USS Meredith (DD-434), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Jonathan Meredith, a United States Marine Corps Sergeant who served during the First Barbary War. Meredith was laid down 1 June 1939 by Boston Naval Shipyard; launched 24 April 1940; sponsored by Miss Ethel Dixon Meredith, and commissioned 1 March 1941, Lieutenant Commander William F. Mendenhall, Jr., in command.