USS Scrimmage ( AM - 297 ) USS " Scrimmage " ( AM - 297 ) was an Admirable - class minesweeper built for the U . S . Navy during World War II . She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters . She served in the Pacific Ocean and , because of her valiant efforts in combat , her crew returned home with six battle stars . " Scrimmage " was laid down on 22 February 1943 by Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Co . , Seattle , Washington , launched on 16 May 1943 ; and commissioned on 4 April 1944 , Lt . Robert Van Winkle in command . World War II Pacific Theatre operations . After shakedown " Scrimmage " sailed from San Francisco , California , on 11 June 1944 for Pearl Harbor . After a convoy voyage to Eniwetok and back , she helped sweep an old United States minefield in the French Frigate Shoals northwest of Oahu between 6 and 15 August . She reported to the 7th Fleet at Manus on 20 September for the Leyte invasion . On 20 October , she joined her division , Mine Division 34 , off the Leyte beaches for a four - day sweep of the main transport channel and then anchored with the transports to provide antiaircraft support . Searching for survivors . Between 27 and 31 October , she helped search for survivors at the scene of the Battle off Samar , where a few American escort carriers and their screen had withstood the attack of a superior Japanese force . For the next month , she carried out local patrols and sweeps around Leyte , and made a convoy voyage to Manus and back . Supporting the Philippine Islands operations . " Scrimmage " participated , with her divisions in most of the subsequent landings in the Philippines . She carried out pre - invasion sweeps at Ormoc Bay on 6 December 1944 , Mindoro Island on 14 December , Lingayen Gulf on 6 January 1945 , and Zambales and Subic Bay on 29 and 31 January . For all but the Ormoc assault , she remained on the scene after the initial landings , helping extend the mineswept areas and providing antisubmarine and antiaircraft protection to the transports . Few mines were encountered , but kamikaze resistance was intense , and the ships saw much antiaircraft action . Under fire from Japanese shore batteries . On 13 February , " Scrimmage " and her division began pre - invasion sweeps in Manila Bay in preparation for the landings at Mariveles and Corregidor . While sweeping off Corregidor on the 14th , the minesweepers came within 5 , 000 yards of the island and were repeatedly straddled by Japanese fire before supporting ships silenced the enemy ' s guns . " Scrimmage " continued sweeping in Manila Bay through 19 February , and her division earned a Navy Unit Commendation for the operation . During the next two and one - half months , " Scrimmage " carried out various local sweeps in support of fighting in the Philippines , the most notable being a pre - assault sweep for the landings at Legaspi , Luzon on 1 April , and an 8 - day sweep in the Sulu Sea off Palawan beginning on 22 April . On 9 May , the ship arrived at Morotai to prepare for operations in the Netherlands East Indies . Supporting Borneo landings . Between 7 and 18 June , " Scrimmage " supported the landings at Brunei Bay , Borneo . During the operation , the minesweepers came under fire from shore batteries and one ship , , was sunk by a mine on 8 June . On completion of the operation , " Scrimmage " returned to Subic Bay for emergency engine repairs , arriving on 21 June . End - of - war activity . The minesweeper left the Philippines on 6 September and arrived at Nagoya , Japan , on 9 October , having weathered three typhoons en route . Between 16 October and 3 December , she swept Japanese minefields in the approaches to the Inland Sea and in Tsushima Strait . On 9 December she sailed from Sasebo for home . Post - war decommissioning . Arriving at Orange , Texas , on 2 April 1946 , she was decommissioned there on 22 June 1946 and placed in reserve . The ship was reclassified MSF - 297 on 7 February 1955 . She was struck from the Navy list on 1 April 1960 and sold . She became a British merchantman named M / V " Giant II " and used as a cable ship ; sold in March 1968 to the Dillingham Corp . and leased to the University of Hawaii as a research vessel ; renamed M / S " Mahi " ; sold in 1982 to Dacor Scuba Diving to be sunk as an artificial reef ; and sunk approximately one mile off the Waianae coast in 90 feet of water . A U . S . Flag was raised on the mast of the Mahi on 26 May 2008 by SFC ( Ret ) Shawn McElravy , US Army , to commemorate Memorial Day . SFC ( Ret ) McElravy replaced the flag with a new one on 25 May 2009 . Awards . " Scrimmage " received 6 battle stars for her World War II service .