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USS Herald (AM-101)
Encyclopedia
USS Herald (AM-101) 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...
for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Herald was named after the word "herald
Herald
A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
", which means "a bearer of news".
Herald was the second of two U.S. Navy ships named the Herald, was a steel-hulled diesel-powered minesweeper launched by General Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
, on 4 July 1942; and commissioned on 23 March 1943, Comdr. D. B. Poupeney in command.
World War II North Pacific operations
Following her shakedownShakedown (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...
training off the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast, Herald got underway on 16 May 1943 for Dutch Harbor, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, where she took part in patrols and was present for the unopposed landing on Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
Island on 15 August. The ship resumed her patrol and escort duties; but, after suffering severe damage in a storm on 6 November 1943 returned to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
on 10 December for repairs.
World War II South Pacific operations
The minesweeper returned to duty on 12 February 1944, sailing to Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on the 22nd. After two convoy voyages to the Marshalls
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
, she got underway on 30 May to join the fleet at Eniwetok for one of the most important amphibious operations of the war, the invasion of the Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
. Herald arrived off Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
on D-day, 15 June, and performed minesweeping and escort duties. While the U.S. fleet won a great victory at the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
19 to 21 June, the minesweeper protected the transport and fueling areas off Saipan. She sailed to Tarawa on 17 July to escort a group of LST's back to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 26 July.
In the months that followed, Herald performed vital convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
work in the Marshalls and Marianas, including patrol and some minesweeping work. In early 1945 she served as an escort ship for submarines returning to Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
from war patrols. Herald sailed from Pearl Harbor for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on 11 May 1945, arriving San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, seven days later.
Post-World War II operations
At San Francisco, California at war's end, the minesweeper sailed on 1 September 1945 to take part in the giant sweeping operations necessary for rapid and safe occupation of the former Japanese islands. Arriving SaseboSasebo, 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...
, 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...
, 26 October, Herald operated in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
until departing on 15 January 1946 for the United States.
Arriving 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...
, on 17 February after stops at Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor, Herald was decommissioned on 31 May 1946 and was placed in reserve.
Herald received two battle stars for 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...
service.
Second commission
Herald was recommissioned on 5 March 1952 at San Diego, California. Herald spent the remainder of the year in shakedown training and minesweeping drills on the east coast of the United States. Operating out of Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, the ship made two cruises to the Mediterranean in the spring of 1953 and the summer of 1954, strengthening the U.S. 6th Fleet in that troubled region. Herald continued to take part in fleet maneuvers and training off the U.S. East Coast and in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
until arriving Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, 10 February 1955.
Decommissioning and sale
Herald decommissioned at Green Cove Springs on 15 April 1955 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, berthed at Orange, TexasOrange, Texas
Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
. She was reclassified MSF-101, on 7 February 1955.
Struck from the Naval Register on 1 July 1972, the ship was sold to Mexico on 1 February 1973, to serve as ARM Mariano Matamoros. Fate unknown.