USS Tekesta ( AT - 93 ) USS " Tekesta " ( AT - 93 ) was built during World War II for the United States Navy . Shortly after being built , it was crewed by trained Navy personnel and sent into the Pacific Ocean to provide tug service to damaged ships in battle areas . For successfully performing this dangerous work , she was awarded four battle star s by the war ' s end . She was laid down at Portland , Oregon , on 7 September 1942 by the Commercial Iron Works ; launched on 20 March 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . P . S . Treiber ; and commissioned on 16 August 1943 , Lt . John O . Strickland in command . Transfer to the Pacific Theater of operations . The ocean tug operated on the west coast until mid - December and departed from San Francisco , California , on the 15th , bound for Hawaii . She reached Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve 1943 and towed targets in Hawaiian waters until 20 January 1944 . On that date , she joined Task Force ( TF ) 52 , the Southern Attack Force of the Joint Expeditionary Force then preparing for Operation Flintlock , the assault on the Marshall Islands . Marshall Islands operations . " Tekesta " reached Kwajalein Atoll on 1 February and remained in the Marshalls - Gilberts area for the next two months , retracting beached and broached landing craft , laying marker buoys , assisting fueling operations , and performing other salvage and towing operations necessary in the aftermath of the occupation of the Marshall Islands . During this tour of duty , the tug visited Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands and Nanumea in the Ellice Islands as well as Kwajalein , Eniwetok , and Majuro in the Marshalls . On 12 April , the tug departed Majuro to return to Hawaii and reached Pearl Harbor a week later . There , she performed miscellaneous towing , rescue , and salvage duties until 10 May , when she got underway for Majuro with three barges in tow . En route , her designation was changed to ATF - 93 on the 15th . On the 26th , " Tekesta " reached her destination and delivered her charges . She continued westward on 1 June , arriving in Eniwetok lagoon on the 3rd . There , she joined TF 52 to prepare for the invasion of the Marianas . On the 11th , she sortied with that task organization bound for its first objective , Saipan . The tug arrived off Saipan on D - day , 15 June . The following day , she helped to fight off two enemy bombers which flew over her formation . She remained in the Marianas until late July , towing pontoon bridges to the beaches , retracting landing craft , and assisting in repairs and salvage operations . By the time she departed Saipan , that island had been declared secure , but the struggles for Tinian and Guam continued . On 26 July , " Tekesta " headed for the Marshalls , arriving at Eniwetok on the 29th . Following four days turnaround time there , the tug made a round - trip voyage to Guam , returning to Eniwetok on 14 August . She remained at the atoll until the second week in September doing extensive salvage work with grounded craft and towing barges . Return to Pearl . " Tekesta " headed eastward on 9 September and entered Pearl Harbor once more a week later . After trials and salvage operations there , the tug got underway on 26 October , with and " YF - 625 " in tow , and proceeded via Eniwetok to Ulithi where she delivered her charges on 3 December . The tug then settled into a routine of towing and salvage operations which took her to Guam , Saipan , Ulithi , and the Palaus . Those operations , which lasted until March 1945 , were broken only by one short period of operations with the fast carriers in mid - December . Invasion of the Philippines operations . On 1 March 1945 , " Tekesta " cleared the Palau Islands for the Philippines and arrived in Leyte Gulf on 4 March to join TF 51 , the Ryukyu invasion force . By D - day , 1 April , the tug was operating near Okinawa . For the next month and one - half , she was assigned to the anchorage at Kerama Retto . She towed kamikaze - damaged warships into Kerama Retto and assisted in their repairs . She also labored retracting and repairing beached and damaged landing craft . On 7 April , the tug towed into the anchorage . On the 15th , her gunners helped to bring down a Japanese plane . She assisted into Kerama Retto on the following day . On 4 May , " Tekesta " towed to repairs at Kerama Retto and , five days later , did the same for . Under constant attack by Japanese fighter planes . On 14 May , " Tekesta " took up station at Ie Shima and , for the following month , conducted rescue and salvage missions from that islet . She frequently fought off air attacks . On 25 May , while bringing into Ie Shima , she fired on kamikazes . Three days later , she fired on a four - plane flight of Japanese aircraft . She hit one , but it managed to crash into . " Tekesta " immediately came to the aid of the stricken merchantman with fire - fighting crews and medical aid . On 10 June , the tug rushed to the aid of , but only arrived in time to watch helplessly as the destroyer rolled over and slipped beneath the sea . Three days later , she returned to Kerama Retto and , the following day , departed the anchorage with " Newcomb " in tow for the Marianas . End - of - War operations . " Tekesta " remained in the Marianas four days before continuing on to Leyte . She arrived in Leyte Gulf on 4 August and was operating there with Service Squadron 10 when hostilities ceased on the 15th . On the 30th , she put to sea with the first echelon of the Korean Service Group . After stopping at Okinawa on 2 September , she reached Jinsen , Korea , on the 7th . For the next seven months , " Tekesta " operated with the occupation forces in Korea and northern China . During that time , she visited Hong Kong and Shanghai . On 9 April 1946 , the tug exited Hong Kong harbor . She stopped in the Philippine Islands at Samar , from 13 April to 20 April ; touched at Okinawa on the 23rd ; and reached Sasebo , Japan , early in May . On the llth , she returned to Shanghai . Later in the month , she visited Subic Bay before returning to China for three more months of duty . On 23 August , the tug cleared Tsingtao to return to the United States . After stops at Samar , Guam , Kwajalein , and Pearl Harbor , " Tekesta " entered port at San Francisco , California , on 12 November . For the following seven months , she was engaged in normal towing and salvage operations along the U . S . West Coast , ranging from San Francisco as far south as the Panama Canal . On 16 June 1947 , she departed San Francisco and headed north . After stopovers at Bremerton and Seattle , Washington , she arrived at Kodiak , Alaska , for a year of duty in the Aleutians area . During that period , she called at Dutch Harbor , Fort Glenn , Attu , Adak , Amchitka , and various other ports of call in Alaska and along the Aleutians chain . On 28 June 1948 , " Tekesta " returned to San Francisco and resumed operations along the California coast until early November . On the 4th , she headed west once more . She called at Pearl Harbor and Midway Island before reaching Yokosuka , Japan , on the 30th . In January , she shifted to Tsingtao , China , and operated there until early in March . " Tekesta " departed China on 10 March , visited Okinawa from the 14th to the 18th , and returned to Tsingtao on the 21st . She reentered Yokosuka on 7 April and operated from that port for two months before beginning her return voyage to the United States . Stopping at Wake Island and Pearl Harbor along the way , the tug put into San Francisco on 24 July 1949 . Operating from her base at Long Beach , California , " Tekesta " made four voyages to the Panama Canal Zone between July 1949 and April 1950 . She also carried passengers to nearby ports . She entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 4 April 1950 for inactivation . Six days later , she was towed to San Diego , California . There , she was placed out of commission on the 14th and berthed with the San Diego Group , Pacific Reserve Fleet . Decommissioning . She remained inactive until 24 January 1958 , when she was placed in service , Lt . Fred J . Sleinner in charge . She operated under control of the Commandant , 11th Naval District , until 2 July when she was reassigned to the 12th Naval District and based at San Francisco . In August 1959 , " Tekesta " resumed duty at San Diego . She was placed out of service early in 1960 and , in May , was transferred to the government of Chile under lease , where she continued to serve Chile as " Yelcho " ( AGS 64 ) until decommissioned on 16 August 1996 . " Yelcho " was sunk as a target on 5 July 1999 . Awards . " Tekesta " ( ATF - 93 ) earned four battle stars during World War II :