USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG-29)

USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG-29), twenty-first ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Ensign Stephen W. Groves (1917–1942), a naval aviator who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism at the Battle of Midway during World War II.

Background
Ordered from Bath Iron Works on 23 January 1978 as part of the FY78 program, Stephen W. Groves was laid down on 16 September 1980, launched on 4 April 1981, and commissioned on 17 April 1982, Commander Philip A. Bozzelli commanding.

Stephen W. Groves (FFG-29) is the first ship of that name in the U.S. Navy. A previous ship named for Ensign Groves, destroyer escort USS Groves (DE-543) was canceled in 1944 prior to completion. Assigned to Destroyer Squadron 14 and home-ported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, She was decommissioned on 24 February 2012.

History
On 28 August 2005, she sailed from her then-home port of Pascagoula, Mississippi, along with sister ship John L. Hall (FFG-32) under threat from Hurricane Katrina; Naval Station Pascagoula is now closed as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Deployed to the Indian Ocean, on 10 May 2011 she met the Somali pirate longliner Jih Chun Tsai 68 after being ordered to intercept the hijacked Taiwanese fishing vessel. Receiving fire from the longliner, the Stephen W. Groves engaged her in a single ship action that saw the pirate vessel sunk with 3 pirates killed, 2 wounded, and one of the Taiwanese hostages killed.

she was also on station in the desert sheild era when the uss stark to two missiles from a iraq fighter jet and assisted her is her return to mayport fl.36 sailors were killed and many were injured.