USS Rail ( AM - 26 ) USS " Rail " ( AM - 26 / AT - 139 / ATO - 139 ) was a built for the United States Navy during World War I . She was the first U . S . Navy ship named for the rail , a small wading bird , related to the cranes . " Rail " , a single - screw , steel " bird " - class minesweeper , was laid down on 15 December 1917 by the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Bremerton , Washington ; launched 25 April 1918 ; sponsored by Mrs . Robert Morgan ; and commissioned on 5 June 1918 , Ens . R . E . Allen , USNRF , in command . World War I North Atlantic operations . Assigned to the Atlantic , " Rail " departed Bremerton , Washington , on 25 June . Reaching Key West , Florida , on 11 August , she continued on to Norfolk , Virginia , where she conducted minesweeping operations and training exercises into 1919 . In March of that year , she sailed north to Boston , Massachusetts , then east to Inverness , Scotland , where on 20 April she joined the North Sea Minesweeping Detachment . Eight days later the detachment began the first of seven operations , which , during the summer , cleared the barrage laid down by the U . S . and Royal Navies between the Orkney Islands and the coast of Norway to block the entry of German ships into the Atlantic Ocean . On 2 May , the detachment completed the first sweep and put into Kirkwall , Scotland , its new base of operations for the remaining six sweeps . Damaged on 8 July and 29 August by mines which fouled her kite and exploded , " Rail " remained with the detachment through the completion of the 7th sweeping operation on 19 September . The detachment then prepared to return to the United States . On 15 October , " Rail " with others of her class departed Davenport and , after several stops en route , arrived at Tompkinsville , New York , on 20 November 1919 . Within the week the North Sea Minesweeping Detachment was disbanded and " Rail " moved south , to Norfolk , for overhaul . Then , reassigned to duty in the North Sea , she returned to Scotland in March 1920 and operated from Rosyth during April , May , and June . On 17 June she sailed for home . Designated AM - 26 on 17 July , " Rail " remained active with Mine Force , Atlantic , after her return . Based at Norfolk , Virginia , she conducted sweeping exercises off the U . S . East Coast and in the Caribbean , during annual deployments , until 1925 . In mid - February 1925 , she returned to the Pacific Ocean . Until 12 March , she participated in Fleet Problem V , then into June operated in Hawaiian waters . On 8 June she headed back to the Atlantic Ocean to continue her previous operating schedule , spending several months of each year in the Caribbean , through the decade . In 1932 she redeployed to the Pacific . Pacific Theatre deployment . Transiting the Panama Canal in February , she steamed north to San Francisco , California , and , into 1934 , conducted training exercises and participated in maneuvers off the U . S . West Coast . On 9 April 1934 , she departed San Francisco , California , and returned to the U . S . East Coast , only to retransit the Panama Canal late in the year to participate in Fleet Problem XVI , a five - phase exercise to test the fleet ' s ability to secure advanced bases in the Pacific . After brief operations out of Pearl Harbor , " Rail " shifted to San Diego , California in June 1935 . Based there for almost three years , she deployed westward only once , to Pearl Harbor for Fleet Problem XVIII in the spring of 1937 . In late December 1938 , she steamed south to the Panama Canal Zone ; operated there for four months ; and returned to San Diego , California , in May 1939 . She was transferred to Pearl Harbor eleven months later . Pearl Harbor under attack by Japanese planes . On 7 December 1941 , " Rail " was tied up to the Coal Dock at Pearl Harbor . Within minutes of the start of the Japanese attack , her crew had the enemy under fire with . 50 caliber machine gun s . Rescue and salvage work soon commenced , but shortly after noon was interrupted for sweeping operations in the North Channel . On the 8th she resumed salvage operations , and continued them until the 21st . From that day to 19 January 1942 , she underwent engine repairs ; then , three days later , she stood out of Pearl Harbor as an escort for a ship bound for Johnston Island . Reclassified as an Ocean Tug AT - 139 on 1 June 1942 , " Rail " remained in the Hawaiian area , serving on ASW patrol and conducting experimental minesweeping operations in addition to completing salvage and towing assignments . World War II Pacific operations . On 26 January 1943 , " Rail " with two barges in tow , headed for Samoa . Arriving on 11 February , she continued on to Nouméa , New Caledonia , and the New Hebrides . In March , she moved up to the Solomons to participate in the Russell Islands offensive , and , through the New Georgia campaign , towed gasoline , oil , and ordnance barges ; retrieved landing craft from the beaches ; assisted in rescue and salvage operations ; and brought damaged merchant and naval ships and craft into Tulagi for repairs . In mid - September , " Rail " returned to Nouméa and assumed towing duties in the New Caledonia area . Assigned a tow to the New Hebrides in early January 1944 , she spent the latter half of the month en route to and from New Zealand and in February resumed towing operations out of Espiritu Santo . On 1 June , " Rail " , now ATO - 139 ( effective 15 May 1944 ) , departed the Solomons - New Hebrides area and shifted to New Guinea . Arriving at Milne Bay on the 4th , she operated along that coast from Milne Bay to Biak through the summer . In October she visited Cairns , Australia , then resumed operations along the New Guinea coast , in the Admiralties , and , in November , in the Halmaheras . In late November and early December , she towed barges to Leyte , Philippines . Then , toward the end of the year , she departed Manus with the Luzon attack force . Philippine invasion support . On 5 January 1945 , " Rail " transited Surigao Strait . On the 7th , she entered the South China Sea where Japanese aircraft attempted to turn the Allied force . On the 9th , the ships entered Lingayen Gulf and " Rail " took up station to give assistance where needed . Through the 14th she provided retrieving , salvage , and towing services . On the 18th , after completing an intelligence and salvage inspection of a sunken Japanese submarine , she moved south , to Leyte , whence she returned to Luzon for operation " Mike VII " - the assaults on Zambales province at the end of the month . With no opposition in the San Antonio area , she moved around to Grande Island at the entrance to Subic Bay ; assisted the damaged transport , ; then returned to Leyte , arriving in San Pedro Bay on 4 February . Two weeks later , the tug returned to New Guinea ; underwent overhaul at Hollandia ; and , late in April , brought more barges to the Philippines . Arriving at Leyte on 1 May , she remained in the Philippines - operating primarily in the Samar , Leyte , and Luzon areas - until mid - December . Decommissioning . On the 26th , she departed Guiuan and arrived at San Francisco , California , on 5 February 1946 to begin inactivation . Decommissioned on 29 April 1946 , " Rail " was transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal on 17 January 1947 . Awards . " Rail " earned six battle star s during World War II .