USS Woodcock ( AM - 14 ) USS " Woodcock " ( AM - 14 ) was an acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing . " Woodcock " was named , by the U . S . Navy , for the woodcock , a game bird that frequents wooded areas . " Woodcock " ( Minesweeper No . 14 ) was laid down on 19 October 1917 at Chester , Pennsylvania , by the Chester Shipbuilding Co . ; launched on 12 May 1918 ; sponsored by Mrs . Lewis T . Kniskern ; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19 February 1919 , Lt . ( jg - ) W . J . Fanger in command . World War I Atlantic operations . After performing experimental minesweeping work at Newport , Rhode Island , and tending lightships at New York , " Woodcock " sailed for the Orkney Islands and reached Kirkwall , Scotland , on 10 July 1919 . Over the ensuing months , the ship operated in the North Sea on mine - sweeping duties with the Atlantic Fleet ' s minesweeping detachment . During that time , " Woodcock " spent 54 days in the minefields and 28 in port for needed upkeep and voyage repairs occasioned by the heavy weather often encountered by the ships of the detachment . Post - war inactivity . Upon conclusion of the sweeping operations , the ship returned to the U . S . East Coast and operated with Mine Squadron 1 , Mine Division 5 , Atlantic Fleet , until she was decommissioned at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine , on 5 May 1922 . Meanwhile , she had been classified as AM - 14 on 17 July 1920 . Recalled from reserve status . " Woodcock " remained in reserve at Portsmouth until recommissioned there on 21 February 1924 . She then became station ship at Port - au - Prince , Haiti , to support U . S . Marine Corps peace - keeping forces there . As such , " Woodcock " was one of the three s re - commissioned for service as gunboats . Her sister - ships , and , were sent to the Asiatic Fleet for duty with the Yangtze Patrol . Outside of yearly return voyages to a navy yard in the United States such as that of Charleston , South Carolina , for repairs and alterations , " Woodcock " remained in Haitian waters , based on Port - au - Prince , through the spring of 1934 . That summer , when President Franklin D . Roosevelt decided to pull the U . S . Marine Corps occupation force – a veritable fixture in Haitian history since August 1916 – out of Haiti , " Woodcock " took part in that important troop lift . On 15 August 1934 , amidst impressive shoreside ceremonies and " most friendly feelings displayed by the populace , " " Woodcock " — in company with , , and U . S . Army transport — embarked 79 officers and 747 enlisted men of the 1st Marine Brigade , the last of the occupation troops , and eventually took them back to the United States , thus closing a colorful chapter in U . S . Marine Corps history . Soon thereafter , the minesweeper — or quasi - gunboat – shifted to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . She served as a district craft – occasionally exercising with the fleet during its winter maneuvers and participating in some of the Fleet ' s amphibious exercises under the aegis of the Commandant , 15th Naval District , through the outbreak of war in Europe in the autumn of 1939 . World War II operations . During World War II , " Woodcock " operated under the auspices of the Panama Sea Frontier Command , working between the Panama Canal Zone and New Orleans , Louisiana . While performing towing , salvage , and local escort duties , she assisted vessels in distress and stood by to protect them until help arrived . During her service in Gulf of Mexico waters , the ship was twice reclassified – first becoming an ocean - going tug , AT - 145 , on 1 June 1942 ; then an ocean - going tug ( old ) , ATO - 145 , on 15 May 1944 . Post - World War II assignments . Following the war , " Woodcock " continued local operations out of Cristobal , Panama and called at the Galapagos Islands in the spring of 1946 . Retained until the arrival of , " Woodcock " performed her final towing service that summer . She took Floating Workshop " YR - 64 " from Cristobal to New York , reaching the latter port on 27 August 1946 . After getting underway the following day , " Woodcock " headed south ; arrived at Charleston on 31 August ; and reported to Commandant , 6th Naval District , for disposition . Decommisssioning . Decommissioned at Charleston on 30 September 1946 , " Woodcock " was struck from the Navy List on 23 April 1947 and transferred to the Maritime Commission on 4 August of the same year . She was sold to the Potomac Shipwrecking Co . , Inc . , of Pope ' s Creek , Maryland , on 19 December 1947 .