USS Nauset ( AT - 89 ) USS " Nauset " ( AT – 89 ) was a Navajo class tug in the United States Navy " Nauset " was laid down 10 August 1942 by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; launched 7 September 1942 ; and commissioned 2 March 1943 ; Lt . ( j . g . ) H . K . Wombacher in command . Following shakedown off the mid - Atlantic and New England coasts , " Nauset " departed Norfolk , Virginia 28 April , and sailed , via Bermuda , to Mers - el - Kebir , Algeria , arriving 26 May . There she performed towing and salvage operations along the North African coast . Detached in early July , she departed Bizerte on the 8th and steamed eastward to participate in the invasion of Sicily . On the 10th she joined the “ Cent ” Attack Force and anchored less than three miles off the Scoglitti beaches to await calls for assistance . Heavy surf , indefinite landmarks , and inexperienced boat crews took their toll , keeping " Nauset " busy for the next two weeks : at first in the Scoglitti area , then at Licata and Gela . By the end of the month her operational area had expanded to Palermo , whence she departed , in mid - August , to tow to Malta for repairs . Back in Sicilian waters within a week , she continued salvage operations and towing services from the southern beaches to Palermo until the 23rd . On the 24th , " Nauset " arrived at Bizerte , completed several local salvage and towing assignments , and then staged for her last operation “ Avalanche , ” with Salerno its target . On 7 September , " Nauset " departed the Tunisian coast with a Royal Navy boat crew as passengers , their boat , an LCA ( HR ) — assault craft equipped with hedgehog projectors as deck cargo , and hedgehogs and dynamite in her holds . Escaping damage during aerial attacks on the 8th , the tug arrived in the vicinity of the US lowering position soon after “ D - day , ” 9 September , began . Moving further in toward the “ Uncle ” beaches , AT – 89 commenced lowering the LCA ( HR ) , and by 0230 , the British craft had shoved off to explode her hedgehog charges in the shallow waters off the beaches , thus , hopefully , clearing the area of mines . " Nauset " , in the meantime , stood by to await the craft ’ s return for replenishment . At 0430 , the Luftwaffe paid its first visit to the Allied vessels . Forty minutes later enemy aircraft again flew over the ships in the Gulf of Salerno . Bombs , from a plane heard , but not seen , exploded in close proximity to the tug . Fire enveloped " Nauset ' s " entire boat deck and broke out in the motor and generator rooms , cutting all power . She began to list heavily to port and without pressure in the fire plugs , the fires spread quickly . The tug " Intent " , followed by , immediately joined in the battle to save the ship , attaching tow lines and turning on their fire hoses , they stood in toward the nearest beach . Burned and wounded men were soon transferred to Intent , while the uninjured continued the battle . The deck fires were extinguished , but those below raged . Flooding soon broached the critical point and " Nauset " was abandoned . After abandonment , the tug righted itself to a list , raising hopes for saving the ship . The captain , Lt . Joseph Orleck , the first lieutenant and the chief bos ’ n reboarded her to make lines fast from " Narragansett " . Within seconds , however , a final explosion , probably caused by a mine , rocked the ship . " Nauset " broke in two and sank , taking the captain and the first lieutenant with her . Lt . Edwin Lee Reel SR . was the senior surviving officer . Of her wartime complement of 113 , 18 were known dead or missing and 41 suffered severe injuries . " Nauset " received two battle star s for her brief service in World War II .