USS Vigilance ( AM - 324 ) USS " Vigilance " ( AM - 324 ) 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 . " Vigilance " was originally laid down for the " Royal Navy " under the lend - lease program as HMS " Exploit " ( BAM - 24 ) on 28 November 1942 at Seattle , Washington , by the Associated Shipbuilding Corp . However , the United States Navy decided to keep the ship and renamed her USS " Vigilance ( AM - 324 ) " on 23 January 1943 . Launched on 5 April 1943 , the minesweeper was commissioned at her builder ' s yard on 28 February 1944 , Lt . Comdr . William C . Hayes , USNR , in command . After fitting - out , radio direction finder calibration , sea trials , and minesweeping indoctrination , " Vigilance " departed Seattle , Washington on 21 March , bound for southern California for type training , shakedown , and training in anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) tactics . World War II Pacific operations . Escorting and " PCS - 1W " , the new minesweeper departed San Diego , California on 4 May , bound for Hawaii . Upon her arrival at Pearl Harbor on 11 May , " Vigilance " delivered 111 bags of mail to the Fleet Post Office and , three days later , got underway with for the Marshall Islands . The two minesweepers screened , , and to Majuro which they reached on 25 May . " Vigilance " departed Majuro at 0800 on the 26th to return to Hawaii , intercepted en route , and relieved of escorting that cargo ship for the remainder of the voyage to Oahu . After arriving at Pearl Harbor on 2 June , " Vigilance " underwent upkeep and maintenance before moving to Brown ' s Camp , Oahu , for experimental minesweeping evolutions which she conducted into mid - June . On 14 June , " Vigilance " weighed anchor as part of the screen for convoy 4313 - A , a group of three Navy cargo ships , three civilian merchantmen , and refrigerator ship . and joined " Vigilance " in escorting the convoy to Eniwetok where they arrived on 25 June . During the second of two more round - trip runs from Pearl Harbor to the Marshalls , " Vigilance " suffered an engine casualty - a damaged exhaust manifold - that was beyond the capacity of the ship ' s force to handle . Accordingly , she went alongside at Eniwetok on 24 September for repairs . Return to Hawaii for repairs . Making port back at Pearl Harbor on 5 October , the ship underwent more repairs and maintenance work and tested minesweeping gear off Brown ' s Camp . After getting underway for the Marshalls again on 23 October , escorting , " Vigilance " twice picked up " doubtful " submarine contacts — on 24 and 28 October — and fired hedgehog patterns on both occasions . She made port at Eniwetok on 3 November but got underway for Guam two days later , escorting a convoy consisting of , , , , and . The minesweeper subsequently performed local escort duty between Guam , Peleliu , and Ulithi , arriving at the latter on 14 November . She patrolled the approaches to Mugai channel , Ulithi , from the 17th through the 19th . Attack on Japanese submarine . Five minutes before sunrise on 20 November , while on patrol station number 4 , " Vigilance " sighted a small wake broad on the starboard quarter . Southbound on her patrol , the minesweeper had swung wide to avoid fouling the screen of an outward - bound task group of three destroyers , a cruiser , and other vessels when she made the sighting . She then put over full right rudder and accelerated to full speed as her crew went to battle stations . With depth charges set on " shallow " the minecraft bent on speed to make an attack but , much to her chagrin , found that the wake had completely disappeared . In the midst of all the hulls and wakes created by the Saipan - bound task group , picking up the contact proved impossible . " Vigilance " signaled the location of the wake to . Moments later , the cruiser in the convoy signaled that she sighted a periscope on her starboard quarter . arrived on the scene first and disposed of what proved to be a midget submarine by ramming and depth charges . Incident with American TBF aircraft . After that incident , " Vigilance " — aided by a pair of American Grumman TBFs from VMTB - 232 — remained on patrol off the channel entrance . At 0031 on 21 November , a TBF airplane bore in low from astern , as if to challenge the minecraft . Men in " Vigilance " thought that the plane might have been a new arrival , unfamiliar with their ship . The plane suddenly made a sharp bank . A wing - tip caught in the water and the plane plunged into the sea about one - half mile from " Vigilance " . The plane was immediately enveloped in flame ; and , shortly thereafter , the aircraft ' s depth charges exploded . To compound the confusion , a second TBF came in and , thinking the wreckage on the water was a surfaced submarine , strafed the floating plane . Vigilance launched her motor whaleboat at 0051 and picked up a survivor — Corporal Robert M . DeHart , USMC — who had almost