USS Finch ( AM - 9 ) USS " Finch " ( AM - 9 ) was a acquired by the U . S . Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing . " Finch " was named for the finch , and is strictly speaking the only U . S . vessel named for such . " Finch " was launched 30 March 1918 by Standard Shipbuilding Co . , New York ; sponsored by Mrs . F . G . Peabody ; and commissioned 10 September 1918 , with Lieutenant J . C . Lindberg in command . The Finch was made famous as the first command of then Lieutenant Hyman G . Rickover , future commander of Naval Reactors . North Atlantic operations . After training and operations with a submarine bell , " Finch " sailed from New York 9 August 1919 for Kirkwall , Orkney Islands , Scotland . Here she based for two months of duty removing the vast number of mines laid in the North Sea during World War I . " Finch " returned to Charleston on 29 November 1920 , and on 3 January 1920 sailed for San Pedro , California , where from 1 March to 29 August she was in reduced commission . Pacific Ocean operations . Modernized , she sailed from San Francisco on 20 August 1921 for duty with the Asiatic Fleet , and for the next 20 years , served in the Philippines in the winter and out of the China base at Chefoo in the summer . Her duties were varied , and included towing and salvage work , as well as participation in the Yangtze River Patrol . She joined in fleet exercises , and as war tension heightened , played a part in protecting American citizens and interests in the Far East . World War II operations . In 1941 , she began work in intensive development exercises with submarine and mine groups in the Philippines , and as war came closer , spent December on patrol in the Taiwan Straits . According to an account given by Yeoman 3C A . Glenn Pratt , a crewmember aboard the " Finch " , she was assigned , along with the , a sister vessel with a diving bell , to escort two US Navy river gunboats back to Manila Harbor from their station in China since the Japanese had sunk one such vessel , the " Panay " , in 1937 . During the return leg of this mission , the vessels were temporarily surrounded by Japanese naval vessels headed toward the Philippines . The gunboats scouted the Japanese column , then pulled ahead to report the naval activity to Washington , while the " Finch " and " Heron " stayed behind , eventually being left by the Japanese as well . The two vessels returned to Manila Bay on 6 December 1941 . As the Japanese began aerial bombardment of bases in the Philippines , the " Finch " continued her task of sweeping for mines to keep the channel into the harbor open for incoming shipping . Yeoman Pratt reported that machine gunners on board the " Finch " downed one Japanese aircraft during an air raid , and though the Captain congratulated them , he asked them not to repeat the feat so that they would not become a special target and be able to continue mine sweeping operations . After running out of fuel in March , " Finch " was anchored in shallow water and her crew taken to shore defense positions . Sunk by a Japanese bomb . On 9 April 1942 , while moored at the eastern point of Corregidor , " Finch " was damaged by the near miss of a Japanese bomb , her seams opening and fragments of the bomb piercing her hull . The entire crew landed safely , and " Finch " was abandoned to sink the next day , 10 April 1942 . Many of the " Finch " s crew served during the siege of Corregidor , though her captain was evacuated to Australia via submarine . The survivors of Corregidor were the first prisoners to arrive at Cabanatuan prison camp . Many were later removed to camps in Japan or Taiwan . Yeoman Pratt , held in three camps in Taiwan , was evacuated aboard the destroyer escort USS Finch ( DE - 328 ) , and was startled at seeing the name , thinking it had been named for his old vessel , but that ship was named in honor of Lt . ( j . g . ) Joseph W . Finch , who died aboard the USS Laffey ( DD - 459 ) during the battle of Guadalcanal . According to Japanese records the " Finch " was salvaged and designated IJN Patrol Boat 103 in April 1943 . The PB 103 served as a convoy escort in the Philippines and Indochina and was sunk by United States carrier based aircraft on 12 January 1945 .