USS Kirk (FF-1087)

USS Kirk (FF-1087) was a Knox-class destroyer escort, originally designated as DE-1087 and reclassified as a frigate (1975) in the United States Navy. Her primary mission of ASW remained unchanged. She was named for Admiral Alan Goodrich Kirk.

Awarded to the Avondale Marine on 25 August 1966, Kirk was laid down on 4 December 1970, launched on 25 September 1971 and commissioned on 9 September 1972.

In April 1975 Kirk participated in Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon, Vietnam.

As part of the evacuation of South Vietnam, the USS Kirk carried out one of the most significant humanitarian missions in U.S. military history. Under the direction of a civilian, Richard Armitage, the Kirk rescued the South Vietnamese Navy, and along with it, tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees, and led them to the Philippines. From there, most of the refugees ultimately emigrated to the United States.

In 2010, under the direction of VADM Adam Robinson, Fmr. Surgeon General of the US Navy, the US Navy created a documentary entitled "The Lucky Few." It has since been translated into Vietnamese as well.

She served in the US Navy up until 6 August 1993, when the ship was decommissioned and leased to Republic of China Navy in Taiwan. In Taiwanese service she was renamed Fen Yang (汾陽) with the hull number changed to 934. On 29 September 1999, the ship was finally purchased by Taiwan.