In 1993 the Board of Directors of the Destroyer Escort Sailors Association voted for and established a new organization, the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum (DEHM). DEHM was incorporated as a not-for-profit educational corporation and has been granted an absolute charter by the New York State Department of Education.

The primary mission of the USS SLATER/Destroyer Escort Historical Museum is to utilize the SLATER as an educational platform to teach youth and visitors about contributions of the destroyer escorts in World War II and the postwar Navy. This keeps alive the history, spirit and technology of these vessels and the men and women who built and manned them.

To accomplish this we collect, maintain, display and interpret artifacts and documents relating to the role of the destroyer escorts in the United States Navy during World War II and the postwar years. The primary emphasis is the authentic restoration and display of the destroyer escort USS SLATER DE766 in her 1945 configuration with all the equipment and artifacts she would have carried at that time.

The USS SLATER has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Of over 2,500 national Museum members, locally 120 volunteers are actively engaged with the organization, interpreting the USS SLATER to the public, maintaining the ship and her vintage equipment, and preserving the maintenance techniques of sixty years ago.

Your support is so important. The USS SLATER is owned and operated by the private not for profit
Destroyer Escort Historical Museum as an IRS 501(c)(3). Its operation is funded by contributions from loyal members, volunteers, former ship crews, corporations and private foundations. The Museum does not rely on taxpayer money, but on the generosity and patriotic spirit of those interested in preserving our naval heritage and insuring that the memory of these veterans is not forgotten when they are gone.