U. S. NAVAL STATION
Monday, J March 1958
USS MOLALA (AFT-106)
, : THE FLMET OCEAN TlT6
j She doesn't have the sleek lines of a
jcruiser or destroyer,she is stubby broad
- iand squat, and to the uninformed just
I another tug, but lets look further and
|see just exactly what she really is.
j Named after a group of the.Wailatpuan
:Tribe of Northern Oregon, The Molala,
^^she began her career .in December 1942,
Q^P/as commissioned on September 29, 1943
;christened by Miss Molly Fay with a crew
jof 81 men and 8 officers, Lieutenant
I Rudolph L. Ward in command.
I From here on and through Warld War II
iher tasks were varied, a cross section
iof them is as follows: Assisted broken
:down tanker into port salvaged sunken
|LCT, salvaged planes, planted seaplane,
:buoys, fought off aircraft attacks, re
;scued ten Japanese from raft, recovered
■ body of United 0bates Marine off Siapan
land held burial at sea, sent fire fight
iing parties ashore to assist fighting
ibombing raid fires, rescued survivors of
ian airplane crash, stood b;(" fast carrier
I groups in Tokyo area to assist possible
!stricken carriers, took Destroyer Yar
inall in tow and towed to port, stern
Ifirst, assisted carrir Randolph to ex~
; tinguish fires caused by bombing, fought
off attack by Japanese suicide - planes
repeatedly in Okinawa area, rescued 27
men from US? Swallow, sunk by Japanese
suicide planes, assisted USS Pinkney in
fighting fires caused by Japanese suic
ide planes, transfers stretcher cases,
assisted USS Terror in fighting bomb
damage, assisted USS Sangamon in fight
ing fires, assisted in clearing Yokosuka
Harbor of Japanese ships, and assisted
in destroying Japanese ships.
After the war the Molala returned to
the W'st Coast and provided towing and
salvage services for the peace time fle
et, until she was again called on to pe
rforn "in the Korean police action, with
the ct ssation of hostilities she again
returned to the West Coast where she has
been since assigned with interim periods
of asignments to such duties of towing
a disabled Supply Ship front Ft Hope, . Al
aska to Seattle, performing towing res
cue an. salvage services in Western Pac
ific, towing tankers, landing craft,
destroyers,barges and floating drydocks.
She j.s net
fast ship as ships go.
having a top speed of 16.5 knots, her
cruising range is 9.500 miles, she will
develop 3,000 shaft horsepower and is
considered to be one of the most power
(conH page 2, column »