USS Advance ( MSO - 510 ) USS " Advance " ( AM - 510 / MSO - 510 ) was an " Acme " - class minesweeper acquired by the U . S . Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships . The sixth ship to be named " Advance " by the Navy , " MSO - 510 " was laid down on 28 June 1955 at Boothbay Harbor , Maine , by Frank L . Sample , Jr . , Inc . ; launched on 12 July 1956 ; sponsored by Mrs . Allen H . Sturges ; and commissioned on 16 June 1958 , Lt . Coleman T . Brown in command . East Coast operations . The minesweeper completed her outfitting in Boothbay Harbor and , after a stop at Boston , Massachusetts , for additional preparations , headed south for Charleston , South Carolina , near the end of the second week in July . She arrived at that port on 15 July and conducted four weeks of shakedown training . On 12 August , the ship began the long passage to the U . S . West Coast and her permanent assignment . Assigned to the West Coast . She made stops at Key West , Florida , and at Havana , Cuba , before transiting the Panama Canal late in August . She entered port at Long Beach , California , on 7 September . For the remainder of 1958 , the minesweeper engaged in various training missions out of Long Beach . The year 1959 began with her carrying out more of the same type of duty , along with various Pacific Mine Force competitions and inspections . On 1 April 1959 , " Advance " entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for post - shakedown availability and extensive modernization work to her main propulsion plant . First deployment to the Far East . The minesweeper resumed local operations in the fall of 1959 and continued to be so engaged until late in the summer of 1960 . On 31 August of that year , she stood out of Long Beach for her first deployment to the western Pacific Ocean . She made stops at Pearl Harbor and at Midway Island before arriving in Yokosuka , Japan , on 28 September . For a little more than four months , " Advance " conducted training operations with other ships of the U . S . 7th Fleet as well as with units of the navies of Taiwan and Korea . She also visited various Korean , Japanese , Taiwanese , and Philippine Islands ports . On 11 February 1961 , the ship stood out of Subic Bay in the Philippines in company with the other ships of Mine Division ( MinDiv ) 92 bound for the United States . After stops at Guam , Midway Island , and Pearl Harbor , she arrived back in Long Beach on 25 March . Early the following month , the vessel entered a civilian shipyard at Long Beach for post - deployment repairs . In May , she resumed operations along the west coast with units of the U . S . 1st Fleet . Far East operations . " Advance " continued that employment over the next 14 months . She embarked upon her second deployment to the western Pacific Ocean on 2 July 1962 and arrived at Subic Bay on 13 August . During the following two months , she made goodwill tour stops at various islands in the Philippines . In mid - October , the minesweeper moved to Okinawa where she participated in the U . S . 7th Fleet ' s Exercise " Lone Eagle . " From there , she steamed to Sasebo , Japan , for a series of repairs which included the replacement of her port outboard main engine . On 5 December , the ship stood out of Sasebo bound for Hong Kong in which port she remained for a week before returning to Subic Bay late in December . On 27 December 1962 , she began the long voyage back to Long Beach and reentered her home port on 8 February 1963 after stops at Guam , Midway Island , and Pearl Harbor . Post - deployment leave and upkeep followed . On 15 March , she resumed local operations out of Long Beach and devoted the remainder of 1963 and the first nine months of 1964 to type training , inspections , regular overhaul , and competitive exercises . Minesweep exercises with the Taiwan Navy . On 28 September 1964 , the minesweeper sailed from Long Beach on her third assignment to the U . S . 7th Fleet in the western Pacific . En route , she made the usual stop at Pearl Harbor plus one each at Johnston Island , Kwajalein Atoll , Guam , and Okinawa before entering port at Sasebo on 23 November . After a repair period at that Japanese port , the vessel got underway on 7 December for mine exercises in cooperation with the Taiwanese Navy . She carried out that mission in waters near Taiwan between 11 and 17 December and then headed for Hong Kong where her crew celebrated Christmas . Departing Hong Kong on 27 December , she arrived at Subic Bay on the 30th . Vietnam operations . " Advance " spent the first five weeks of 1965 in upkeep at Subic Bay and , on 7 February , headed for her first combat tour — in the recently escalated war in South Vietnam . She cruised the coastal waters of South Vietnam for about two weeks with Task Group ( TG ) 76 . 