A lot of USS Fletcher destroyer history at Pearl Harbor came to a dramatic end last month when the ship, formerly DD-992, was sunk by a heavyweight Mk-48 torpedo off Kaua'i during Rim of the Pacific war games.

A video released by Australia showed the impressive result after the torpedo fired by the Australian submarine HMAS Waller exploded beneath the Fletcher, showering the air with water and debris and breaking the back of the 563-foot Spruance-class destroyer.

An earlier Fletcher, (DD-445), and the lead ship of 175 Fletcher-class destroyers, was homeported at Pearl Harbor from 1949 until it was decommissioned in 1969, according to former crew member Earl Faubion.

Approximately 20 of the Fletcher-class destroyers were sunk during World War II, said Faubion, 61, an Oklahoma resident and historian and webmaster for the USS Fletcher Reunion Group.

"They were the workhorse of World War II, the workhorse of the Navy," said Faubion, who served on the older Fletcher from 1966 to 1969.

The destroyer was built in New Jersey and participated in the bloody battles of Guadalcanal, earning its nickname "Lucky 13," Faubion said.

According to the reunion group's Web site, DD-992's namesake, Frank Jack Fletcher, was the nephew of the first Fletcher's Frank Friday Fletcher.

The later USS Fletcher, one of the last of 31 Spruance-class destroyers, was commissioned in 1980.

Two years and four crews after deploying in 2002, DD-992 returned to Pearl Harbor in 2004 after serving as a "sea swap" platform testing the ability of ships to stay longer at sea by swapping crews.

During the start of the Iraq war in 2003, Fletcher fired nearly 20 missiles and remained under way for 89 consecutive days.

The Fletcher was decommissioned in 2004 in San Diego and was slated for delivery to Pakistan, but the deal fell through.

Speculation was that Pakistan's navy didn't have the capability or budget to operate such a big warship.

In the meantime, Fletcher made its way back to Pearl Harbor, this time to the Navy's inactive-ship fleet at Middle Loch, where it was kept until it was sunk in the Rimpac exercise.

In 2004, Faubion was an invited guest on Fletcher's cruise from Hawai'i to San Diego.

"Even though it was only a week, it was the Fletcher, like my first ship," Faubion said.

Seeing the "sink exercise" video was "almost like watching the death of a loved one," Faubion said.

"But at the same time, I was thinking, at least now, these sailors who sailed this ship know where she is," he said.

The first Fletcher was towed to Taiwan and broken up for scrap, he said.

Joseph Caravalho Jr., who grew up in Kane'ohe and went to Saint Louis School, recently was promoted to one-star general in a ceremony at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, the Army said.

As the Multi-National Force-Iraq, and Multi-National Corps-Iraq, surgeon, Brig. Gen. Joseph Caravalho is the top U.S. medical officer in the country.

"He's a one-of-a-kind soldier, and a one-of-a-kind physician," said Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq. "We are very grateful to have Joe on the team, and this is a promotion well deserved."

Caravalho's wife, Lorraine, son Joe, and daughter Amanda, watched his promotion from Fort Bragg, N.C.

Caravalho is deployed to Iraq with the XVIII Airborne Corps.

"I'm so grateful for my wife allowing me to stay in as long as I have, and I thank you for your unconditional love, because Lord knows I've placed a lot of conditions on you over the years," he said to his wife.

Caravalho, an Army Ranger and Special Forces soldier, also credited a Brother Farrell at St. Louis for telling him he could be whatever he wanted to be.

About 4,500 Schofield Barracks soldiers are in Southern California for three weeks of large-scale unit training as most prepare to deploy to Iraq starting in October.

The 3rd Brigade has about 3,500 soldiers at the National Training Center in the Mojave Desert.

Another 600 Schofield soldiers are there from the Combat Aviation Brigade, and 400 are from the 45th Sustainment Brigade.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.