USS ''Heron'' (MSC(O)-18/AMS-18/YMS-369) was a built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. ''Heron'' was laid down as ''YMS-369'' on 13 January 1943 by Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp.,

Whitestone, New York Whitestone is a residential neighborhood in the northernmost part of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood proper is located between the East River to the north; College Point and Whitestone Expressway to the west; Flushing and ...

, and launched 24 July 1943. The sponsor was Miss Frances J. McCarthy, an employee of the firm. The YMS was commissioned 11 October 1943. The minesweeper's

service in the American Theatre of operations consisted of

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...

and escort duty in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

and Caribbean while based in Key West; in the

Gulf of Maine , image = , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = GulfofMaine2.jpg , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Major features of the Gulf of Maine , location = Northeast coast of the ...

while based in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

; and sweeping the approaches to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

while based in Tompkinsville.

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

operations included sweeping around the home islands after the Japanese surrender. On 2 March 1946, she sailed for home after 4 months in Japanese waters and was decommissioned. She was named ''USS Heron'' and reclassified AMS-18 7 February 1947. After recommissioning 15 July 1949, ''Heron'' engaged in training exercises on the

U.S. West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

until 4 October 1950, when she sailed for

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

duty. She patrolled off the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and was of invaluable assistance for her clearing of channels for blockading ships in the siege of Wonsan Harbor in March 1951. ''Heron'' received superficial damage after being hit by a shore battery at

Wonsan Wŏnsan (), previously known as Wŏnsanjin (), Port Lazarev, and Genzan (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

, no casualties, 10 September 1951. She maintained surveillance of North Korean sea traffic after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

until January 1954, when she retired to

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

, Japan, for training duties. Reclassified MSC(O)-18 on 17 February 1955, ''Heron'' decommissioned again 21 March, and was turned over to the

Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

the same day to serve as ''Nuwajima'' (MSC-657). ''Heron'' was returned to U.S. Navy custody 31 March 1967, struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

the same day, and used as a fire target by the Japanese Maritime Staff Office.

Awards and honors

''Heron'' earned one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for

service, and eight

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for her participation in the Korean War.

References

External links

*
The Shore Batteries at Wonsan
an account by Burl Gilliland of serving on ''Heron'', while under fire from North Korean shore batteries. (Includes photos.)
Photo
of U.S. Navy ships at Sasebo, Japan, that includes ''Heron'' in the distance. (se

for description of photo.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Heron (AMS-18) YMS-1-class minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built in Queens, New York 1943 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States Korean War minesweepers of the United States YMS-1-class minesweepers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force