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USS ''Arikara'' (AT-98) was an ''Abnaki''-class of
fleet ocean tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, s ...
. It was named after the
Arikara Arikara (), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011)
, a loose confederacy of sub-tribes of American Indians related to the
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska ...
. The Arikara inhabited villages in the Missouri River valley.


World War II Atlantic service

The ''Arikara'' was laid down on 10 January 1943 at Charleston, South Carolina, by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Company; launched on 22 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Taylor F. McCoy; and commissioned on 5 January 1944. On 15 January, the tug departed Charleston bound for
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
, Virginia. After arriving there on the 17th, she conducted shakedown training in
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
until the 26th. Following a post-shakedown repair period in the
Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility th ...
, she stood out of the bay and shaped a northerly course. After stopping briefly at New York, ''Arikara'' moved on to
Casco Bay, Maine Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its south ...
, where she operated between 10 February and 2 March towing targets and participating in
antisubmarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
warfare training. She returned to New York on 4 March and began preparations for service overseas. Towing barges, the tug put to sea on 25 March as part of Task Force (TF) 67 bound for the British Isles. She reached Falmouth, England, on 20 April and, after delivering the barges, reported for duty with the 12th Fleet. On the 24th, ''Arikara'' moved to
Lee-on-the-Solent Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the Borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a resi ...
to join the British tug fleet in preparing for the invasion of Europe. During the remainder of April and all of May, she towed to dispersal points on the southeastern coast of England portions of the two "
mulberries ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
," artificial harbors to be erected on the French coast after the initial assault to provide logistical support for the movement of all Allied armies inland. On 15 May 1944, she was reclassified a fleet tug and redesignated ATF-98. Throughout the period leading up to the invasion, ''Arikara'' helped to repel
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
air attacks; and, though near misses shook her considerably, she suffered neither hits nor significant damage from shell fragments.


Operation Overlord

On the afternoon of 5 June, the tug stood out of Weymouth, England, on her way to the sector of the
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
coast code-named by Allied planners as "
Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" ...
". After the first waves of assault troops stormed ashore, the tug began her primary assignment, clearing wrecks from the beach area reserved for the erection of the artificial harbors. Soon, however, German fire began to take such a heavy toll of landing craft that ''Arikara'' had to abandon salvage operations in favor of the even more urgent work of rescue and repair. Her work enabled the less heavily damaged landing craft to remain in action, thus maintaining the flow of troops and supplies during the critical phase of the assault on "Omaha" Beach. That phase past, the tug resumed salvage and towing work on the 7th. In all, she spent almost a month supporting the consolidation of the Normandy invasion. Though she came under air attacks and fire from shore batteries, her only major damage came from the explosion of a nearby mine while she was towing the disabled French destroyer '' La Surprise'' back to England for repairs. Her main engine room rapidly took on water which rose to within six inches of her main electric motor before her crew managed to check the leaks. ''Arikara'' completed her mission successfully, and, after 24 hours of feverish activity, her crew had her repaired and back in action off Normandy.


Mediterranean service

Early in July, ''Arikara'' and received orders to return to England. From there, the two tugs set out on 12 July in a convoy bound for the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. Her convoy arrived at Oran, Algeria, on the 21st; but ''Arikara'' remained there only until the end of the month. She headed for Italy on 1 August, reached
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
on the 3d, and joined
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...
Spencer S. Lewis' TF 87, code-named "Camel" Force, for the mid-August invasion of southern France. Staged through
Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the '' Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsic ...
, Corsica, ''Arikara's'' unit, the force's salvage and fire-fighting group, arrived off St. Raphael on the Mediterranean coast of France on the morning of 15 August, the day of the assault. For more than a fortnight, the tug remained in the transport area, salvaging damaged ships and landing craft, fighting fires, and keeping the approaches to the beach clear of wrecks. On 2 September, she moved to the Gulf of San Tropez, France, and began clearing wreckage from
French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation "Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from ...
ports. She also towed ships to
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...
, Sicily, where they underwent repairs. In addition, she made towing voyages to
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
,
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...
s,
Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the ca ...
, and Oran.


