USS ''Tawakoni'' (ATF-114) was an

fleet ocean tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

that served on active duty with the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1978, seeing action in

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 opposin ...

, the

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 ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. After thirty-four years of service, she was sold to the Republic of China Navy (

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

), where she served until November 2020.

History

Service in the United States Navy

''Tawakoni'' was named after a

Caddoan The Caddoan languages are a family of languages native to the Great Plains spoken by tribal groups of the central United States, from present-day North Dakota south to Oklahoma. All Caddoan languages are critically endangered, as the number of sp ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

tribe of the Wichita group that lived in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

on the banks of the middle Brazos and Trinity Rivers during the 18th and 19th centuries. She began her naval career in the

Pacific theater 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 continen ...

, joining the

U.S. 5th fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...

just in time for the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

, which took place in February 1945. During this battle ''Tawakoni'' assisted the destroyer minesweeper , which had been hit by two 250-pound bombs on 18 February. She also assisted in retraction, towing and salvage operations off Iwo Jima until the latter part of March, when she returned to

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 largest i ...

for repairs to minor damage suffered during the battle. On 6 April 1945, ''Tawakoni'' was involved in the

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

when she was attacked by several Japanese

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 to d ...

planes while assisting the badly damaged about fifty miles from the island. Through maneuvering and gunnery on the part of her crew, the ship managed to down five Japanese aircraft while suffering minimal damage herself. On 16 April ''Tawakoni'' participated in the invasion of

Ie Shima , previously romanized in English as Ie Shima, is an island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, lying a few kilometers off the Motobu Peninsula on Okinawa Island. The island measures in circumference and covers . As of December 2012 the island had ...

, where she towed the damaged to safety while downing yet another kamikaze plane. On 1 July she made for

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 ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, which is where

V-J day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

found her.

Korean War

Following the Second World War ''Tawakoni'' generally operated in the Pacific area, performing towing and other services and visiting ports from the United States to Asia. In November 1950, she joined Task Force 90, Amphibious Force, Far East, operating in support of

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

efforts in

Korea 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 ...

. During the

, she took part in three campaigns: ''Communist China Aggression'' (1950–51); ''First UN Counteroffensive'' (1951); and the ''Communist China Spring Offensive'' (1951). She planted

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

s in the channels 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. ...

, Hungnam and

Inchon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

harbors, and provided towing services to ships of the

United States 7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...

during her Korean service.

Operation Castle

In March 1954, ''Tawakoni'' was one of the ships tasked to support Operation Castle, a series of high-energy (high-yield) nuclear tests by Navy Joint Task Force SEVEN (JTF-7) at Bikini Atoll. The highest level of contamination recorded aboard the ship during this operation was 0.2 mr/hr.

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, ''Tawakoni'' would see service in three campaigns: ''Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase VI'' (1968–69), ''Tet 69 Counteroffensive'' (1969), and ''Winter-Spring 1970''. During ''Phase VI'', she participated in the surveillance of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

electronic intelligence

trawlers Trawler may refer to: Boats * Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing * Naval trawler, a converted trawler, or a boat built in that style, used for naval purposes ** Trawlers of the Royal Navy * Recreational trawler, a pleasure boat built tra ...

monitoring U.S. operations in the

Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...

. She also assisted in towing, recovery and similar operations during her time in Vietnam. May 1967 she rescued .

Service in the Republic of China Navy

In June 1978, ''Tawakoni'' was decommissioned and sold to

under the Security Assistance Program, where she was recommissioned in the ROC Navy as ROCS ''Da Han'' (ATF-553). She served with this force until November 2020. File:ROCS Da Han (ATF-533).jpg, Decommissioning ceremony of ''Da Han'' on 17 November 2020

Awards

''Tawakoni'' was awarded the appropriate service medals for World War II (including the

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal),

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. She was also awarded two

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 ...

s for her World War II service, three for her Korean War service, and four

campaign 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 ...

s for her Vietnam War service, together with a Combat Action Ribbon and a

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Co ...

. Her crew during these periods earned the

Navy Occupation Service Medal The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was "Awarded to commemorate the services of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel in the occupation of certain territories of the enemies of the U.S. durin ...

, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and the

Republic of Korea War Service Medal The Korean War Service Medal (KWSM, ko, 6.25사변종군기장, ), also known as the Republic of Korea War Service Medal (ROKWSM), is a military award of South Korea which was first authorized in December 1950. History 6.25 Incident Participati ...

, among other awards.

Sources

USS ''Tawakoni'' (ATF-114)
Contains basic info on the ''Tawakoni''.

"USS Tawakoni". Contains history of the ''Tawakoni''.

Gives details of ''Tawakoni''s activities during this nuclear test operation.

External links

Viet Cong Commandos Sank an American Aircraft Carrier
Story of the salvage of the USS ''Card'' in Vietnam. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tawakoni (ATF-114) Abnaki-class tugs Ships built in San Francisco 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Abnaki-class tugs of the Republic of China Navy