U.S.S. Minivet - AM 371 - Mine Sweeper

Mine Sweepers' Motto: "Where The Fleet Goes, We Have Been"





November
Hotel
Zulu
Victor

U.S.S. Minivet's Call sign: November - Hotel - Zulu - Victor


Sunk 29 December 1945

The U.S.S. Minivet was laid down July 19, 1944 by Savannah Machine and Foundry Co. of Savannah, GA. It was launched on November 8, 1944, and was sponsored by Miss Henrietta G. Jerrell. It was commissioned on May 29, 1945 by Lt. Comdr. Richard Lagreze, who was in command.The Minivet concluded shakedown training at Little Creek, VA, and on August 22, steamed out of Norfolk, en route to assignment in the Far East. She arrived at Sasebo, Japan on October 30 with Mine Division 23 to play her part in opening the sealanes to peacetime commerce.

During her first month in the area, escort trips to Pusan, Korea, and from Okinawa left little time to stream her minesweeping gear. After a brief availability period, AM-371 departed Sasebo on December 23 in company with eight Japanese vessels to complete the sweeping of the Tsushima Straits. Following in the wake of the second pass of the day on December 29, she struck a mine and in a matter of minutes, rolled over and sank. Despite the discipline and courageous action of her crew and the bravery of American and Japanese rescuers, the Minivet suffered the loss of 31 men. She became the first American minesweeper lost during these hazardous operations that had destroyed 20,000 mines since the end of the war. Her name was stricken from the Navy list on January 21, 1946, after the logbook and the last of the survivors returned to the United States.


The 60 Survivors of the USS Minivet

 
  U.S.S. Minivet - 31 Fellow Sailors in Memoriam -
U.S.S. Minivet Known Living Survivors List - Click Here
U.S.S. Minivet "Survivors we are Searching for" List - Click Here
 U.S.S. Minivet Contact: Thomas R. Dix - E-Mail, Write, or Call
Thomas R. Dix
3913 State Route 31
Jones Mills, PA 15646
724-593-2497

 

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Here are many photos from past Reunions!

Reunion in Savannah, GA in 1995 - (click on photo to enlarge)

 

Reunion in Gettysburg, PA in 1999 - (click on photo to enlarge)

 

Reunion in Houston, TX in 2001 - (click on photo to enlarge)

 

Reunion in Frederick, MD in 2000 - (click on photo to enlarge)

 

The 2002 reunion in Richmond, VA. - (click on photo to enlarge)

 

U.S.S. Redstart and Minivet Sailors - Richmond 2002 - (click on photo to enlarge)

 

U.S.S. Minivet Sailors - Richmond 2002 - (click on photo to enlarge)

 

Members of U.S.S. Minivet and U.S.S. Redstart - 2006 Gatlingsburg Reunion
(click on photo to enlarge)


 

Here are many Pacific-Theater photos!


 

 


U.S.S. Minivet - AM 371 - Mine Sweeper

(Click on image to enlarge!)

Mine Sweepers' Motto: "Where The Fleet Goes, We Have Been"





November
Hotel
Zulu
Victor

U.S.S. Minivet's Call sign: November - Hotel - Zulu - Victor


Sunk 29 December 1945


Names of Known Living Survivors of the U.S.S. Minivet
as of July 2007
Paul J. Alderink
Marvin L. Elfman
Ralph W. McIntosh
Clarence J. Boehlein
Howard D. Fontz
Otto K. Rieth
Raymond J. Cherniak
Rudolph J. Francel
Charles N. Utterback
Dominick Delorenzo
Otto Fredrick Gerkensmeier
Herbert Vogelsang
Thomas R. Dix
Charlton L. Ivester
Jack P. Waldrop
William C. Dunn
William J. Lee
Glen M. Williams

 

We are searching for the following members of the USS Minivet, and their
last known locations, from 1946, are listed. If you have any information,
please contact Tom Dix at the information listed below this list:

Connell, Richard Lee
Kansas City, Missouri

Johnson, Joe Vernon
Taylorsville, Mississippi

Richards, Thomas Calvin
Pennsgrove, New Jersey

Geiger, Frederick Meredith
Madison, Wisconsin

Jones, Charles B.
Tennille, Georgia

Scott, William Herry
San Mateo, California

Hankins, Guy Donaldson
Pensacula, Florida

Long, Charles Thomas
Memphis, Tennessee

Wunder, Donald Ronald
Kirkville, New York

Jackson, Eugene
St. Athens, Georgia

Mathis, Everett
Jacksonville, Florida

Wyant, Robert Burton
New York City, New York

 


 U.S.S. Minivet Contact: Thomas R. Dix - E-Mail, Write, or Call
Thomas R. Dix
3913 State Route 31
Jones Mills, PA 15646
724-593-2497

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