The USCGC Redbud (WLB-398) was one of 20 "C" class 180 feet (54.9 m) buoy tenders

USCG Seagoing Buoy Tender

The Seagoing Buoy Tender is a type of U.S. Coast Guard cutter originally designed to service aids to navigation, throughout the waters of the United States, and wherever U.S. shipping interests require. The Coast Guard has maintained a fleet of seagoing buoy tenders dating back to its origins in...

 that entered service during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. She was assigned to the 7th Naval District and was based out of Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

, where she serviced aids to navigation. She was loaned to the U.S. Navy on 18 March 1949 and was redesignated as AKL-398 (although the Navy retained her Coast Guard-given name) on 31 March 1949. The Navy had her converted 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...

 and she was commissioned on 23 July 1949 under the command of LCDR F. E. Clark, USN.

Following shakedown, Redbud departed Long Beach 3 August 1949 and headed for the east coast. On 18 September she arrived at Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, whence she continued on to NS Argentia

Naval Station Argentia

Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...

, Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, to join the support force for the construction and maintenance of air bases and early warning installations in the North Atlantic and Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 areas. Through the end of the year and into 1950, she operated along the southwestern coast of Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

, adding more northerly ports and those on the Canadian side of Baffin Bay

Baffin Bay

Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...

 to her schedule during the warmer months. Until 28 February 1952, she continued her support of Arctic bases, rehabilitating navigational aids, activating and repairing submarine petroleum lines, and delivering bulk petroleum and general cargo, as a commissioned U.S. Navy ship. Then decommissioned, she was simultaneously placed in service, assigned to MSTS, and, with a civil-service crew, returned to sealift support for the Northeast Command (SUNEC).

In 1956 Redbud's schedule was altered to include winter (November through March) supply runs to the Texas Towers

Texas Towers

The Texas Towers were a set of off-shore radar facilities used by the United States Air Force during the Cold War that were modeled on the offshore oil drilling platforms first employed off the Texas coast...

 which alternated with warmer weather (April through October) SUNEC duties. Maintaining that schedule through the 1960s, her primary mission continued to be her SUNEC missions, and, until 1970, she was usually the first MSTS ship to arrive in the far north to open a new resupply season. In August 1969 she rescued eight Swiss explorers from their small ice-battered boat which was beset in the ice pack as they attempted to enter the harbor of the Eskimo

Eskimo

Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....

 village of Kulusuk, Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

. This rescue of the members of the 1969 East Greenland Expedition of the Academic Alpine Club from Berne, Switzerland, was executed by the Redbud in a 50 knots (98 km/h) wind in heavy ice under the command of CAPT Leyman W. Couch, USN. The Swiss party had left Kulusuk on the east coast of Greenland, 70 miles (112.7 km) south of the Arctic Circle

Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

, on 24 July 1969 to scale Rytterknegten on Knud Rasmussen Glacier, and were returning to base when they were beset in the ice. None of the explorers was injured.

On 10 November 1970 she was returned to the Coast Guard and was struck from the Navy list ten days later. She was then transferred to the Republic of the Philippines on 1 March 1972 under a grant-in-aid. She served the Philippines as Kalinga (AG-89).