Osmus DE-701

Osmus
(DE-701: dp. 1,720 (f.); 1. 306'; b. 36'10"; dr. 9'5" (mean); s. 24 k.; cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 8 20mm., 3 21" tt., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.); GL Bucicley.)

Osmus (DE-701) was laid down by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich., 17 August 1943, Launched 4 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Louisa Osmus, mother of Ens. Osmus; and commissioned 23 February 1944, Comdr. Richmond R. Jackson in command.

Following shakedown off Bermuda, Osmns departed the east coast, transited the Panama Canal and sailed into the

Pacific. She arrived at Espiritu Santo, 1 June; and after availability and further training, undertook her first escort mis~sion, to Guadalcanal, on the 13th. On the 18th, she rendezvoused with TU ll.lA, joining CortDiv 39 at the same time. The ships then sailed northwest to the Admiralties. A week later Osmus was back in the Solomons-New Hebrides area, where she operated as an escort vessel until 10 November.

From the Solomons, Osmus shifted her base of operations to Ulithi and through January, 1945, performed escort assignments between the Western Carolines, Admiralties and Palaus. In early Fabruary she reported to Commander, Guam Patrol and Eseort Unit and for the remainder of the war escorted ves~sels amongst the Marianas and to Okinawa, and conducted air-sea reSGUe missions and ASW patrols in the Marianas. At the end of August, the DE steamed to Rota for preliminary surrender conferences, thence to Truk for the official surrender there, 2 September.

Osmus remained as communications ves~sel at Truk for a week, then sailed back to Guam. On 18 September, she stood out of Apra harbor for San Pedro Calif. She remained on the west coast until 22 June 1946, when she set a course for the Far East. A month later she arrived at Tsingtao for a month's China service. At the end of August she shifted operations to Okinawa and in October steamed to Korea for customs patrol duty off the American Occupation Zone. Another tour in China followed and in February, 1947, Osmus got underway for the United States. On 2 March she arrived at San Diego and on the 15th she decommissioned and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Into 1970 she remains a unit of that fleet, berthed at Mare Island.

Osmus received one battle star for her World War II service.