USS Pathfinder ( AGS - 1 ) USS " Pathfinder " ( AGS - 1 ) was a survey vessel for the United States Navy during World War II . Before and after the war she was USC & GSS " Pathfinder " ( OSS - 30 ) for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey , named after the USC & GSS Pathfinder ( 1899 - 1941 ) that had surveyed and was lost in the Philippines at Corregidor . " Pathfinder " ended her service 23 December 1971 as she and the Coast and Geodetic Survey itself had come the National Ocean Survey under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) . Construction . " Pathfinder " was built by the Lake Washington Shipyard of Houghton , Washington with her keel laid 20 February 1941 , christened by Eleanor Roosevelt Boettinger , grand - daughter of the president , launched 11 January 1942 and completed 31 August 1942 with armament as a request by Navy as the ship ' s transfer had been approved by Department of Commerce before completion . The ship had been completed at a cost of $ 1 , 265 , 448 which was slightly under estimated costs . She was acquired by the U . S . Navy and commissioned 31 August 1942 , with Capt . Bascom H . Thomas , USNR , in command . U . S . Navy service . A sea - going arm of the U . S . Navy ' s Hydrographic Office , " Pathfinder " spent the war years paving the way for amphibious invasion . After shakedown in the Puget Sound area of Washington and a stop at San Francisco , " Pathfinder " got under way 10 November 1942 and proceeded via Pearl Harbor and Palmyra Island to the Ellice Islands arriving Funa Futi 26 December . For nearly two years " Pathfinder " operated along the dangerous New Guinea - New Britain - Solomon Islands areas allied land - air - sea forces fought to break the Japanese grip on the area . An isolated reef , an uncharted harbor , a lonely stretch of enemy hold coastline — each presented a different problem . At Bougainville , Treasury Island , Green Island , Emirau and Guam , advance " Pathfinder " parties were sent ashore under the noses of the Japanese to work in close cooperation with Allied amphibious elements in laying out harbor charts or surveying inland channels . During most of 1943 , the ship operated in the Solomons and neighboring groups ; the Russell Islands , Admiralties , Loyalties , and New Caledonia . " Pathfinder " , although nominally a noncombatant , experienced some fifty bombing raids while working close to the front lines . She showed that she could retaliate at Guadalcanal 7 April 1943 when her antiaircraft gunners shot down two Japanese planes . At the end of September 1944 , after some three months of scientific probing around New Guinea , " Pathfinder " departed for Espiritu Santo , with written commendations from Admirals Nimitz , Kinkaid , and Halsey . She reached Pearl Harbor 11 October and Alameda , California , 21 October . The proud veteran headed back toward the war zone 18 December 1944 . By this time the tide of battle had swept northward to the Philippines . She reached Guam 4 February to prepare for landings at Casiguran Bay , Luzon 13 March 1945 . This first on the eastern coast of Luzon greatly helped to liberate the Philippines . On 28 March two enemy aircraft attacked the ship but she escaped damage . On 1 May 1945 , one month after the initial beachhead was established on Okinawa , " Pathfinder " churned into Hagushi Anchorage . On 6 May 1945 at " Suicide Slot " , Sesoko , a Japanese kamikaze plane crash - dived into the veteran survey ship ' s after gun platform killing one man , starting fires and setting off ready ammunition . Emergency parties quickly brought the flames under control . Between her arrival at Okinawa and the final cessation of hostilities 15 August , the ship was at General Quarters 170 times . " Pathfinder " anchored at Yokosuka Naval Base , Tokyo Bay , 13 October 1945 and wound up her U . S . Naval career with a series of surveys among the Empire ' s home islands to assist the Allied occupation . " Pathfinder " departed Yokosuka , Japan , 5 December 1945 . Touching at Pearl Harbor 16 December , the ship arrived Seattle , Washington , 24 December , she decommissioned 31 January 1946 , and was transferred to the Commerce Department on 22 August . On 1 October 1946 " Pathfinder " was returned to the U . S . Coast and Geodetic Survey . She was struck from the Navy List 13 November 1946 . Honors and awards . " Pathfinder " received two battle stars for World War II service .