USS Kiowa ( AT - 72 ) The third USS " Kiowa " ( AT - 72 ) , later ATF - 72 , was a fleet tug , later fleet ocean tug , that served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1972 . Construction and commissioning . " Kiowa " was laid down by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Company at Charleston , South Carolina , on 22 June 1942 and launched there on 5 November 1942 , sponsored by Mrs . Hilda How Edwards . She was commissioned on 7 June 1943 as the fleet tug USS " Kiowa " ( AT - 72 ) with Lieutenant William O . Kuykendall in command . World War II . After shakedown off Key West , Florida , " Kiowa " proceeded to Norfolk , Virginia . She departed Norfolk on 26 July 1943 for operations off Newfoundland . " Kiowa " towed all kinds of ships and floating equipment , including towing targets for the new battleship during the summer of 1943 , before arriving at New York City on 2 March 1944 , to prepare for overseas operations . Departing New York three weeks later , " Kiowa " arrived at Falmouth , England , in the United Kingdom on 19 April 1944 as the Allies were in the final planning stages for the invasion of Normandy . On 15 May 1944 , she was reclassified as a " fleet ocean tug " and redesignated ATF - 72 . Loaded with firefighting and salvage equipment , " Kiowa " departed England on 3 June 1944 ; joining a convoy of tank landing ships ( LSTs ) , she made her way toward the largest amphibious operation of World War II . The Normandy landings came three days later on D - Day , 6 June 1944 , and as a unit of Task Group 122 . 3 - Salvage and Fire Fighting Group ( Wreck Dispersal Vessel ) - " Kiowa " was engaged actively in repairing landing craft , assisting disabled ships , and performing general salvage duty . She remained off Normandy until 25 July 1944 and then operated in British waters before returning to Norfolk on 30 September 1944 . For the rest of World War II , " Kiowa " operated along the United States East Coast , towing and assisting disabled ships and escorting Allied merchant ships to the convoy lanes . During the late spring of 1945 , she commenced operations as a tanker , fueling a number of ships at sea . " Kiowa " received one battle star for her World War II service , for her operations from 6 to 24 June 1944 during the invasion of Normandy . 1946 - 1959 . Following World War II , " Kiowa " arrived at Naval Station Argentia in the Dominion of Newfoundland on 21 December 1945 for duty in the North Atlantic Ocean . From 1946 to 1959 she conducted operations along the coast of North America from the Panama Canal Zone to Newfoundland , engaged in salvage work and the towing of targets and ships . Arriving at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , on 9 April 1959 , " Kiowa " prepared for an assignment in the Caribbean Sea in support of the United States space program . She cleared San Juan , Puerto Rico , on 26 May 1959 and took station off Antigua as recovery ship for what was to be the beginning of space flight . On 28 May 1959 , she recovered the nose cone of the Jupiter AM - 18 medium - range ballistic missile which contained two " monkeys in space , " the rhesus monkey Able and squirrel monkey Miss Baker , which were the first living creatures the United States launched into space and returned alive to earth . 1959 - 1972 . From 1959 until early 1965 , " Kiowa " continued towing operations out of Norfolk , and also performed extensive services at Guantanamo Bay . During the latter part of June and all of July 1965 , " Kiowa " operated as a unit of a task force patrolling the West Indies during the second Dominican Republic Crisis , her primary task being to maintain the off - shore pump for petroleum products to besieged Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic . En route to the United States East Coast after these operations , " Kiowa " recovered experimental naval mine s off San Juan , Puerto Rico , before arriving at her home port , Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek , Virginia , early in August 1965 . On 7 September 1965 , " Kiowa " departed Little Creek for the Mediterranean Sea to join the United States Sixth Fleet . Arriving off Naval Station Rota , Spain , on 20 September 1965 , she began target - towing , diving support , and salvaging duties which continued into 1966 . From 26 January to 26 February 1966 , " Kiowa " participated in the search for a hydrogen bomb that fell into the Mediterranean Sea off Palomares , Spain , following the crash of a United States Air Force B - 52G Stratofortress bomber after a collision with a tanker aircraft . After this search , " Kiowa " proceeded to South Wales in the United Kingdom and then to San Juan , Puerto Rico , ultimately arriving home at Little Creek on 16 April 1966 . " Kiowa " spent the next five months towing targets in the Virginia Capes area before entering drydock at Norfolk on 27 September 1966 . Her overhaul completed in late January 1967 , " Kiowa " returned to operations off the United States East Coast , completing a cruise from Bermuda to Canada and back in late 1967 . Transfer to the Dominican Republic . In 1972 , " Kiowa " was loaned to the Dominican Republic under the terms of the Security Assistance Act ; she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 September 1979 . Renamed " Macorix " ( RM - 21 ) , she operated in the Dominican Navy until decommissioned in 1986 . Disposal . After the Dominican Navy decommissioned her , " Macorix " was returned to the custody of the United States . The Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service sold her for scrapping on 12 December 1994