USS Young, a 1190-ton Clemson class destroyer built at San Francisco, California, was commissioned in November 1920. For more than two years she remained in a relatively inactive status in West Coast ports as part of the early 1920s "rotating reserve", which attempted to keep three destroyers in commission with minimum personnel. In February 1923, Young steamed south to Panama to participate in Fleet Problem I, the first of a lengthy series of major maneuvers undertaken by the United States Fleet in the inter-war years. She remained active after her return north in April, taking part in battle practice and other exercises.

On 8 September 1923, Young accompanied other ships of Destroyer Squadron ELEVEN on a cruise down the California coast from San Francisco to San Diego. Shortly after nightfall, the formation of destroyers turned eastward to enter the Santa Barbara Channel. However, due to a navigation error on the squadron flagship, the turn was actually made several miles too far north, and seven ships ran aground on fog-enshrouded Point Pedernales (locally called Honda Point). Young, the third ship in the column, ripped her bottom open as she approached the rocky shore and quickly rolled over on her starboard side. Twenty of her crew were lost in this disaster, and the rest were rescued after a very difficult time clinging to the wave-washed hull of their capsized ship.