USS Shoveler ( AM - 382 ) USS " Shoveler " ( AM - 382 ) was an " Auk " - class minesweeper acquired by the U . S . Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing . Construction history . " Shoveler " was laid down on 1 April 1944 by Gulf Shipbuilding Corp . , Chickasaw , Alabama ; launched on 10 December 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . William G . Burkhart ; and commissioned on 22 May 1945 , Lt . Comdr . Edwin H . Jones , Jr . , USNR , in command . World War II service . " Shoveler " was fitted out at New Orleans , Louisiana , and then reported to the Mine Warfare Base , Little Creek , Virginia , on 15 June for shakedown training . On 5 August , the minesweeper cleared that port en route to the west coast for assignment to Mine Force , Pacific Fleet . The ship arrived at San Pedro , California , on 23 August and conducted further trials . On 30 August , " Shoveler " stood out of San Pedro , California , underway for Eniwetok , Marshall Islands , via Pearl Harbor . " Shoveler " arrived at Eniwetok on 18 September and was routed to Okinawa . Upon her arrival there , on 26 September , she was ordered to sail at once for Bungo Suido , Japan . She was back at Okinawa on 1 October to join the main task force which sailed for Sasebo on 18 October . " Shoveler " swept the Klondike mine field there during the period 26 October - 2 November . The ship returned to Okinawa on 6 December 1945 and operated from there until returning to Sasebo on 20 January 1946 . " Shoveler " swept mines from the areas around Kikai Shima , Miyako Jima , Amami Ōshima , Nagasaki , and Kagoshima . " Shoveler " sailed from Japan on 12 April en route to San Pedro , California , via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor . She entered the Todd Shipyard there on 27 June and prepared for inactivation . The minesweeper was placed out of commission , in reserve , on 5 November 1946 . Korean War service . " Shoveler " was recommissioned on 24 July 1951 and assigned to Mine Squadron 5 . After refresher training and fleet exercises off Santa Rosa , California , she entered the yard of the Harbor Boat Co . , Long Beach , California , for alterations and repairs on 5 November 1951 . When the work was completed on 7 January 1952 , the ship moved down the coast of San Diego and acted as a mine warfare schoolship for three months . On 20 March , " Shoveler " was ordered to the Far East . After port calls at Pearl Harbor and Guam , and minesweeping exercises in the Bonin Islands , she arrived at Sasebo , Japan , on 20 May . A week later , she got underway for the Korean war zone . " Shoveler " arrived at Wonsan Harbor on 28 May to assist the United Nations forces . During the next four and one - half months , the minesweeper operated along the Korean coast from Musu Dan in the north to Kosong in the south . In addition to sweeping mines , she destroyed nine sampans with gunfire and bombarded the coast when afforded the opportunity . On 17 June , she was fired on by an enemy shore battery on Mayang Do but received no hits . " Shoveler " returned to Sasebo in mid - October ; and , on the 20th , she cleared that port for Long Beach , California . The minesweeper arrived there on 20 November 1952 and , for the next two years , operated along the coast of California as a unit of Mine Division 72 . " Shoveler " was again deployed to the Far East on 21 October 1954 and operated out of Sasebo , Japan . On 21 November 1954 , she commenced a series of patrols along the east coast of Korea . She steamed from Sasebo to Keelung , Taiwan , on 1 February 1955 and five days later departed that port for the Tachen Islands to assist in the evacuation there . The minesweeper swept channels during the days and ran antitorpedo boat patrols during the nights until 14 February when she returned to Sasebo . " Shoveler ' s " hull classification was changed from AM - 382 to MSF - 382 on 7 February . She departed the Far East on 9 May and arrived at Long Beach , California , on 1 June 1955 . Decommissioning and disposal . The minesweeper operated from that port for the next year . " Shoveler " moved to San Diego , California , on 29 June 1956 for inactivation and was placed out of commission , in reserve , on 28 September 1956 . " Shoveler " was loaned to Peru on 1 November 1960 under the Foreign Military Assistance Program and served that government as MSF - 69 . Awards and honors . " Shoveler " received one battle star for World War II service and one for service in the Korean War .