USS Munsee ( ATF - 107 ) USS " Munsee " ( AT / ATF - 107 ) was an . She is the only ship of the United States Navy to hold the name Munsee , which is the name of a subtribe of the Delaware Indians , still living in Wisconsin and Kansas . " Munsee " was laid down 20 August 1942 by the United Engineering & Drydock Co . , Alameda , California ; launched 21 January 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Lloyd A . Davis ; and commissioned 30 October 1943 , Lieutenant John F . Pingley in command . Service history . World War II . After shakedown and brief duty from west coast ports , " Munsee " conducted towing operations between Hawaii and Midway and the Marshall Islands . As ATF - 107 , redesignated 15 May 1944 , she proceeded , in August , to the Solomon Islands to prepare for the invasion of the Palaus . She arrived off Peleliu , 17 September , and screened transports during the landings . She then joined in the occupation of Ulithi , 23 September , and patrolled Kossol Roads . When was damaged by air attack off Formosa , 13 October , " Munsee " sailed to take her in tow . Rendezvousing 8 days later " Munsee " took over the tow from and put a salvage crew aboard " Canberra " . In the process of temporary repairs and pumping out flooded compartments " Munsee ' s " salvage officer , Ensign P . S . Criblet , died while diving in the cruiser ' s engine room . gave similar aid to , struck the day after " Canberra " . Still in range of land - based aircraft , the two cruisers drew heavy attacks , which " Munsee " and " Pawnee " helped to fight off as they towed the cruisers to safer waters . Relieved 21 October , she returned to the Palaus for salvage duties . At Ulithi , 20 November , for repairs , " Munsee " aided in fighting fire on board when the oiler was hit by a Japanese kaiten . She maneuvered close enough to send a firefighting party aboard . After thirty minutes , they were forced off the oiler , returning to " Munsee " hand over hand on the mooring lines . Towing and salvage duty in the Palaus and at Ulithi continued . On 11 March 1945 , she again fought fire in Ulithi Anchorage when Post - war . The tug served in the Marianas through July and August ; then , after hostilities ended , proceeded to Okinawa and Japan for salvage and diving operations . She opened 1946 in the Marshalls and operated between the central Pacific and the west coast until steaming to Bikini Atoll in June for " Operation Crossroads " , tests conducted through the summer to determine the effects of atomic weapons on naval ships . For the next two decades the tug performed widely varied duties in the Pacific , towing assorted ships and craft from the South Pacific to the Aleutians , and from the California coast to the Asiatic mainland . The pace quickened during the Korean War in the early 1950s and again in the mid ‑ 1960 ’ s when the United States entered into the Vietnam War . On the morning of 10 July 1965 , " Munsee " headed for Pratas Reef , 200 miles south of Hong Kong . There had grounded . First on the scene , " Munsee " remained for several days , helping to refloat the destroyer . On the 28th , she made a run to Cam Rahn Bay with barges in tow , and then towed " Frank Knox " from Taiwan to Japan for repairs . " Munsee " returned to San Diego 29 October 1965 and for the next year operated on the west coast . She sailed , 28 October 1966 , for the Gulf of Alaska . Arriving at Adak , 5 November , she spent the next few months assisting disabled vessels in the Aleutians . She headed south again in February , arriving at San Diego on the 22nd . She operated along the west coast until 19 October , when she departed again for the Far East . After a stop at Pearl Harbor , " Munsee " reached Subic Bay 27 November . On 2 December she sailed for Vũng Tàu , Vietnam , to assist HCU ‑ 1 in transferring equipment between lift craft . The veteran tug continued to operate in Southeast Asia , until returning to San Diego 28 May 1968 . Late in the year she prepared to return to the North Pacific . " Munsee " was decommissioned 3 November 1969 . She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day . She was sold for commercial service to Ocean Service Corporation on 2 July 1970 , who passed ownership to C Y Tung . She served under the name " Island " until 1978 when she was heavily damaged by a fire ; the ship was scrapped shortly thereafter as the damage was too extensive to repair .