USS Skimmer ( AMCU - 41 ) USS " Skimmer " ( AMCU - 41 / LCIL - 1093 ) was an built for the U . S . Navy for the task of landing troops in combat areas . The second ship to be named " Skimmer " by the Navy was laid down as " LCI ( L ) - 1093 " , a large , infantry landing craft , on 11 September 1944 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City , Michigan ; launched on 23 September 1944 ; and commissioned on 28 September 1944 . World War II service . " LCI ( L ) - 1093 " made her way through Lake Michigan and the Chicago Drainage Canal , down the Illinois River and the Mississippi river , and arrived at New Orleans , Louisiana , on 11 October 1944 . She drydocked at New Orleans , then commenced her shakedown cruise to Galveston , Texas . After completing shakedown and amphibious training , she departed Galveston on 25 November 1944 . Transfer to the Pacific Theatre . She transited the Panama Canal on 1 December , and arrived in San Diego , California , on the 18th . In mid - February 1945 , following further exercises and training at San Diego , " LCI ( L ) - 1093 " got underway for Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , en route to Guam in the Marianas . She entered Pearl Harbor on 11 March and departed soon thereafter , visiting Eniwetok Atoll along the way to the Marianas . She arrived at Guam on 8 April and stayed there until the 24 April . Saipan and Okinawa operations . From there she sailed to Saipan and , after about a month of miscellaneous duties there , headed for Okinawa . She spent the next month , 30 May to 30 June , providing smoke screens , carrying troops and supplies , and helping other landing craft retract from the beaches . End - of - war operations . The conquest of Okinawa was fairly well complete by the end of June , but the " LCI ( L ) " continued to operate in that vicinity until 12 September . At that time , she was sent to Japan where she performed a number of duties , including ferrying allied prisoners - of - war to Guam and supporting the occupation forces in the Tokyo area . " LCI ( L ) - 1093 " departed Japan on 14 April 1946 . Sailing via Guam and Pearl Harbor , she arrived at San Diego on 10 June . By mid - July , she had retransmitted the Panama Canal and had arrived in Boston , Massachusetts . She then decommissioned at Boston and was towed to the berthing area at Hingham , Massachusetts . Reactivation in 1947 . She returned to Boston , Massachusetts , on 20 April 1947 , and for almost three years , served the 1st Naval District as a U . S . Naval Reserve training ship . In January 1950 , she was taken to Charleston , South Carolina , to be inactivated . This time , she was berthed at Green Cove Springs , Florida . Reactivation in 1953 as AMCU - 41 . In August 1953 , she returned to Charleston to be converted to a coastal minesweeper " AMCU - 41 " . On 23 January 1954 , the ship was commissioned as " Skimmer " ( " AMCU - 41 " ) , Lieutenant W . M . Gattis commanding . She was assigned to the 1st Naval District in late February 1954 and , on 6 March , departed Charleston for Boston . She headed via the Chesapeake Bay , Chesapeake and Delaware Canal , the East River , Long Island Sound , and the Cape Cod Canal and arrived in Boston on 14 March . She operated in the 1st Naval District for the next year participating in LANTSUBMINEX - 54 and LANTFLTEX - 55 and representing the 1st Naval District at the Rhode Island State American Legion Convention from 18 to 20 June 1954 . Final deactivation and decommissioning . On 1 March 1955 , she commenced Phase Able inactivation at Boston and was redesignated " MHC - 41 " . By 20 April , she was back at Charleston , South Carolina , beginning Phase Baker inactivation . Finally , on 1 July 1955 , " Skimmer " decommissioned at Charleston and was berthed there as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . In 1958 , she was moved to the berthing area at Green Cove Springs , Florida ; and , on 1 January 1960 , her name was struck from the Navy list . Military awards and honors . " Skimmer " ( " LCI ( L ) - 1093 " ) received one battle star for World War II service .