USS Whippoorwill ( AM - 35 ) USS " Whippoorwill " ( AM - 35 ) was a " Lapwing " - class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing . The first " Whippoorwill " to be so - named by the Navy , " Minesweeper No . 35 " was laid down on 12 December 1917 at Mobile , Alabama , by the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company ; launched on 4 July 1918 ; sponsored by Miss M . I . Evans ; and commissioned on 1 April 1919 , Lt . Birney 0 . Halliwill in command . World War I mine clearance . After fitting out , " Whippoorwill " departed Boston , Massachusetts , on 3 July 1919 , bound for Scotland . Operating subsequently from the port of Kirkwall , the minesweeper participated in the clearing of the North Sea Mine Barrage as part of Division 3 , Minesweeping Squadron , Atlantic Fleet . Hair - trigger mines and frequent foul weather made sweeping the barrage a difficult and dangerous mission ; but , by late in the autumn of 1919 , the task was completed by a miscellaneous group of new minesweepers , chartered naval trawler s , and submarine chaser s . Post - war transfer to the Pacific Fleet . Returning to the United States in November 1919 , " Whipporwill " was later assigned to the U . S . Pacific Fleet . Having been classified as AM - 35 on 17 July 1920 , the minesweeper arrived at Pearl Harbor , her new home port , on 1 March 1921 . She would operate out of that base for the next 20 years , with brief periods spent as station ship at Pago Pago , Samoa , between 1931 and 1934 . " Whippoorwill ' s " prime duty was service to the Fleet . Besides filling the role for which she was designed — sweeping and laying mines — upon occasion she towed targets and plane - guarded . Performing surveys in the Pacific . Noteworthy highlights of her Pearl Harbor - based deployment came in the early 1920s , when she participated in surveys of various and sundry Pacific islands . In July 1923 , for example , " Whippoorwill " — together with her sister - ship " Tanager " ( AM - 5 ) — accomplished the first survey of Johnston Island in modern times . During that cruise , she carried members of the Tanager Expedition , a joint expedition sponsored by the Department of Agriculture and the Bishop Museum of Hawaii . She also carried a Douglas DT - 2 floatplane on her fantail , hoisting it into the water so that it could take off for aerial survey and mapping flights over Johnston . A little over a year later , in September 1925 , the plane ' s pilot , Lt . Comdr . John Rodgers , would win fame as a member of the crew of the PN - 9 flying boat . " Whippoorwill " made other cruises , carrying members of ornithological surveys to islands such as Kingman Reef , Palmyra , Christmas Island , Jarvis Island , Howland Island , and Baker Island . The islands would later assume importance as transpacific air commerce spread its wings toward the Far East and South Pacific Ocean . " Whippoorwill " modernized in 1941 . Ultimately , however , " Whippoorwill ' s " Hawaiian idyll ended . Refitted and modernized , the minesweeper departed Pearl Harbor on 5 May 1941 , bound for the Asiatic Fleet , as war clouds gathered over the Pacific and Far East . En route , the minecraft plane - guarded at prearranged stations , serving as a direction - finding station for patrol planes winging their way to the Philippines to reinforce the Asiatic Fleet ' s air wing — Patrol Wing 10 . After touching briefly at Guam , in the Marianas , on 23 May , " Whippoorwill " reached " Manila " on the 30th . There , she became part of Mine Division 9 , Mine Squadron 3 , Asiatic Fleet . In the ensuing months , " Whippoorwill " performed a variety of service tasks . She towed targets for the cruisers and destroyers of the Fleet to fire at during battle practices and gunnery shoots , assisted in unmooring and mooring the Fleet ' s submarine and destroyer tender s from buoys , and conducted similar activities . Philippine operations . That spring , " Whippoorwill " operated with " Canopus " ( AS - 9 ) during maneuvers in the southern Philippines , touching at Zamboanga and steaming in the Sulu Sea , before returning to Cavite and anchoring in Canacao Bay . Soon thereafter , she commenced operations with the Inshore Patrol which carried out a busy slate of operations as the Philippines feverishly prepared for the impending war with Japan . " Whippoorwill " operated on patrol duties and laid mines — laying the field near Caballo Island , near Corregidor , at the entrance to Manila Bay . She and " Tanager " also laid the mine field at Subic Bay while operating out of the section base at Olongapo . After an overhaul at Cavite and at the Verdadero Dockyard across Canacao Bay from Cavite , " Whippoorwill " took up patrol duties in the late autumn , frequently alternating with the gunboats " Asheville " ( PG - 21 ) and " Tulsa " ( PG - 22 ) . That duty was not without its share of interesting moments . On 22 November , while on patrol station " Cast , " she fired four shots across the bow of the sailing vessel " Remedio VIII " before the vessel hove to . She later prevented the Army tug " Harrison " from entering the area and warned off other vessels on the 26th and 28th . Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Relieved by " Tulsa " on station on 30 November , " Whippoorwill " returned to Canacao Bay before she got underway on 3 December for sweeping operations out of Cavite . Five days later , on 8 December 1941 ( 7 December east of the International Date Line ) , the Japanese unleashed their onslaught against American , British , and Dutch possessions in the Far East and in the Pacific . At 0415 on the 8th , " Whippoorwill " received the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor . Lt . Comdr . Charles A . Ferriter , the ship ' s commanding officer , soon called his crew to quarters and announced the news . Now , after months of escalating tension and feverish preparations for war , the blow had fallen . Within hours , " Whippoorwill " was underway , commencing her first wartime sweeping operations in Manila Bay . Under air attack in the Philippines . On the following day , 9 December , Japanese bombers caught General Douglas MacArthur ' s Far Eastern Air Force on the ground at its principal fields of Nichols and Clark Field s , destroying it as a viable retaliatory force . Thus , with little in the way of air cover , Cavite — the small , crowded base of operations for the Asiatic Fleet — lay naked to an attack from the sky . The Japanese did not wait long to exploit their advantage — at 1230 on 10 December , the air raid alert was broadcast at Cavite . At 1250 , " Whippoorwill " weighed anchor and stood out to maneuver in Manila Bay , away from the confining waters near Cavite itself . Soon the enemy ' s high - level bombers were droning overhead , above the effective range of the navy yard ' s 3 - inch batteries ; every ship in the harbor opened up with their antiaircraft batteries . In the ensuing action , " Whippoorwill " claimed assists in splashing two bombers and sending another one crashing on shore nearby . However , the planes that did get through wreaked havoc . Stick after stick of bombs blasted the navy yard — its buildings and docks — explosions reverberated like thunderclaps . " Peary " struck by Japanese bombs . " Peary " ( DD - 226 ) — alongside Central Wharf for an overhaul — was hit by a bomb that struck the foremast , snapping it off above the searchlight platform and sending shards of metal down onto the bridge and fire - control platform , killing or wounding nearly every man there — including the commander and his executive officer . Meanwhile , bombs blasted and set afire the torpedo warehouse across the wharf ; warheads exploded and burned . Comdr . Ferriter saw " Peary ' s " predicament and moved his ship through the burning navy yard and eased " Whippoorwill " near the destroyer ' s stern and passed a towline . Braving the burning firebrands from the blazing warehouse , the destroyermen made fast the line , and the minesweeper commenced backing . The towline stretched taut — only to part ! Twice more Ferriter ' s command closed the immobile destroyer , both ships endangered by warheads detonating nearby . Finally , on the third try , the line held ; and , with debris showering upon the minesweeper and her crippled charge , " Whippoorwill " pulled " Peary " free . " Whippoorwill " pulls " Peary " out of danger . Soon thereafter , " Whippoorwill " moored " Peary " to a buoy in Manila Bay and took the destroyer ' s wounded to the hospital at Sangley Point in her motor launch . Later that evening , the minesweeper unmoored from the destroyer and stood out , anchoring for the night farther out in Manila Bay . " Whippoorwill " escapes to Borneo . With Philippine waters vulnerable for surface ships , those ships of the Asiatic Fleet that could do so sailed for points south . " Whippoorwill " headed for Borneo on 12 December and arrived at Balikpapan on the 15th . Four days later , the minecraft — in company with " Tulsa " , " Asheville " , and " Lark " ( AM - 21 ) — joined Task Force ( TF ) 7 and withdrew further south to the Celebes , arriving the next day . Later , " Whippoorwill " screened " Tulsa " as the two ships proceeded for Java . Arriving at Surabaya , three days before Christmas of 1941 , Comdr . Ferriter went ashore and reported for orders to the Dutch naval commander there . Three days later , the minesweeper commenced local patrols and sweeps out of Surabaya and continued that duty into February 1942 , often operating in company with Dutch units , before she received orders to move to Tjilatjap , a port on Java ' s south coast . Searching for " Langley ’ s " survivors . Arriving early on 26 February , " Whippoorwill " and " Lark " put to sea at 1400 the next day to search for survivors of the seaplane tender " Langley " ( AV - 3 ) , reportedly sunk south of Java . Three hours out of Tjilatjap , the minesweeper ' s lookouts sighted a strange vessel and altered course to close and identify her . The mysterious ship turned out to be " Tulsa " , also searching for " Langley " survivors . The trio of ships continued their search , the minesweepers steaming independently of the gunboat . At 2229 , " Whippoorwill " and " Lark " arrived in the area in which " Langley " had been reported lost , passed a large oil slick , and smelled a strong odor of gasoline and oil — mute testimony to the tragedy that had gone before . Rescuing survivors of the " SS City of Manchester " . On the following day , the last day of February , the minesweepers abandoned their search and were about to put about to return to Tjilatjap . At 0507 , however , lookouts noted a pulsating fire on the horizon ; and the minesweepers closed cautiously . The burning vessel turned out to be the British merchantman " City of Manchester " — of the Ellerman Line — that had been torpedoed and gunned by the Japanese submarine I - 153 . " Whippoorwill " lowered a boat at 0550 and rescued the British sailors from their rafts and life boats . Ten injured men were transferred to " Tulsa " , which had providentially shown up on the scene of the rescue — the gunboat having a well - equipped sick bay that the minesweepers lacked . Following that rescue mission , " Whippoorwill " returned to Tjilatjap , arriving on 1 March , only to stand out later that day as Java , too , was becoming more untenable with each passing hour . Retiring in the face of a ruthless enemy drawing tight the noose around Java , " Whippoorwill " crept southward towards Australia . As she proceeded on her anxious voyage , other retiring Asiatic Fleet ships met their doom at the hands of the marauding Japanese - - " Asheville " , " Pecos " ( AO - 6 ) , and the destroyers Edsall ( DD - 219 ) and " Pillsbury " ( DD - 227 ) . " Whippoorwill " makes it to Australia . " Whippoorwill " dropped anchor at Fremantle on 9 March and operated out of Fremantle into May before she shifted to Albany . The minesweeper conducted local patrols and guardship operations in the shipping channels and harbors there from mid - May to late August when she returned to Fremantle . For the remainder of 1942 , " Whippoorwill " operated alternatively at Exmouth Bay , Albany , or Fremantle , patrolling locally and towing targets . On occasion , she acted as reference vessel for submarines of the Southwest Pacific forces on their training cruises . The beginning of 1943 found " Whippoorwill " engaged in local patrol operations out of Exmouth Gulf , and she continued that duty until February , when she made another brief visit to Fremantle . On 18 and 19 February 1943 , she engaged in night exercises with American submarines on maneuvers . Six days later , while underway off the coast , she encountered a cyclone which wrenched two 300 - pound depth charges from their tracks . Antisubmarine action . After returning to Exmouth Gulf , she remained there through March 1943 before sailing for Fremantle and a six - day drydocking period . Upon completion of this brief refit , she returned to Exmouth Gulf on 24 April and conducted minesweeping operations in the area . On 15 May , while en route to Fremantle , she picked up an echo with her sonar gear and came to general quarters . She dropped depth charges but lost the contact . Arriving at Fremantle two days later , 17 May , she commenced a series of antisubmarine patrols which lasted into November . Reclassified as an ocean - going tug . On 1 December , she began an extensive refit . During the yard work , she was reclassified an ocean - going tug and redesignated AT - 169 on 1 March 1944 . The long overhaul was completed on 5 March , and the ship proceeded to Brisbane . Coming under the operational control of Commander , Service Force , 7th Fleet , " Whippoorwill " arrived at Brisbane on 20 March . For the next 10 days , 21 to 31 March 1944 , she underwent final conversion to an ocean - going tug . This involved the removal of her minesweeping gear and the addition of a heavy - duty towing engine which had once been fitted on board " Dobbin " ( AD - 3 ) . New Guinea operations . On 8 April , the newly refitted " Whippoorwill " with " LST - 385 " under tow , got underway for New Guinea , and arrived at Milne Bay with her charge on 15 April . The tug then served Hollandia and at Mios Woendi ; also receiving orders to Seeadler Harbor , in the Admiralty Islands , to serve on " battle - damage standby " duty — prepared to take any battle - damaged ships under tow and out of the front lines . Philippine Islands operations . " Whippoorwill " was reclassified an ocean - going tug , old , on 15 May 1944 and designated ATO - 169 . She then continued operations off New Guinea and in the backwater areas of the war in the Pacific until receiving orders to head north for Leyte in February 1945 . Later operating at Hollandia and Ulithi , " Whippoorwill " resumed operations in the Philippine Islands on 15 June 1945 and served as a harbor tug in the Manila Bay area through the end of the war . Touching at Leyte Gulf , Manila Bay , Zamboanga , and Samar , " Whippoorwill " finally rounded out her tour in the Philippine Islands on 20 December , when she departed Samar , bound for the Marshall Islands . Arriving at Eniwetok in company with " Vireo " ( ATO - 144 ) and " Rail " ( ATO - 139 ) , she departed that island on 4 January 1946 , bound for Pearl Harbor , arriving at the Pacific base that had once long served as her home port on the 15th . After a 10 - day stay , " Whippoorwill " in company with " Rail " , got underway again on 25 January , and headed for San Francisco , California . Post - war inactivation and decommissioning . Arriving there on 5 February 1946 , " Whippoorwill " soon began preparation for inactivation and , on 17 April 1946 , the stalwart ship was decommissioned at San Francisco , California . Struck from the Navy list on 10 June 1946 , she was turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal on 6 November 1946 . Military awards and honors . " Whippoorwill " was awarded one battle star for her World War II service .