USS Prevail ( AM - 107 ) USS " Prevail " ( AM - 107 ) 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 . " Prevail " , a steel - hulled minesweeper , was named after the word " prevail , " meaning to gain ascendancy through strength or superiority . " Prevail " was laid down by Pennsylvania Shipyards Inc . , Beaumont , Texas , 15 November 1941 ; launched 13 September 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . T . B . Moran ; and commissioned 17 April 1943 , Comdr . A . V . Wallis , USNR , in command . World War II Mediterranean operations . After training at Key West , Florida , " Prevail " spent several months on escort duty with convoys between the U . S . East Coast and Casablanca . Beginning 8 September , she took part in the main sweeps off Salerno and remained off that beachhead on patrol for thirty days . The next operation consisted of sweeps for the establishment of the Anzio beachhead , 21 to 24 January 1944 , where " Prevail " was subjected to intense air attack and was damaged by a near bomb miss which forced her to proceed to Palermo and Oran for repairs . Supporting Operation Dragoon . In April 1944 , " Prevail " resumed operations off Anzio and Naples . On 17 August she departed Naples as part of the force for the invasion of southern France . Between 18 – 23 August she acted as control ship for sweeping operations at Cavalaire - sur - Mer , France , the first step in opening the port of Marseille . Miscellaneous assignments along the southern coast of France followed and in November she was ordered to the United States . Transfer to Pacific Theatre of operations . Arriving at Norfolk , Virginia , 11 December , " Prevail " was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet and got underway from Norfolk , Virginia 15 February 1945 . Arriving Okinawa on 23 May , she engaged in antisubmarine patrols off Kerama Retto under almost constant attack by Japanese kamikaze aircraft . Then in July she conducted minesweeping operations off Okinawa and south toward Formosa , and , in September , helped clear the entrance to Japan ' s Inland Sea . From 20 November to 23 December , she assisted in the operations to clear the merchant sea lanes of the East China Sea and supported SAR operations among the islands off Formosa . New Year ' s Day 1946 found " Prevail " on the Whangpoo River at Shanghai , China , where she remained until returning to San Pedro , California , 15 February . Transferred to the San Diego Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet on 9 April , " Prevail " decommissioned 31 May 1946 . Reassignment as Survey Ship AGS - 20 . Prevail recommissioned 1 April 1952 , was reclassified as USS " Prevail " ( AGS – 20 ) , and underwent conversion to a survey ship at New York Naval Shipyard . Reporting in late August to Commander , Hydrographic Survey Group 1 , in October , she undertook her first surveying assignment in the Cape Hatteras area . From 1953 to 1956 she conducted survey and cable laying operations in the Caribbean , along the Southern and Eastern coasts of the United States north to Nova Scotia , and in the South Atlantic Ocean . During 1957 " Prevail " operated along the Newfoundland and Labrador Coast and briefly in the Bahama Islands . On 7 February 1958 she departed for the Mediterranean , returning 9 May . From 19 May to 27 July 1959 , " Prevail " conducted sounding surveys in the western Mediterranean , then moved to the eastern Mediterranean . After returning home 10 September , she spent the next four years conducting surveys in the Caribbean , off Bermuda , and off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia . Decommissioning . After decommissioning , " Prevail " was struck from the Navy List on 10 January 1964 and sold to Union Minerals and Alloys Corp . , New York City , 13 October 1964 . Awards . " Prevail " earned 6 battle star s for World War II service .