USS PC - 817 USS " PC - 817 was a built for the United States Navy during World War II . She was later renamed Welch " ( PC - 817 ) but never saw active service under that name . Career . " PC - 817 " was laid down at Portland , Oregon , by the Albina Engine & Machinery Works on 8 January 1943 ; launched on 4 March 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . H . O . McAlpine ; and commissioned on 13 July 1943 , Lt . H . L . Martin , USNR , in command . " PC - 817 " completed fitting out at Portland until 6 August when she shifted south to San Pedro , California . After shakedown training out of San Pedro between 18 August and 30 September , the patrol craft was assigned to the Western Sea Frontier . She served along the California coast — escorting coastwise convoys and conducting antisubmarine patrols — until 1 December when she arrived at the Naval Station , Seattle , Washington , for repairs incident to her imminent transfer to the Alaska Sea Frontier . On the 16th , she departed Seattle and arrived at Ketchikan four days later . For the next 11 months , " PC - 817 " steamed between the sundry American bases along the Aleutians chain , escorting supply convoys , transporting passengers and mail , and conducting surveys . On 5 November 1944 , the patrol vessel departed Shemya to escort " SS Griffco " to Seattle , Washington . After stops at Adak , Dutch Harbor , and Ketchikan , she arrived in Seattle on 29 November . At the Puget Sound Navy Yard , she began a major overhaul that lasted until April 1945 . On 18 April , the patrol vessel took leave of Puget Sound and headed — via San Francisco , California — to her last wartime assignment — the Hawaiian Islands . She reached Pearl Harbor on 1 May and conducted patrols among and escorted ships between the islands through the end of the war . On 11 September , she headed back to the U . S . West Coast , arriving in San Pedro , California , on the 20th . From there , she steamed to the Panama Canal and thence proceeded via Key West , Florida , to Jacksonville , Florida , where she arrived on 28 November . " PC - 817 " was to have undergone inactivation overhaul at Jacksonville and then was to have been decommissioned and berthed with the Florida Group , Atlantic Reserve Fleet . However , her inactivation was never completed . She remained at Jacksonville until April 1946 when she moved north to Charleston , South Carolina , for disposal by the Commandant , 6th Naval District . However , while at Charleston , she received a reprieve by way of assignment as U . S . Naval Reserve training ship for the 9th Naval District . On 4 June , she headed north from Charleston . After a visit to New York City and port calls at American and Canadian ports along the St . Lawrence waterway , she arrived at Toledo , Ohio , on 11 July . Though placed out of commission on 22 July , " PC - 817 " remained active — in an " in service " capacity — as a Naval Reserve training ship for the 9th Naval District . After over three years of service training naval reservists on the Great Lakes , " PC - 817 " began her last voyage on 14 November 1949 . From Chicago , Illinois , she steamed down the Des Plaines and Illinois river system to the Mississippi River just above St . Louis , Missouri , and thence moved south to New Orleans , Louisiana , where she arrived on 29 November . A week later , she continued her voyage — via Pensacola , St . Petersburg and Key West , Florida — and arrived in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on 19 December . On the 21st , she began inactivation overhaul at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard . In March 1950 , she was shifted south to Norfolk , Virginia , and was berthed with the Norfolk Group , Atlantic Reserve Fleet . She remained there for the next nine years ; and , during that time , she received a name . On 15 February 1956 , " PC - 817 " became USS " Welch " ( PC - 817 ) . On 1 April 1959 , her name was struck from the Navy list . She was probably sold for scrapping soon thereafter .