Education completed prior:
GRAM: 8 Y.S.: 4 COLL: 0 MAJOR: None
Date of separation: 17 AUG 1946

Front of Victory Medal World War II

Rev. Victory War Medal World War II

The World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. The decoration commemorates military service during World War II and is awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of the Government of the Philippine Islands, who served on active duty, or as a reservist, between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946.
The World War II Victory Medal was first issued as a ribbon, and was referred to simply as the “Victory Ribbon.” By 1946, a full medal had been established which was referred to as the World War II Victory Medal. The medal's front depicts Nike standing victorious, holding a broken sword, representing the broken power of the Axis, with one foot upon the helmet of Mars, the Roman god of war, representing the end of the conflict. Behind Nike is a sunburst, representing the dawn of peace. The reverse recalls the "Four Freedoms" speech by President Roosevelt, with a laurel sprig, surrounded by the words "United States of America", and the dates of the conflict, "1941-1945". The edges of the ribbon revisit the multi-colored rainbow ribbon of the Allied World War I Victory Medal. This again honors all the allied nations. The wide red center represents the new sacrifice of blood by World War II combatants. The thin white lines separating the central red band from the outer multi-colored bands represent the rays of new hope, two of them signifying that this was the second global conflict.
There is no minimum service time limit for the issuance of the World War II Victory Medal, and the National Personnel Records Center has reported some cases of service members receiving the award for simply a few days of service. As the Second World War ended on September 2, 1945, there are also cases of service members, who had enlisted in 1946, receiving the decoration without having been a veteran of World War II. The reason for this late date is that President Harry S. Truman did not declare an official end of hostilities until the last day of 1946.