USS Murrelet (AM-372) was an acquired by the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 to removed mines from minefields laid to prevent ships from passing. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the murrelet, a small sea bird found chiefly on islands in the northern Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

Murrelet was laid down August 29, 1944 by the Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

; launched December 29 1944; sponsored by Mrs. W. L. Mingledorff; and commissioned August 21, 1945, Lt. Comdr. J. W. Wagstaff in command.

Post-World War II operations

Following shakedown

Shakedown (testing)

A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...

 off Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, Murrelet departed Little Creek, Virginia, and steamed for Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, arriving Sasebo

Sasebo, Nagasaki

is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...

 on January 14, 1946. She engaged in sweeping operations in Japanese and Korean waters until April 22, when she steamed for the west coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

. Murrelet was decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

 on June 20, 1946, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

.

Korean War

After hostilities broke out in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, Murrelet recommissioned October 28, 1950. She reported to COMINRON 5 for extensive minesweeping training at Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

, March 6, 1951. She arrived Yokosuka, Japan, in August 1951 to aid United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 forces meeting the challenge of Communist aggression. Departing Yokosuka on August 21, she sailed to Korea, participating in operations north of Wonsan

Wonsan

Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...

, in the Hungnam

Hungnam

Hŭngnam was the third largest city in North Korea.It is a port city on the eastern coast, in South Hamgyong Province, on the Sea of Japan . The city covers an area of 250 square kilometers...

, Songjin, and Chongjin

Chongjin

Ch'ŏngjin is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyŏng Province and the country's third largest city. From 1960 to 1967 and again from 1977 to 1985, Ch'ŏngjin was administered separately from North Hamgyŏng as a Directly Governed City...

 areas. She resumed shelling and sweeping operations at Songjin on November 27, 1951, after returning from a period of yard duty at Yokosuka. She continued sweeping and patrol duties off Korea in 1952, capturing and destroying enemy sampans, until July, when she returned to the west coast.

Murrelet started a second tour of duty off Korea in April, 1953, returning to Long Beach, California, in December. Redesignated MSF-372, February 7, 1955, she continued to operate off the west coast of the United States, except for a third WestPac deployment that year.

She decommissioned March 14, 1957, and was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, at Columbia, Oregon. Struck from the Naval Register on December 1, 1964, she was transferred in June 1965 to the Philippine Navy

Philippine Navy

The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....

 under the Foreign Military Assistance Program, and served as BRP Rizal (PS-74).

External links

• Web site dedicated to the memory of the USS Murrelet (AM-372)
• Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 AM-372 USS Murrelet
• USS Murrelet MSF-372
• AWON Washington Post page
• The Navy MSO Association