USS Mainstay ( AM - 261 ) USS Mainstay ( AM - 261 ) was an Admirable - class minesweeper built for the U . S . Navy during World War II . She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters , and served the Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean . History . " Mainstay " was laid down by American Shipbuilding Co . , Lorain , Ohio , 10 April 1943 ; launched 31 July 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . J . A . Hughes ; and commissioned 24 April 1944 , Lt . Henry B . Clark , Jr . , in command . After steaming to the U . S . East Coast , " Mainstay " underwent shakedown in Chesapeake Bay and joined Mine Division 32 on 21 July . Three days later she departed for the Mediterranean , and , as escort for convoy UGS - 49 , arrived Oran , Algeria , 10 August . On the 15th she sailed for minesweeping operations in support of the Allied invasion of southern France on the coast of Provence . She closed the French coast 20 August , and during the next two months she swept for enemy mines from Marseilles , France , to San Remo , Italy . While sweeping coastal waters between Menton , France , and Ventimiglia , Italy , she came under fire from German shore batteries on 9 and 10 September and engaged the enemy guns with 3 - inch gunfire . In addition , she helped repel an attack by submerged , one - man " human torpedo es " on gunfire support ships on the 10th . " Mainstay " patrolled the Provence coast until 25 October thence , after overhaul at Bizerte , Tunisia , she swept for enemy mines off Cagliari , Sardinia , and Palermo , Sicily . From 3 to 22 March 1945 she helped to salvage , sunk at Anzio by a German mine 9 July 1944 . After additional sweeps off Palermo , she sailed 12 April for Oran , joined convoy GUS 84 on the 17th , and arrived Norfolk , Virginia , 5 May . With the war in Europe ended and Allied victory in the Pacific only weeks away , " Mainstay " sailed for the Pacific 5 July and reached Pearl Harbor 20 August . Departing 1 September , she steamed via Eniwetok and Saipan to Okinawa ; and , after arriving 1 October , she put to sea the 7th to avoid an impending typhoon . During the next three days she battled heavy seas while typhoon Louise , a most " furious and lethal storm " wreaked havoc at Okinawa with winds of 120 knots She searched off Okinawa for survivors of this vicious storm until 15 October . " Mainstay " reached Sasebo , Japan , 20 October , and during the next two months she destroyed numerous mines in waters southwest of Japan , west of the Ryukyus , and north of Formosa . Departing Wakayama 13 January 1946 , she steamed via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor and arrived San Pedro , California , 15 February . She operated out of there and Pearl Harbor until arriving Bremerton , Washington , 16 September . She decommissioned 6 November 1946 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet . " Mainstay " was placed in service 28 November 1947 , Lt . D . H . Dane in charge . Assigned to Service Force , Pacific Fleet , she departed 10 January 1948 for the Far East . Sailing via San Francisco , California , and Pearl Harbor , she reached Yokosuka , Japan , 28 March and was placed out of service 16 April 1948 . She recommissioned 1 March 1949 , Lt . ( jg . ) John S . Grow in command . Assigned to Mine Squadron 3 , she arrived Sasebo 21 April and , for 7 months , operated off Kyūshū between Sasebo and Rokura . Returning to Yokosuka 23 November , she decommissioned 10 January 1950 . " Mainstay " recommissioned 12 December 1950 , Lt . Thomas E . Reynolds in command . A week later she departed for the eastern coast of Korea , and on 2 January 1951 she began coastal patrols and mine sweeps in support of the Blockading and Escort Force . During the next month she cleared a path for inshore fire support ships . As American and U . N . ground forces began their second drive up the peninsula , she swept for mines and fired at enemy shore positions during an amphibious feint on 30 and 31 January against the Communist - held Kansong - Kosong area . On 2 February she supported rescue operations after struck a mine off Sokcho and sank . After returning briefly to Sasebo 4 February , " Mainstay " resumed sweeping and patrol duty off Korea . She ranged the coastal waters from Pohang in the south to Songjin in the north , and between 21 February and 31 May she operated primarily off Wonsan supporting the siege and bombardment of the harbor . She departed Korean waters 7 August , touched at Sasebo and Yokosuka , and steamed for the U . S . West Coast 20 August , arriving Long Beach , California , 11 September 1951 . For almost two years " Mainstay " operated along the California coast and in Hawaiian waters . She again deployed to the Far East 6 August 1953 and resumed patrols off South Korea 22 September . Operating out of Sasebo , she cruised coastal waters from Pusan to Pohang during the remainder of 1953 . She completed her final patrol 10 February 1954 and two days later departed Sasebo for Long Beach , where she arrived 11 March . " Mainstay " remained at Long Beach and decommissioned there 21 September 1954 . She entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego , California , and while berthed there was reclassified MSF - 261 on 7 February 1955 . Her name was struck from the Navy list 1 December 1959 and she was sold for scrap to National Metal & Steel Corp . 8 August 1960 . Awards and honors . " Mainstay " received two battle stars for World War II service and four battle stars for Korean service .