miraculously remained alive despite the crash , the explosion , and the machine - gun fire . " Vigilance " continued the search in the hope of picking up other survivors but found none . At 0524 , the minecraft was ordered to transfer the wounded man to hospital facilities ashore . Patrol and escort duties . Without let - up except for an occasional day or so of maintenance and upkeep , " Vigilance " patrolled off Ulithi ' s Mugai channel for the remainder of the year . Following an escort mission to the Palaus from 5 to 11 January 1945 , " Vigilance " returned to Ulithi on the 12th , only to find a full - scale antisubmarine alert in progress . She commenced patrolling station number 7 in company with before receiving orders to patrol off the Zowariyau and Piiriperiperi channels . Shifting to a retiring search in company with soon thereafter , " Vigilance " was relieved of this duty by and returned to Ulithi . After local patrol operations off the Mugai channel , " Vigilance " performed local escort missions between Ulithi and Kossol Roads and from Kossol Roads to Seeadler Harbor , at Manus , in the Admiralties . For the latter part of February , the minesweeper served as submarine listening watch and harbor entrance patrol vessel at Kossol before she returned to Ulithi . From 6 to 8 March , " Vigilance " lay alongside undergoing availability in preparation for the upcoming operation against the Ryūkyūs . " Vigilance " got underway for Nansei Shoto on 19 March and steamed in cruising formation with Mine Division ( MinDiv ) 11 , on the starboard quarter of USS " Terror " . Arriving in area V - l , about southwest of Okinawa , on 24 March , " Vigilance " and her sister minesweepers swept for moored mines until nightfall when they retired . She cut loose one moored mine on the 26th , three on the 27th , and one on the 28th . While performing these sweep operations , she served as MinRon 4 " destruction vessel " , slated to destroy loose mines once they reached the surface . The ship sank several drifting floats and one moored mine with gunfire . Attack on " Vigilance " by Japanese Vals and a Kate . On the morning of the 28th , " Vigilance ' s " lookouts spotted a Japanese " Kate " torpedo bomber and two " Val " dive - bombers attacking ; and her gunners — along with those of the other ships in the unit — opened fire and blasted the " Kate " into pieces . The ship thus chalked up her first " sure assist " in downing the plane . The landings commenced on 1 April . During the first three days of the invasion , " Vigilance " screened the unloading transports off Hagushi beach . Then , after shifting to Kerama Retto for two days of logistics on 4 and 5 April , the minesweeper alternated between sweeping and screening operations for the ensuing week . " Vigilance " comes to the aid of a DE under attack . While " Vigilance " was patrolling five miles ( 8 km ) south of Kerama Retto on the afternoon of the 12th , a " flash red " alert was announced , and the ship ' s lookouts soon noted the presence of many enemy planes — all out of gun range . Suddenly , at 1456 , the minesweeper noted black smoke pouring from , a destroyer escort that had just been hit by a kamikaze while patrolling an adjacent sector . " Vigilance " altered course to close , accelerating to full speed as fire and rescue parties readied emergency fire - fighting and first aid equipment . Meanwhile , " Whitehurst " circled , apparently out of control . Yet , when " Vigilance " caught up with the damaged ship and came alongside at 1530 , the more serious fires on board the escort vessel had been controlled . " Vigilance ' s " fire fighting and damage control parties helped to extinguish the remaining blaze and made emergency repairs . However , the minecraft ' s prompt and efficient rendering of first aid was an even greater contribution . By 1535 , 23 of the most seriously injured men from the escort ' s ship ' s company — and one dead man — had been transferred to " Vigilance " and taken to the minesweeper ' s mess hall for treatment . The ship ' s doctor , several officers , and enlisted men administered blood plasma and dressed wounds . The immediate injection of plasma and the efficient handling of the wounded saved 21 of the 23 casualties brought on board the minesweeper . After placing Signalman 2nd Class Thomas G . Barnes on board " Whitehurst " for temporary duty to handle the escort ship ' s communications - the destroyer escort ' s bridge force had been wiped out by the kamikaze - " Vigilance " proceeded to and transferred the wounded to that attack transport . At 1854 , " Vigilance " resumed her screening station off Kerama Retto . " Vigilance " shoots down a Val . " Vigilance " remained on patrol off those islands over the ensuing days — days which seemed comparatively quiet . However , on the morning of the 16th , alert lookouts sighted two planes — a " Val " and a " Frances " — off the ship ' s port quarter . Lt . ( jg . ) N . B . Norman , the officer of the deck , immediately ordered the gun watches on the 20 - millimeter and 40 - millimeter guns to commence firing , there not being time to call the ship to general quarters . " Vigilance ' s " 20 - millimeter guns commenced firing on the " Val " when it was slightly abaft the beam , and the enemy plane then turned toward the ship before reversing course and heading for . Eventually , the 20 - millimeter fire from " Vigilance " scored ; and the " Val " splashed some ahead of the destroyer . " Vigilance " comes to the aid of an oiler under air attack . Meanwhile , the minesweeper ' s starboard 40 - millimeter mount took the " Frances " under fire . At a point above and from the port quarter of the nearby , the " Frances " executed a wing - over and dived for the oiler . " Vigilance ' s " Bofors continued firing until the plane was just above " Taluga " , at which point she ceased firing for fear of hitting the oiler . The " Frances " crashed " Taluga ' s " bow , administering a glancing blow to the ship and blew some of the oiler ' s crew overboard . " Vigilance " fished three " Taluga " sailors from the water , who all agreed with the minesweeper ' s observers that the ship ' s gunnery had proved accurate and effective in deflecting the suicide plane . " Vigilance " strafed by Japanese Betty , shoots down a Jake . For the remainder of April and the first few days of May , " Vigilance " screened the landing operations . On two more occasions - on 18 April and on the 28th — " Vigilance " took passing Japanese planes under fire . In the first instance , she claimed to have shot down a " Jill " — one of four planes that closed the ship at night . Another of the four planes — believed to be a " Betty " bomber — strafed the ship but caused no damage . In the second case , the minesweeper shot down a snooping " Jake " floatplane at 0130 on the 28th . The minecraft ' s patrol duties in May were highlighted by two incidents . The first occurred on 4 May and the second on the 9th . In the first case , the ship was patrolling five miles ( 8 km ) south of Kerama Retto about sunset . Five miles to the north , five Japanese suicide planes headed for . Combat air patrol ( CAP ) F4U Corsair fighters downed four , but the fifth crashed into the escort carrier at 1933 . A burst of flame shot into the darkening skies ; and soon the ship became a blazing inferno , ammunition and gasoline exploding at intervals and sending sheets of flame into the air to a height of what looked like hundreds of feet . " Vigilance " comes to aid of " Sangamon " . Screening ships and other vessels in the vicinity went to ' s assistance . After obtaining permission from her sector commander to do so , " Vigilance " departed her patrol area at 2035 and closed " Sangamon " to lend a hand . " Vigilance " located three swimming sailors blown overboard from the CVE and directed a nearby LCV ( P ) to pick them up and transfer them to a high - speed transport . By midnight , " Sangamon " s fires were under control , and she was towed to an anchorage in Kerama Retto . At 0335 on the 5th , " Vigilance " formed up with , , and to conduct a combined search for survivors . At 1045 , the search was abandoned , and " Vigilance " returned to her patrol station off Kerama Retto . From 6 May to 8 May , " Vigilance " underwent an availability at the fleet anchorage at Kerama Retto before returning to the screening line . The next day , while steaming on station Baker 10 , four miles ( 6 km ) west of Kerama Retto , " Vigilance " manned her battle stations at 1845 when she received a " flash blue " air raid alert warning . Soon thereafter , the ship sighted a " Val " at , three miles ( 5 km ) north . " Vigilance " opened fire with her and 40 - millimeter battery as the dive - bomber plunged toward the nearby . " Vigilance " comes to aid of USS " England " . " England " , on station Baker 11 — three miles northeast of the minecraft , had attained fame throughout the fleet in the spring of 1944 by sinking six Japanese I - boats and earning a Presidential Unit Citation . Upon sighting the suicider , the destroyer escort started a hard right turn to present her beam to the attacker while her antiaircraft battery pounded away . " Vigilance " , too , contributed to the flak above the twisting destroyer escort ; gunfire from the ships blew off one wing of the suicider but failed to deflect the kamikaze from its one - way mission . The plane crashed into " England ' s " starboard side , at the main deck below the bridge . A heavy explosion soon followed , and a burst of smoke and flame engulfed the destroyer escort ' s pilothouse and bridge . " Vigilance " rang up full ahead and went to " England ' s " assistance . While the minecraft was en route to the destroyer escort ' s side , another air battle ensued overhead . Two Corsairs shot down a " Val " which had possibly been attracted to the area by the burning " England " . As " Vigilance " attempted to overtake the stricken escort ship , her crew broke out fire and rescue equipment on the main deck and made the mess hall ready to receive wounded below . Still en route , sharp - eyed lookouts noted survivors in " England ' s " wake , and the minecraft accordingly directed to pick up the swimmers . also closed the area to assist . " England " , meanwhile , finally was brought under control and stopped about four miles ( 6 km ) east of where she had been hit by the kamikaze . At 1920 , " Vigilance " pulled alongside the burning destroyer escort to find heavy fires blazing from the forward mess hall , up through the wardroom , forward 20 - millimeter clipping room , radio room , pilothouse and flying bridge . A bomb , carried by the " Val " that had crashed the ship , had exploded in the mess hall . It wiped out the entire forward fire and rescue party , blew out the port side of the officers ' quarters , opened the main deck , and tumbled a gun over the side . A , ready - service ammunition box had fallen into the burning mess hall , and ammunition was exploding . " Vigilance ' s " fire and rescue party dragged on board five fire hoses , two submersible pumps , one handy billy pump , and a rescue breathing apparatus . Ruptured forward water mains on board " England " had prevented the flooding of the forward magazines , so three hoses from " Vigilance " and one found on " England ' s " deck were trained down into the ready box , stopping the detonation of the ammunition . After 30 minutes of hard work , the forward magazine was reported to be half flooded , while the fires in the pilothouse , radio room , and on the flying bridge were extinguished . Because of the condition of " England ' s " crew — many were shocked and dazed — the men from " Vigilance " had to fight the fires largely themselves . Nine seriously injured " England " sailors , placed on stretchers , were transferred to the minesweeper where they were given first aid and blood plasma . and lay alongside at 2015 , sending two medical officers and three pharmacist ' s mates with additional medical supplies to handle the influx of casualties . After two hours had elapsed - a time when the frequent appearance of Japanese aircraft prohibited the use of lights and made the handling of lines , hoses , and damage control equipment difficult - " Vigilance " finally succeeded in extinguishing USS " England ' s " fires and took the destroyer escort under tow . Underway for the northern entrance of Kerama Retto at 2135 , the two ships arrived at their destination two hours later . There , at the harbor entrance , took " England " under tow and pulled her inside the anchorage . At that time , the harbor was blanketed with smoke as enemy aircraft were again in the vicinity . " Vigilance " crept alongside at 0110 on 10 May and transferred USS " England ' s " casualties to the transport . " Gherardi " ( DD - 637 ) and " YMS - 93 " soon arrived and transferred 25 more survivors to the transport . Returning to minesweep and escort duties . " Vigilance " remained at anchor for the remainder of the day , replenishing medical supplies and damage control gear , before getting underway on the llth to sweep for mines in the vicinity of Tori Shima , in company with MinDiv 11 . Upon completing the sweep at 1400 that afternoon , " Vigilance " resumed her screening operations from 12 to 16 May . The ship received fresh provisions on the 17th at anchor at Kerama Retto and returned to the screening line the next day . On 19 May , " Vigilance " got underway for the Marianas as part of convoy OKA - 4 and arrived at Saipan on the 24th . She shifted to Guam in company with on the 25th and commenced two weeks of availability at the minecraft docks , Apra Harbor , Guam . Upon the conclusion of the repairs , the minesweeper conducted ASW training exercises with early on 12 June before departing Guam at 1755 to escort to Guam . Arriving at Tanapag Harbor the next day , she returned to Kerama Retto on 16 June in company with , , and SS " Fairland " and SS " Cape Victory " . " Vigilance " operated in the Ryūkyūs through the end of June and began July preparing for her next major operation , the sweeping of the East China Sea . The minesweeper got underway on 4 July for area " Juneau " , as part of Task Unit 39 . 11 . 