My grandfather passed away, recently. He served on a Fletcher class destroyer during WWII and Korea. I want to build one that represents the WWII version. I also want this to be in 1/144 as part of a memorial. I know that both Tamiya and Trumpeter have a Fletcher class in this scale. Would either be an accurate representation?

Matt,
The only 1/144 Fletcher on the market is the Revell version, which is quite large-- over 2 feet in length. There are several 1/350 versions out there, and several 1/700 versions, which are much smaller-- the Tamiya and Trumpeter versions are 1/350 scale. It would really help to know exactly which ship(s) your Grandfather served on. Be aware the Revell 1/144 is an early version Fletcher with a round bridge, with early AA armament circa 1940 specs. and its nearly 30 inches long. There were so many versions of the Fletcher built during WWII that they varied quite a bit from ship to ship. Later in the war, they went from the round bridge to a six sided armored bridge, had 4 additional port and starboard midships twin 40mm mounts added, and had different torpedo tube arrangements, among other changes. The Fletcher class was built in multiple shipyards on the east and west coasts. I recommend picking up a copy of Squadrons "Fletcher Class Destroyers" for a starter. You can use wikipedia to ID specific ships. I have a copy of James Fahey's Victory edition of "Ships and and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet" published in 1946, it lists every ship, hull number and commissioning date that served during the war. There were 119 early class Fletchers (1940 specs), and 56 later type (1941-42 specs). But keep in mind, the specs were changed as production went along. Hope this helps.
Very Respectfully, Russ

He served on the U.S.S. Brown, during WWII and the U.S.S. Yarnell during Korea.

A good online resouce site is Navsource. The could show they specific destroyers at different times durring their service life.

Here's the Brown and Yarnell (if it's a Feltcher I think the spelling is Yarnall. Yarnell is a post Korean War Guided Missile Cruiser.

I'd also go with Russ' recomendations.

Modeling subjects of family related services is a great motivator for projects. Please consider posting your construction images here when you start.

Matt,
Using Michael's references for Navsource-- both the Brown and Yarnell are later version Fletchers-- and the Revell 1/144 Fletcher and Tamiya's 1/350 are far different in configuration. A few years ago I did a commission for the USS Johnston from the Revell kit. The Johnston, like the Brown and Yarnell was a six sided armored bridge with the additional 4 twin 40mm AA mounts. This would entail scratch building the enlarged mounts (and guns unless someone has made AM guns now) and the entire bridge section from the main deck up. I did it and it wasn't fun (if I could figure out how to post photos I'd post a few-- but I'm not a computer savvy guy). But, it could be done with a lot of work. I think Trumpeter might make a 1/350 late type Fletcher, and there are some 1/700 late types. The good news is the hulls are the same! hope this helps.
VR, Russ

Looks like I will have to pull the Trumpeter kit out of my stash.