5 , returning to Subic Bay on 22 February . She remained in Subic Bay for a fortnight and then headed back to Vietnam on 7 March . The minesweeper conducted special operations off the coast of South Vietnam until 9 April and then shaped a course for Australia . She arrived in Brisbane , Australia , on 30 April and spent about a week engaged in the festivities celebrating the Allied victory in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 . During the second week in May , the warship visited Sydney , Australia ; then made a four - day stop at Kembla , Australia ; and got underway on 19 May to return home . She made stops at Fiji , American Samoa , Johnston Island , and Pearl Harbor before re - entering Long Beach on 26 June . Operation Market Time . Following post - deployment standdown , " Advance " cruised the waters of the American Pacific coast until late in August when she began regular overhaul at a civilian shipyard . Although this work ended on 24 November , the ship remained moored at Long Beach for the rest of the year . Refresher and type training occupied her time until mid - May 1966 . On 16 May , she departed Long Beach and headed back to the western Pacific . She made stops along the way at Pearl Harbor , Johnston Island , Kwajalein Atoll , and Guam . At the latter island , the minesweeper underwent a 10 - day repair period . She arrived in the Far East on 5 July . Eleven days later , she embarked upon her first Vietnam patrol of that deployment . Until mid - August , the minesweeper conducted missions in Operation Market Time , the ongoing patrols to interdict communist waterborne logistics efforts . Her guns were fired in anger for the first time in her career on the second day of the patrol , when a group of three junks refused to heave to when so ordered . " Advance " and an accompanying swift boat opened fire and promptly destroyed all three . Later in the patrol , the warship encountered a disabled cargo junk and towed it to a friendly village . She concluded the first patrol period of the deployment on 26 August when she entered Sasebo , Japan , for repairs . Search and rescue patrols . She departed Sasebo on 10 September and , after a diversion to Subic Bay , took up her patrol station on the 24th . She cruised Vietnamese waters for 16 days and then departed the area on 8 October for upkeep at Subic Bay . Twenty days later , she headed back to Vietnam for her third " Market Time " patrol of the deployment . During that tour , she participated in one salvage operation and two search and rescue missions . On 19 November , " Advance " left Vietnamese waters once more , this time bound for Kaohsiung , Taiwan , for a tender availability alongside . She departed Taiwan on 11 December for an eight - day visit to Hong Kong before resuming " Market Time " operations late that month . The minesweeper concluded another quiet patrol on 1 February 1967 and set a course for Subic Bay . She completed repairs there on 10 February and set out for home . The warship underwent repairs at Guam between 18 February and 5 March and then resumed her voyage back to the United States . She made stops at Kwajalein , Johnston Island , and Pearl Harbor before arriving back in Long Beach on 5 April 1967 . West Coast operations . After post - deployment leave and upkeep , " Advance " embarked upon normal west coast operations . These included amphibious exercises , an operational readiness inspection , and type training . In mid - June , she was also called upon to spend two days shadowing a Soviet intelligence - gathering ship disguised as a commercial trawler . Normal operations continued through the summer and into the fall . On 15 November , the ship entered a civilian shipyard in Long Beach for her regular overhaul which lasted through the end of 1967 and the first four months of 1968 . On 6 May , she put to sea for post - overhaul shakedown and refresher training . Such employment continued until early in September . Return to Vietnam operations . On 9 September 1968 , " Advance " stood out of Long Beach bound for the western Pacific once more . After the usual stops at Pearl Harbor , Johnston Island , Kwajalein , and Guam , as well as one at Yap Island , she arrived in Subic Bay in late November . On 25 November , she once again took up duties in Vietnamese waters , this time serving as barrier ship for the familiar " Market Time " patrol . " Advance " continued to alternate periods on " Market Time " patrol with repair and leave periods in various ports through the first week in March 1969 . Later that month , she headed for home . After about a year of normal operations along the west coast , " Advance " was deployed to the western Pacific in the spring of 1970 for the fifth and final time of her career . She conducted operations along the Vietnamese coast for two extended periods during the summer of 1970 before returning to the west coast that fall . Decommissioning . In December 1970 , " Advance " was placed out of commission and was berthed with the Mare Island Group , Pacific Reserve Fleet . Her name was apparently struck from the Navy list between 1 October and 31 December 1976 . She was transferred by sale to Mr . Oskco Edwards of Capistrano Beach , California , on 6 January 1977 . The ship was later sold several times to private owners and is now docked at a private island near the Riverside Holland Marina in Knightsen , California . Military awards and honors . " Advance " ( " MSO - 510 " ) earned five battle stars during the Vietnam War .