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USS ''Tawasa'' (AT-92) was a constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. Her purpose was to aid ships, usually by towing, on the high seas or in combat or post-combat areas, plus "other duties as assigned." She served in the Pacific Ocean and had a very successful career marked by the winning of three battle stars during World War II, two during the Korean War, and seven campaign stars during the Vietnam crisis. ''Tawasa'' was laid down on 22 June 1942 at Portland, Oregon, by the Commercial Iron Works; launched on 22 February 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan, mother of the five Sullivan brothers; and commissioned on 17 July 1943, Lt. Fred C. Clark in command. == World War II Pacific Theatre operations == ''Tawasa'' held her shakedown cruise off the lower California coast in late August and returned to Portland. The tug steamed to San Pedro, California, in October and departed there on the 20th for Hawaii, towing two fuel oil barges. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 4 November and was assigned to Service Force, Pacific Fleet. The next day, the tug headed for the Ellice Islands and arrived at Funafuti on the 20th. == Supporting invasion forces == ''Tawasa'' was routed onward to the Gilbert Islands and arrived on 26 November at Abemama, which, only the day before, had been taken by American marines. On 3 December, she moved to Tarawa. The tug made round trips between Tarawa and Funafuti in December 1943 and January 1944. On 21 January, she stood out of Tarawa and rendezvoused with Task Force (TF) 52, the Southern Attack Force, for the invasion of the Marshall Islands. Off Kwajalein Atoll on the 31st, ''Tawasa'' took soundings enabling to approach the shore for close bombardment. The tug then performed salvage, towing, and screening duty until 18 February when she moved to Eniwetok to assist in the assault that was to strike that atoll the next morning. She supported operations until the atoll was secured and remained in the area for almost two months, providing services to American ships using this new base. ''Tawasa'' departed the Marshalls on 12 April for a tender availability at Pearl Harbor and to have a radar installed. The tug returned to the Marshalls on 25 May. On 11 June, she was in the transport screen of TF 52, the Northern Attack Force, when it sortied for the Mariana Islands. Four days later, she was detached to assist LST's as they landed marines and equipment on Saipan. On 7 July, she got underway for Eniwetok. ''Tawasa'' operated with ServRon 10 from 31 July to 24 August 1944 when she joined ServRon, South Pacific. The ship operated in the South Pacific until 9 May 1946 when she departed Nouméa for the United States. == Post-war activity == From San Pedro, her home port, she operated along the California coast until returning to Pearl Harbor on 27 December 1946. On 23 February 1947, ''Tawasa'' headed for Japan and an eight-month tour at Yokosuka before returning home on 30 October 1947. The tug headed for Alaska on 15 June 1948 and operated out of Adak until October when she steamed to Guam for four months. She then remained on the west coast until 10 August 1950 when she got underway for a five-month tour in Alaska. During the next decade, her operations on the west coast were broken by seven deployments to the Far East for operations with the 7th Fleet. == Korean War operations == On the first of these, from 4 June 1952 to 1 March 1953, ''Tawasa'' operated with task force TF 92, the Logistics Support Force which supplied United Nations forces in Korea. She also performed services at the Korean ports of Cho Do, Sokcho, and Chinhae. ''Tawasa'' deployed to the western Pacific again from 13 February to 3 July 1962. On 29 December, she took in tow at San Francisco, California, and delivered the submarine to Pearl Harbor before returning to San Diego, California, on 1 February 1963. She operated with the 7th Fleet from April to November 1964 and with the Alaskan Sea Frontier from June to September 1965. In December 1965, the tug towed from San Francisco, California, to San Diego. This was the largest operational tow made by a tug of the Pacific Fleet — . She returned to Alaska from 8 February to 11 April 1967. ''Tawasa's'' next deployment to the western Pacific placed the ship in a combat zone for the third time in her naval career. On 5 February 1968, she stood out of San Diego for San Francisco to pick up ''YFN-1126'' and deliver the covered lighter to Hawaii. She left her charge at Pearl Harbor on the 17th and headed for the Philippine Islands the following week to provide target services for ships at Subic Bay until 13 April when she headed for Vietnam. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Tawasa (AT-92)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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