4 . Between 5 and 14 July , the ship accounted for four mines before undergoing logistics at Buckner Bay , Okinawa , from 16 to 17 July . A typhoon forced a general fleet movement to sea over the next four days , and " Vigilance " did not return until the 21st . Underway again for area " Juneau " on the 22nd , the minesweeper and her sister ships spent the next week sweeping in the East China Sea . " Vigilance " contributed to the effort by locating and destroying three mines . End - of - war operations . For the first five days in August , " Vigilance " remained at anchor at Buckner Bay . She got underway at 0558 on 6 August and escorted Convoy OKI - 10 to San Pedro Bay , Leyte , Philippine Islands , arriving on 9 August . She moored alongside on the 10th for availability and , while her crew was enjoying movies on the forecastle that evening , she received the word that Japan was ready to surrender — news greeted with great rejoicing by all hands . " Vigilance " remained alongside USS " Briareus " for 17 days before returning to Okinawa at the end of August . By that time , the war in the Pacific was over . She remained at Buckner Bay from 1 to 7 September and got underway at noon on the 8th , bound for Wakayama , Japan , to support the occupation of the erstwhile enemy ' s home islands . At 0430 on the llth , " Vigilance " arrived at the southern entrance to Kii Suido and soon formed up in echelon formation to commence sweeping a channel — to a depth — through Kii Suido to Wakayama . That evening she anchored at Wakayama Ko but resumed her labors early the following day and continued the routine for the next few days . She swept one mine on the 15th . Damaged in a typhoon . Worsening weather gave all signs of an approaching typhoon ; and " Vigilance " was forced to anchor in various berths at Wakanoura Wan , off Honshū , between the 16th and 19th . As the storm reached its climax before dawn on the 18th , dragged her anchors and drifted down toward " Vigilance ' s " berth . The minesweeper slipped her anchor and chain in an effort to avoid a collision ; but the wind pushed the LST inexorably toward the minecraft . Soon there came the crunch of steel on steel as the landing ship crashed into the minesweeper ' s starboard side , forward , bending in the bulwarks near the bow . Post - war assignments . Eventually , " Vigilance " got underway and maneuvered inside the confused harbor before finally dropping anchor for the night to ride out the storm as it blew itself out . The dawn revealed three LST ' s aground and a YMS on her side on the rocks . After recovering her anchor and chain , " Vigilance " resumed minesweeping operations in the Japanese home waters . She swept off Honshū for the remainder of the month of September , anchoring upon occasion at Wakanoura Wan , and chalked up 16 more mines swept . Accompanying LCI ' s or PGM ' s sank by gunfire those mines which the sweeper cut loose . On the 24th , Vigilance herself destroyed a mine with 20 - millimeter and . 30 - caliber rifle fire . After engineering repairs alongside in early October , " Vigilance " returned to the waters off Honshū to resume sweep operations , executing magnetic mine sweeps off Bishago Se and Iseno Umi . She returned to Tsu Ko to anchor on 12 October and there embarked passengers and loaded mail for transfer to Wakanoura Wan . After provisioning and fueling small craft to capacity , the minesweeper departed Tsu Ko at 1155 on 13 October and arrived at Wakanoura Wan early the following morning . Following another availability alongside " Patoka " , " Vigilance " tested her magnetic sweep gear before she returned to Bishago Se and Iseno Umi to resume sweep operations there . " Vigilance " operated as pilot boat at the Yokkaichi anchorage , anchoring nightly in the Matoya Ko , rendezvousing with vessels off the harbor and leading them through the minefields to port . On 28 October , she shifted back to Wakanoura and remained there until noon of the following day for repairs to her radar . Reassigned duties as pilot ship soon thereafter , " Vigilance " returned to Iseno Umi and Matoya Ko on 31 October . Returning to U . S . waters . During the operations off Nagoya , Vigilance had cleared the way for the evacuation of prisoners of war and the landing of American occupation forces . After performing similar operations in the Nagoya area through November , " Vigilance " departed Japanese waters on 17 December 1945 , via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor , bound for the United States . She operated locally out of San Francisco between January and November 1946 and alternated between San Diego and San Francisco into January 1947 . Decommissioning . Decommissioned on 30 January 1947 , the ship was placed in reserve on 16 April that same year . She remained inactive into the mid - 1960s . During that period , she was reclassified as a fleet minesweeper , MSF - 324 , on 7 February 1955 . Struck from the Navy List on 1 December 1966 , the ship was transferred to the Government of the Philippines on 19 August 1967 . Renamed " Quezon " — in honor of the first President of the Philippine Commonwealth , Manuel Quezon — and classified as PS - 70 , the erstwhile minesweeper served with the Philippine Navy , and is active as of writing . Awards . " Vigilance " was awarded three battle star s for her World War II service . She also had the honor of being recommended for a Navy Unit Commendation , and her commanding officer , Lt . Jackson L . Morton , USNR , was awarded a Silver Star for his courage and level - headed action under fire .