USS Magpie ( AMS - 25 ) USS " Magpie " ( AMS - 26 / YMS - 400 ) was a built for the United States Navy during World War II . History . " Magpie " was laid down as " YMS - 400 " by Henry B . Nevins , Inc . , City Island , New York , New York , 3 July 1942 ; launched 24 March 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Marie Norby ; and commissioned 15 May 1943 , Lt . Alan G . Lynn , USNR , in command . The new auxiliary motor minesweeper departed Staten Island for Norfolk , Virginia , 1 June , via the Chesapeake Bay ; served briefly at Yorktown , Virginia ; and escorted three merchant ships from Norfolk to Miami , Florida , arriving 27 June . She continued on to Key West , Florida , arriving the 30th . " YMS - 400 " reported to the Caribbean Sea frontier 2 July and the next day escorted a convoy to Cuba , arriving Guantánamo Bay the 6th . She spent the next 2 years on escort and patrol duties in the Caribbean out of Curaçao , Puerto Rico , and Trinidad . After the German surrender , " YMS - 400 " with other YMS ships stationed at Section Base , Trinidad , BWI spent the spring and early summer of 1945 sweeping both ends of The Gulf of Paria ( Venezuela / Trinidad ) to recover and destroy moored mines which the USA had positioned to protect the Bay so that large naval vessels could exercise during shakedown cruises . After dry docking the ship left Trinidad in September 1945 . passing through but not sweeping at the Panama Canal . Instead , heading a small convoy , " YMS - 400 " sailed along the west coast of Central America to Newport Beach , California where it was refurbished at a private ship yard catering to wooden bottom boats . The next trip started in late fall . This voyage via convoy took the ship to Hawaii where the minesweeper was again inspected and tuned before leaving via the Marshall atolls for Guam and subsequently , Leyte Gulf in the Philippines . While in the Philippines , " YMS - 400 " swept several shallow bays in Ragay Gulf on Luzon and near Diplog on Mindanao . Following the Japanese surrender , the auxiliary motor minesweeper arrived at the Panama Canal Zone 10 September 1945 for 6 months of minesweeping . In early April 1946 , " YMS - 400 " joined all the ships in Leyte Gulf in leaving harbor for open seas in order to ride out a tsunami caused by the 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake . " YMS - 400 " was named USS " Magpie " and reclassified AMS - 25 on 17 February 1947 . For the next 3 years , based at Guam , she continued sweeping duties interspersed with practice exercises in the Marshall , Caroline , and Palau Islands . " Magpie " was operating out of Apra Harbor , Guam , at the outset of the Korean War . With hostilities in full fire , " Magpie " began minesweeping duty off Korea in September . On 1 October , while operating off the east coast of Korea with sister ship , " Magpie " struck a floating mine off Chusan Po , and sank . Twenty one of her crew including the commanding officer , Lt . ( jg . ) Warren R . Person were never found . " Merganser " picked up the 12 survivors and transported them to Pusan . " Magpie " was decommissioned 20 October 1950 . Ensign Robert W . Langwell was one of the 20 crew members missing from " Magpie . " His remains were discovered in 2008 by South Korean military personnel and returned to the United States . Langwell ' s remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery on 12 July 2010 . Awards and honors . " Magpie " received one battle star for Korean service .