USS Chincoteague ( AVP - 24 ) USS " Chincoteague " ( AVP - 24 ) was a United States Navy seaplane tender in commission from 1943 to 1946 . Construction and commissioning . " Chincoteague " was launched on 15 April 1942 by Lake Washington Shipyard at Houghton , Washington , sponsored by Mrs . G . Rowe . She was commissioned on 12 April 1943 with Commander I . E . Hobbs in command . World War II service . New Guinea campaign . " Chincoteague " departed from San Diego , California , on 13 June 1943 for Saboe Bay in the Santa Cruz Islands , where she arrived on 6 July 1943 to support the New Guinea campaign as tender for Fleet Air Wing 1 ( FAW - 1 ) . On 16 July 1943 the Japan ese launched eight air attacks at Saboe Bay , killing nine of " Chincoteague " s crew and damaging the ship badly through one direct hit and two near misses . Taken in tow by seaplane tender USS " Thornton " ( AVD - 11 ) , and then by tug USS " Sonoma " ( AT - 12 ) , " Chincoteague " reached Espiritu Santo on 21 July 1943 for emergency repairs , and later was towed to San Francisco , California , for thorough overhaul . Central and Southwest Pacific operations . " Chincoteague " put out from San Diego on 27 January 1944 for Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , and operations in support of the consolidation of the northern Solomon Islands , the occupation of the Marshall Islands , and air action in the Treasury Islands . She tended seaplane s at Kwajalein , Eniwetok , in the Treasury Islands , and at Green Island . In addition , she carried freight , mail and passengers among the Solomon Islands , Marshall Islands , Gilbert Islands , Mariana Islands , New Hebrides , and Phoenix Islands , and voyaged from Guadalcanal to Auckland , New Zealand , returning with aircraft engines . Escorting a convoy , " Chincoteague " sailed from Eniwetok on 24 September 1944 for Pearl Harbor , and overhaul . She returned to active operations on 6 December 1944 at Kossol Roads in the Palau Islands , where she conducted salvage and rescue operations for the next two months . Iwo Jima campaign and operations at Ulithi Atoll . " Chincoteague " arrived at Guam on 13 February 1945 to join the assault force bound for Iwo Jima , and on 20 February 1945 , arrived off the bitterly contested island to tend seaplanes until 8 March 1945 . Similar operations at Ulithi Atoll followed until 8 June 1945 , when she sailed for an overhaul on the United States West Coast , where she was when World War II ended with the cessation of hostilities with Japan on 15 August 1945 . Awards . " Chincoteague " received six battle star s for World War II service . Post - World War II U . S . Navy service . On postwar occupation duty , " Chincoteague " sailed to the Far East to care for seaplanes at Okinawa and Tsingtao , China , between 18 October 1945 and 16 March 1946 . She then sailed for San Diego ; New Orleans , Louisiana ; and Beaumont , Texas . Decommissioning and reserve status . On 21 December 1946 , " Chincoteague " was decommissioned and placed in reserve . U . S . Coast Guard service . On 7 March 1949 , " Chincoteague " was lent to the United States Coast Guard , in which she was commissioned that day as the Coast Guard cutter USCGC " Chincoteague " ( WAVP - 375 ) . She was reclassified as a high endurance cutter and redesignated WHEC - 375 on 1 May 1966 , and was transferred permanently from the Navy to the Coast Guard on 26 September 1966 . Her primary duty was to patrol ocean stations in the North Atlantic Ocean , providing weather data and engaging in search - and - rescue and law - enforcement operations . The Coast Guard decommissioned her in June 1972 and returned her to U . S . Navy custody . Foreign service . Republic of Vietnam Navy service . " Chincoteague " was transferred to South Vietnam on 21 June 1972 ; renamed RVNS " Ly Thuong Kiet " ( HQ - 16 ) , she entered service in the Republic of Vietnam Navy as a patrol vessel . In 1974 , she participated in the Battle of the Paracel Islands . When South Vietnam collapsed at the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975 , " Ly Thuong Kiet " fled to the Philippines . Philippine Navy service . Transferred to the Republic of the Philippines on 5 April 1976 , she was commissioned in the Philippine Navy as frigate RPS " Andres Bonifacio " ( PF - 7 ) . She was decommissioned by around 1993 .