USCGC ''Winona'' (WHEC-65) was an ''Owasco'' class high endurance cutter built for World War II service with the United States Coast Guard. The war ended before the ship was completed and consequently she did not see wartime service until the Vietnam War. ''Winona'' was built by

Western Pipe & Steel The Western Pipe and Steel Company (WPS) was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U.S. Shipping Board in World W ...

at the company's San Pedro shipyard. Named after Winona Lake, Indiana, she was commissioned as a patrol gunboat with ID number WPG-65 on 19 April 1946. Her ID was later changed to WHEC-65 (HEC for "High Endurance Cutter" - the "W" signifies a Coast Guard vessel)

Peacetime service

From 15 August 1946 to 11 September 1947, ''Winona'' was stationed at San Pedro, California, and used for law enforcement, ocean station, and search and rescue operations. She was subsequently homeported at Port Angeles, Washington, until 31 May 1974.Scheina (1990), pp 25–26 On 17 November 1948, she towed the disabled MV ''Herald of Morning''. On 10 June 1949, she assisted FV ''Alice B'' 2 miles off South Amphitrite Point. On 13 February 1950, she towed the disabled MV ''Edgecombe'' to Seattle, Washington. On 16 June 1951, she escorted FV ''Sea Lark'' to Ketchikan, Alaska. On 18 and 19 March 1952, she assisted the disabled MV ''Darton'' until relieved by a commercial tug. From 23 to 25 December 1952, she assisted MV ''Maple Cove'' at 48°22’N, 134°26’W. On 13 February 1954, she assisted FV ''Western Fisherman''. On 20 December 1954, she medevaced a crewman from MV ''General Pope''. She patrolled the

Gold Cup Races Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

at Seattle, Washington, on 7 August 1955. ''Winona'' served on

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...

patrol from July to September 1956. She was back performing that same task from 20 July to 21 September 1963.

Vietnam War

''Winona'' was assigned to

Coast Guard Squadron Three The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

, from 25 January to 17 October 1968. On

1 March Events Pre-1600 *509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocletian and ...

the ''Winona sank'' a North Vietnamese trawler designated T-A. Damage controlman first class Thomas Lisk was on board at the time, and reported that a round penetrated the hull and bounce repeatedly around the room but fortunately neither he nor any shipmates were injured.

Return to peacetime duties

On 31 January 1969, ''Winona'' stood by MV ''Belmona'' following a fire 15 miles southwest of Cape Flattery until commercial tugs arrived. On 20 July 1969, she assisted in the operations following the sinking of a barge loaded with diesel fuel near Admiralty Inlet. On 28 October 1970, she provided medical assistance to ''Urea Maru'' 300 miles off San Francisco.

Decommissioning

The ship was decommissioned on 31 May 1974 and was laid-up at the US Coast Guard Base, Alameda, California until she was scrapped in late 1976.

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