USS ''Execute'' (AM-232) was an 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. She was originally ordered and

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

as USS ''PCE-905'', the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the of

patrol craft A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

. She was reclassified as an ''Admirable''-class minesweeper by the time of her June 1944 launch, and named ''Execute'' by the time of her November 1944 commissioning. After service in the Pacific during World War II, she was decommissioned in August 1946 and placed in reserve. While she remained in reserve, ''Execute'' was reclassified as MSF-232 in February 1955 but never reactivated. In 1962, she was sold to the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...

and renamed ARM ''DM-03''. In 1994, she was renamed ARM ''General Juan N. Méndez'' (C51). She was stricken in July 2001, but her ultimate fate is not reported in

secondary source In scholarship, a secondary sourcePrimary, secondary and tertiary sources
. ...

U.S. Navy career

Originally ordered as ''PCE-905'', the

of the of

, the ship was

at the

Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company was a major shipbuilding and construction company, located in Seattle, Washington, on the southwestern corner of Harbor Island, an artificial island in Elliott Bay. The Bridge and Dredging Company created t ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

. She was reclassified as an and assigned the

hull code The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ...

of AM-232 by the time of her June 22, 1944, launch by sponsor Mrs. R. J. Huff. By the time of her November 15, 1944, commissioning, she had been assigned the name ''Execute''. Following

shakedown cruise Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise ...

she departed for

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

whence she escorted a

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 and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

via

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

and

Kossol Roads Kossol Roads is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob in northern Palau at .Kossol Roads
a ...

during February 1945. On March 26, as part of the preliminary assault force for the invasion of the

Ryukyus The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

, she screened

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

against countless air attacks Early in April she served with the Sweep Unit in clearing the bays of Nakagusuku and

Chimu Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture. The culture arose about 900 AD, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui around 1470, fifty y ...

and defended vessels against

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending ...

attack. She participated in the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. During this battle she picked up 70 survivors of the after it had been hit by a Japanese plane. She remained on sweeping duty, participating in a feint landing on 20 April to draw attention from a large-scale advance on Naha. From June through September 10 she swept in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour ter ...

and in Japanese coastal waters. In March 1946, ''Execute'' transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

and on August 6, 1946, was placed out of commission in reserve at

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. While she remained in reserve, ''Execute'' was reclassified (MSF-232) on February 7, 1955. She was stricken from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on May 1, 1962, and sold to Mexico later in the year.

Mexican Navy career

The former ''Execute'' was acquired by the

in 1962 and renamed ARM ''DM-03''. In 1994, she was renamed ARM ''General Juan N. Méndez'' (C51) after Juan N. Méndez. She was stricken on July 16, 2001, but her ultimate fate is not reported in

secondary source In scholarship, a secondary sourcePrimary, secondary and tertiary sources
. ...

Notes

References

* * Robert G. Greaves 6 August 2006 formerly ET 2/C of the USNR and plank owner of the ship.

External links

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Execute (MSF 232) - ex-AM-232 - ex-PCE-905
{{DEFAULTSORT:Execute (AM-232) PCE-905-class patrol craft Admirable-class minesweepers Ships built by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company 1944 ships World War II patrol vessels of the United States World War II minesweepers of the United States Admirable-class minesweepers of the Mexican Navy