Guided missile destroyer USS Towers (DDG-9) sank on 9 October 2002 after being expended as a target during a live-fire exercise, bringing an end to the service life of a ship that had been operated for more than four decades. Commissioned in 1961, Towers served extensively during the Cold War and the Vietnam War before being decommissioned in 1990. Like many retired warships, she was used to test modern weapons systems and study damage effects, contributing valuable data for naval warfare develo