USS Toucan ( AM - 387 ) USS " Toucan " ( AM - 387 ) was an acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing . She was the only U . S . Navy ship named for the toucan , a brightly colored and easily tamed bird of the American tropics , characterized by its large but thin beak . " Toucan " was laid down on 16 February 1944 at Cleveland , Ohio , by the American Ship Building Company ; launched on 15 September 1944 ; sponsored by Miss Rose B . Jackiewicz ; and commissioned on 25 November 1944 , Lt . Comdr . S . H . Squibb , USNR , in command . Service history . World War II . The minesweeper departed Cleveland on 28 November and proceeded via the Great Lakes and the St . Lawrence River to Boston where she arrived on 15 December . " Toucan " spent the next four months preparing for duty in the western $ 3 . " Toucan " departed Charleston , South Carolina , on 20 April , transited the Panama Canal , and arrived at San Diego , California , on 6 May . Three days later , the minesweeper sailed for Hawaii and arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 15th . Getting underway again on the 27th , the ship served in the screens of various convoys as she proceeded to the Ryukyus via Eniwetok , Guam , and Ulithi . Reaching Okinawa as American forces pushed ever closer to Japan ' s home islands , " Toucan " swept the waters surrounding the Ryukyus and then performed escort duty and sweeping operations with the U . S . 3rd Fleet as it hammered away at Japanese ports , cities , and airfields through the end of July . With the collapse of Japan , the task of clearing the offensive and defensive minefields in Pacific seas began in earnest . From 14 to 24 August , " Toucan " took part in the " Skagway " sweep in the East China Sea and Ryukyus area . A call at Shanghai , China , punctuated two further sweeping operations — from 7 September to 2 October and from 25 to 30 October . The latter was conducted in the Kyūshū - Korea area . All told , she steamed over 40 , 000 miles and swept 134 mines in the East China Sea , the lower Yangtze River , and in the Chusan Archipelago . On 6 February 1946 , " Toucan " left Japanese waters and headed for the west coast , arriving at San Francisco , California , on 23 March 1946 . Moving to San Diego on 24 April , she began preparations for inactivation and was placed out of commission , in reserve , there on 1 July 1946 . Korean War . The outbreak of hostilities in Korea in June 1950 increased the Navy ' s need for minecraft . Accordingly , " Toucan " was recommissioned on 27 October and operated on the west coast for more than a year . On 4 January 1952 , " Toucan " sailed for Sasebo and called at Pearl Harbor and Midway Islands before reaching Sasebo on 2 February . She commenced Korean War operations in the Hungnam and Wonsan areas on 21 February , streaming her sweeping gear and hunting for the dangerous North Korean mines . With periodic repairs at Sasebo , " Toucan " operated primarily off Wonsan . From February through August 1952 , the ship fired more than 8 , 000 rounds of ammunition at Communist shore targets — trading fire with the enemy on many occasions and dodging everything from 76 millimeter shells to small arms fire . Her duties included the disruption of the North Korean fishing trade . The ship took 13 prisoners while destroying three sampans and damaging 22 more . The minesweeper also scored hits on enemy bunkers , box cars , and railroad trestles before departing Korean waters on 1 August to head for Long Beach , California . The minesweeper returned to the Korean fighting zone the following year and continued her sweeping and interdiction operations in the vicinity of the Cho - Do , Paengyoung - Do , and Cheju - Do island areas from June to September 1953 . The ship sailed for California and operated along the west coast from the time of her arrival at Long Beach on 3 December 1953 through 17 July 1954 . Post - war activity . " Toucan " returned to the Far East in the summer of 1954 and reached Incheon , Korea , on 14 August . Two days later , she got underway for the west coast of Korea and operated primarily in the Taeyongyong - Do and Tojang Po vicinity . She departed Sasebo on 11 January 1955 and proceeded to Hong Kong only to return to Japanese waters a fortnight later . Her stay at Sasebo was brief . Four days later , she weighed anchor for Keelung , Formosa , and thence moved to the Tachen Islands . On 7 February , the minesweeper took part in the evacuation of Chinese Nationalists from the Tachen group and disembarked the evacuees at Sasebo a week later . During this mission , on 7 February 1955 , " Toucan " was redesignated MSF - 387 . Departing Sasebo only two days after her arrival from the Tachens , " Toucan " headed home and arrived at Long Beach , California , on 11 March . She operated on the west coast as a unit of Mine Division 71 until August 1956 when she began another deployment to the Far East . She called at Yokosuka , Kobe , Sasebo , Fukuoka , Beppu , and Kagoshima , Japan , as well as Keelung , Formosa , before returning to Long Beach on 21 December . Decommissioning and transfer to Taiwan . On 1 May 1957 , " Toucan " was inactivated and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet , berthing at the Columbia River , Oregon , Group . Upon disestablishment of this group , the minesweeper was transferred to Bremerton , Washington , where she remained until 27 May 1964 . On that day , she was withdrawn from the reserve fleet for conversion and transfer to the Republic of China , effective on 22 December 1964 . The ship served in the Republic of China Navy as " Chien Men " ( PCE - 45 ) , until sunk by boats from the Chinese People ' s Liberation Army Navy on 6 August 1965 . Awards . " Toucan " received three battle stars for World War II and two battle stars for the Korean War .