Transfer to Pacific

Late in October at the latter port, ''Arikara'' joined a convoy bound for the United States and headed home. She arrived in Norfolk on 7 November and remained in that vicinity into December. Late in that month, she voyaged to
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
where she took YFD-6 in tow before continuing on to the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a Channel ( ...
. ''Arikara'' reached the Canal Zone on 3 January 1945, transited the canal, and delivered her tow at
Cristóbal Cristóbal or Cristobal, the Spanish version of Christopher, is a masculine given name and a surname which may refer to: Given name * Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972), Spanish fashion designer *Cristóbal Cobo (born 1976), Chilean academic *Cr ...
on the 5th. The following day, she and ''
Bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle * Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying * Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...
'' (ATF-81) got underway for Hawaii. The tug entered
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...
later in January but remained there only until resuming her westward voyage on 4 February, bound ultimately for the
Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...
. After stops at
Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with ...
and
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...
, she reached
Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest ...
Atoll, in the Carolines, on 17 March. There, she reported for duty with Service Squadron (ServRon) 10 and began preparations for the conquest of
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
. Ten days later, she departed Ulithi as part of Task Group (TG) 50.8, the 5th Fleet Logistics Support Group, and headed for the Ryukyu Islands. To begin the campaign, during the last week in March, American forces took
Kerama Retto The are a subtropical island group southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Geography Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island. The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami V ...
, a small group of islands about 15 miles west of southern Okinawa. Then, on 1 April, the main assault force landed on Okinawa proper. ''Arikara'' spent the next 11 weeks based at Kerama Retto assisting ships and craft damaged in the struggle for Okinawa. On the night of 2 April, the tug went to the assistance of after that high-speed transport had suffered a devastating suicide crash from a
Kawasaki Ki-45 The Kawasaki Ki-45 ''Toryu'' (屠龍, "Dragonslayer") was a two-seat, twin-engine heavy fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. The army gave it the designation "Type 2 Two-Seat Fighter"; the Allied reporting name was "Nick ...
"Nick" twin-engine reconnaissance/ground attack aircraft. ''Arikara's'' crew managed to extinguish the fires raging on board the ''Dickerson'', and the tug took her in tow for Kerama Retto. In spite of ''Arikara's'' efforts, ''Dickerson'' proved to be beyond economical salvage and was towed out to sea on 4 April and sunk. Although ''Arikara's'' main mission at Okinawa was the removal and salvage of damaged landing craft,
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to ...
attacks continued to add to her burdens. On 11 May, a horde of suicide planes attacked and on picket station no. 15 to the northwest of Okinawa. ''Arikara'' sped to the aid of ''Evans'', which had sustained four suicide crashes in rapid succession. ''Arikara'' moved alongside her, put five pumps on board, made fast a hawser, and towed the destroyer into Kerama Retto for repairs. A bit over a week later, on 17 May, — her officers and crew drained by long hours at general quarters and a night of illumination fire in support of the troops ashore — ran aground on a reef near
Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...
while en route to yet another call fire mission. ''Arikara'' rushed to her aid. Just when she began taking up slack on the towline, a Japanese shore battery opened up on the stranded destroyer with uncanny accuracy. The enemy artillerists straddled ''Longshaw'' immediately, and quickly scored four hits. One of the four caused a forward magazine to detonate blowing off the bow forward of the bridge. With ''Longshaw'' a total loss, ''Arikara'' parted the towline and moved off to see to her own defense and to rescue survivors. ''Longshaw'' was later destroyed by "friendly" gunfire and torpedoes. ''Arikara'' performed salvage work in the Ryūkyūs well into June. On the 19th of that month, she took kamikaze-damaged ''Evans'' in tow and set course for the Marianas. The tug arrived at
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 est ...
on 25 June and remained there until 11 July. From Saipan, she sailed to
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...
where she stayed through 18 August when she got underway for Japan. The tug stopped at Okinawa before proceeding on to
Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
. She returned to Okinawa briefly in September and then continued on to the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. On 9 October, while still en route to Leyte, the ship weathered a severe
typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
. After reaching
Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Sub ...
, she underwent repairs until getting underway late in November for China. Upon reaching
Tsingtao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means "azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Bel ...
, ''Arikara'' began towing and salvage work in support of occupation forces. Late in February 1946, ''Arikara'' left China to resume operations in the eastern and Central Pacific. During the next few years, her towing and salvage operations took her to such varied locales as the Panama Canal Zone, the west coast of the United States, Hawaii, Okinawa, and the Marianas.


