USS Rhea ( AMS - 52 ) USS " Rhea " ( AMS - 52 / YMS - 299 ) was a acquired by the U . S . Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent ships from passing . History . The second ship to be named " Rhea " by the Navy was laid down as " YMS - 299 " by William F . Stone & Sons Co . , Oakland , California , 5 June 1942 ; launched 14 November 1942 ; and commissioned 7 April 1943 , Lt . E . H . Gentry in command . Charles Paul served aboard in the US Navy . The crew had a pet monkey and a pet cat , the monkey would grab the cat ' s tail . Also the Pensacola towed the YMS - 299 once at a speed that was too fast and the YMS - 299 crew thought that it would be the end of them , but all went well ! Following shakedown , the " YMS - 299 " , a wooden hulled minesweeper , sailed west to Hawaii where she operated under Commander , Hawaiian Sea Frontier , until December 1943 . Then proceeding further across the Pacific Ocean she steamed to Makin where , on 20 December , she was damaged while sweeping the approaches to Butaritari . Ordered first to Tarawa , then to Funafuti for repairs , she returned to Makin toward the end of February . In April she shifted to Kwajalein , thence to Majuro in May . Through the summer , she conducted ASW patrols and provided escort services in the Marshall Islands and , in early October , returned to the Gilbert Islands en route to Pearl Harbor and an overhaul . Heading west again in late February 1945 " YMS - 299 " arrived off Okinawa on 1 April . An element of task unit TU 52 . 7 . 2 she remained in the area until July , sweeping the approaches to the Hagushi beaches , to the Kerama Retto anchorage , and to Buckner Bay . Then sailing south , she performed sweeping and patrol operations in the Philippines . In September she departed Tacloban , arriving off Okinawa on the 5th . She then commenced sweeping operations in the East China Sea amongst the Ryūkyūs and off the southern Japanese home islands . In November she shifted her base to Sasebo and in early February 1946 to Pusan , Korea . Returning to Japan at midmonth , she got underway for Saipan on the 24th and from there continued eastward and arrived at San Francisco , California , 15 April . " YMS - 299 " remained at San Francisco , California , until 27 May 1946 when she got underway for the U . S . East Coast and U . S . Naval Reserve training duty with the 4th Naval District . Arriving at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , 24 July she was converted to a training ship and on 6 March 1947 was placed in service in reserve . On 2 April she shifted to Camden , New Jersey , to take up her training duties . Named " Rhea " and reclassified AMS - 52 , 1 September 1947 , she trained naval reservists of the 4th Naval District until ordered recommissioned 15 November 1950 . Extensive overhaul followed and " Rhea " was again equipped as a minesweeper . Detached from the 4th Naval District in June 1952 " Rhea " headed south to her new homeport , Charleston , South Carolina . Assigned in turn to MinDiv s 44 , 45 , and 46 , she conducted local exercises off the southeastern seaboard and participated in training operations in the Caribbean until she was assigned schoolship duties for the Mine Warfare School at Yorktown , Virginia , in January 1955 . Reclassified MSC ( O ) - 52 in February , she continued schoolship duties until April 1956 , then resumed operations out of Charleston . In late October 1957 Rhea departed Charleston and steamed north to New London , Connecticut . Arriving on the 31st , she was placed in reserve 1 November and decommissioned 23 December . She remained in the Reserve Fleet until struck from the Navy List on 1 November 1959 and sold to the Ships , Engines , & Equipment Co . in June 1960 . The YMS - 299 was last minesweeper owned by a fisherman . Awards and honors . " YMS - 299 " earned three battle star s during World War II .