Office of the Chief of
Naval Operations
Naval History Division • Washington
USS Molala (ATF-106)
A group of the Wailatpuan tribe of
Oregon
(AF-106: dp. 1,330; l. 205'; b.
38'6"; dr. 14'; s. 16 k.; cpl. 85; a. 1 3", 2 40mm., 2 20mm., 2
dct.; cl. Abnaki)
Molala (AT-106) was laid down
26 July 1942, by United Engineering Co., Alameda, Calif.; launched 23
December 1942; sponsored by Miss Molly Fay; and commissioned 29 September
1943, Lt. Rudolph L. Ward in command.
Following shakedown off Calif., Molala
steamed to Hawaii, arriving Pearl Harbor 14 December 1943. Between
February and June 1944, she operated from the Marshalls, towing damaged
ships to Pearl Harbor. During that time she was reclassified ATF-106,
effective 15 May. After taking part in the invasion of Saipan, she
continued towing and salvage operations between the Marianas and Gilberts,
returning 2 September to Pearl Harbor. Assigned to the 3rd Fleet, Molala
was involved in the Luzon invasion in November. She departed Ulithi 29
December, supporting 3rd Fleet China Sea operations, returning 27 January
1945.
Reassigned to the 5th Fleet, she
joined a carrier group in February striking at Tokyo, in support of the
Iwo Jima invasion. She arrived Ulithi 7 March with Yarnell in tow,
and 4 days later fought a fire on Randolph. For almost a month she
rendered valuable assistance to the Okinawa invasion forces, performing
her duties, despite the threat of suicide attacks. She departed Kerama
Retto 6 May, and spent the next 3 months between the Philippines and
Marianas. She arrived Japan 4 September for occupation duty before
returning to the west coast.
Between 1947 and 1952, she was
assigned duties in the Hawaiian Islands, Alaska, and WESTPAC. She steamed
to Korea, to aid in the struggle against Communist aggression, arriving
October 1952, and conducted diving operations until the cessation of
hostilities. For the next 3 years she operated off Alaska and the west
coast. She steamed to the Far East 4 February 1957, returning 19 July to
San Diego.
She spent the next 7 years making
regular deployments in northern and western Pacific waters. In September
1964, Molala patrolled the troubled waters off South Vietnam
returning to Vietnam in the winter of 1965 to carry out salvage work
before steaming to the west coast the following year. She departed San
Diego 4 January 1956 for WestPac duty, during which time she again entered
Vietnamese waters, returning 29 July to San Diego. She departed San Diego
April 1968, for another tour of duty in the Far East, and operates off
Japan into 1969.
Molala received five battle
stars for World War II service, and three for Korean service.
Transcribed and formatted for HTML
by Patrick Clancey (patrick@akamail.com)