Korean War Service

In January 1950, the tug resumed occupation duty upon her arrival at
Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The ...
and, for the next five months, provided towing and salvage services in Japan. However, on 25 June 1950,
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
n forces surged south across the 38th parallel into South Korea. Thus, ''Arikara'' entered her second war. She was assigned to TF 90, the Amphibious Force, Far East. Due to the skeletal nature of American naval forces in Oriental waters, her assignments early in July consisted of the unlikely duty of escorting shipping between Japan and Korea until an escort group of more suitable warships could be assembled. The tug also served as a communications ship and landing control vessel during amphibious operations at
Pusan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
on the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula. In addition, she performed her familiar salvage and rescue operations. After completing her initial missions at Pusan and between that port and Japan, ''Arikara'' moved to other areas of the Korean peninsula. On 5 September, she departed Yokosuka with Task Unit (TU) 90.04.3, the Pontoon Movement Unit, on her way to
Inchon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
on the western coast of Korea. The tug supported the amphibious assault at Inchon from mid-September to mid-October, before heading, on the 16th of the latter month, for
Wonsan Wŏnsan (), previously known as Wŏnsanjin (), Port Lazarev, and Genzan (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...
on the northeastern coast of Korea. The 20 October
amphibious assault Amphibious warfare is a type of Offensive (military), offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the opera ...
on Wonsan, mooted by the arrival of rapidly advancing Republic of Korea (ROK) ground forces, was transformed into an enormous reinforcement and logistical support operation. ''Arikara'' spent about a month at Wonsan helping to clear the harbor and to increase its efficiency. During the latter part of November, she completed upkeep at
Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...
. Towing and salvage operations in Japanese waters occupied her during December 1950 and early January 1951. Then, on 12 January, the tug shaped a course back to the United States. Voyaging by way of the Marianas and Hawaii, she arrived in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
, in March. By the beginning of April, ''Arikara'' was at
Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...
, undergoing repairs; and she remained there until heading back to Hawaii on 11 June. For the remainder of 1951, she operated out of Pearl Harbor making only two voyages to destinations outside the Hawaiian operating area. In July, the ship towed an AFDB to Guam; in August, she returned to Pearl Harbor; and, in October and November, she made a round-trip voyage to Subic Bay in the Philippines. On 3 January 1952, ''Arikara'' departed Pearl Harbor to deploy again to the western Pacific. By the end of the month, she was back in the Korean combat zone. During that tour of duty in the Far East, the tug served once more at Wonsan, as well as at
Cho Do Cho or CHO may refer to: People * Chief Happiness Officer Surnames * Cho (Korean surname), one romanization of the common Korean surname * Zhuo (), romanized Cho in Wade–Giles, Chinese surname * Cho, a Minnan romanization of the Chinese s ...
and Pusan, and stayed in the waters between Japan and Korea until the beginning of August. That fall, ''Arikara'' moved to the
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
to support
Operation Ivy Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall Is ...
, a nuclear bomb test conducted at Eniwetok Atoll in November 1952. Although the conflict lasted into the summer of 1953, the tug saw no additional service in the Korean combat zone. By the time that an armistice ended hostilities in Korea on 27 July 1953, ''Arikara'' had already settled into a schedule of operations out of Pearl Harbor that included towing missions from Hawaii to Johnston and
Kanton Island Canton Island (also known as Kanton or Abariringa), previously known as Mary Island, Mary Balcout's Island or Swallow Island, is the largest, northernmost, and , the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. It i ...
islands and duty in the
Aleutians The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin, "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain of 14 main, ...
. In the fall of 1954, the tug began peacetime deployments to the Far East and, for the remainder of her Navy career, she alternated between assignments in the western Pacific with the 7th Fleet and operations out of her home port, Pearl Harbor. During the first 12 years of that period, the tug's Far Eastern itinerary included mostly Japanese, Korean, and Philippine ports of call while her operations out of Pearl Harbor took her to the waters off the coast of Alaska and surrounding the Aleutians, as well as to islands in the Central Pacific.


Vietnam Service, transfer to Chile and fate

Late in 1964, American involvement in the conflict in South Vietnam increased dramatically. As a consequence, ''Arikara'' began to visit the Vietnamese coast more frequently. By the fall of 1966, the tug found herself calling at such places as
Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is the largest city of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in southern Vietnam. The city area is , consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Sơn Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the p ...
and
Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is o ...
to provide towing and other support services for Navy units engaged in fighting
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
insurgency and
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
ese aggression in South Vietnam. Her deployments to Asian waters along with the concomitant service in Vietnam continued into 1970. Late in February of that year, ''Arikara'' returned to Pearl Harbor from her final tour of duty with the 7th Fleet. She served actively in the Hawaiian Islands and in Alaskan waters for another 16 months. On 1 July 1971, the tug was decommissioned and simultaneously transferred to
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
as a loan under the military assistance program. She was commissioned in the
Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wa ...
as ''Aldea'' (ATF-63). She was decommissioned by the Chilean Navy on 14 August 1992 and later sunk as a target. ''Arikara'' earned three battle stars during World War II, five battle stars during the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...
, and three battle stars for service in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.


References

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External links


NavSource Online: AT-98 / ATF-98 Arikara

''Arikara'' crew site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arikara Abnaki-class tugs Ships built in Charleston, South Carolina 1943 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Chilean Navy Abnaki-class tugs of the Chilean Navy Ships sunk as targets