page_title: Arthur Foss
section_title: World War II service
hierarchical_section_title: Arthur Foss / World War II service
context_page_description: Arthur Foss, built in 1889 as Wallowa at Portland, Oregon, is likely the oldest wooden tugboat afloat in the world. Its 79-year commercial service life began with towing sailing ships over the Columbia River bar, and ended with hauling bundled log rafts on the Strait of Juan de Fuca in 1968. Northwest Seaport now preserves the tug as a museum ship in Seattle, Washington.
  The tug's long service in the Pacific Northwest, including a role in the Klondike Gold Rush, was interrupted by preparations for war in early 1941. After delivering a drydock gate to Pearl Harbor the tug was chartered by Contractors Pacific Naval Air Bases, a consortium formed to build air fields on remote Pacific islands as the United States prepared for war. In June 1941 Arthur Foss was supporting construction on Wake Island and was there in November along with the smaller Justine Foss transporting construction materials from barges in the lagoon to the island. When the work was completed the tug was scheduled to return to Hawaii with two barges in tow.
  The captain, concerned about the warnings of war, left the island without refueling. The smaller tug had to refuel and remained to do so.
context_section_description: Arthur Foss successfully delivered the drydock gate to the navy yard at Pearl Harbor in early March 1941. Instead of returning to the West Coast, the vessel was chartered by Foss to a consortium of civilian engineering firms: Contractors Pacific Naval Air Bases (CPNAB), which had been formed in January 1941 to begin construction of military bases on strategic Pacific atolls, including Wake Island. Arthur Foss's first assignment with CPNAB was towing gravel barges from Kaneohe to Honolulu for construction of airport runways. This work lasted until June, when the tug was assigned to a regular run between Hawaii and Wake towing barges of construction materials and military supplies for the airfield and barracks there. Meanwhile, the United States quietly prepared for the coming of war. In November, amid increasing U.S.-Japanese tensions, the tug was again dispatched from Honolulu under the command of Captain Oscar Rolstad to Wake towing two fully loaded barges. Upon arrival, Arthur Foss was joined by the smaller Justine Foss in the atoll harbor. Offloading the barges and lightering the equipment ashore occupied the two tug crews for the next few weeks. Upon completion of the work, Arthur Foss was scheduled to return to Honolulu towing two 1,000-ton fuel barges (empty). Departure from Wake was expected in the first week of December.
  Work was completed on schedule. Arthur Foss needed to refuel before undertaking the 2,300 miles (3,700 km) voyage back to Hawaii. Captain Rolstad and the crew were extremely anxious to leave as soon as possible. By the early morning of 8 December 1941 (7 December on the other side of the International Date Line), three war warnings had been issued over the radio, and Captain Rolstad decided to forego refueling. He took Arthur Foss and tow to sea. Twelve hours out of Wake, news of the attack on Pearl Harbor was received. Japanese naval air forces simultaneously attacked Wake. Painted a highly visible white and green, Arthur Foss was a ripe target standing "out like a chain of coral islands on the empty sea", and Captain Rolstad was acutely aware of the likelihood of being bombed or torpedoed. While underway, the crew hastily mixed all white paint on board with engine grease to repaint the tug dark gray to help blend in with the ocean. All lights were blacked out and Arthur Foss proceeded under radio silence. Still towing the two barges at barely more than walking speed, the crew debated whether they should head for Alaska or Hawaii. No one was certain if they had enough fuel to reach either place, or whether when/if they arrived they would find the enemy in control. The decision was made to follow original orders and head to Honolulu at reduced speed to conserve as much fuel as possible.
  Arthur Foss and tow were spotted by U.S. naval scout planes and escorted into Pearl Harbor on 28 December 1941, where Admiral Claude Bloch cited the crew for action beyond the call of duty. Due to the reduced speed of the voyage, they were a week overdue and had been presumed missing in action. According to Captain Rolstad's log, less than 500 U.S. gallons of fuel remained when they docked (this was the equivalent of running on fumes, as the main engine uses about 42 U.S. gallons per hour).
  Arthur Foss was ultimately the last vessel to escape Wake before Japanese forces captured the island on 23 December 1941, after a prolonged and bloody siege. After Arthur Foss's departure, only a few flights of Pan Am flying boats carrying employees and some civilian contractors were able to escape. The crew of Justine Foss, which unlike Arthur Foss had remained to refuel, was captured and used as forced labor. Justine Foss itself was scuttled by the Japanese. All members of the crew except Thea Foss's grandson Drew (who had been removed to a prisoner of war camp in Burma) were executed along with all the remaining captives in 1943.
  Arthur Foss was placed in service by the U.S. Navy in early 1942, renamed Dohasan and designated YT-335 (harbor tug) and later YTM-335 (district harbor tug, medium). The tug continued to tow supply 
caption: This is the only image so far discovered of Arthur Foss in wartime configuration as YT/YTM-335 Dohasan. The gray wheelhouse, foremast with bell, forward crucifix bitt, and bow with large "335" in white are visible behind the other tugboats in the foreground. The photograph was taken in 1947 after the tug was returned to Foss at Tacoma.
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