The Pirate and the Pledge

On this day, 65 years ago, the USS Pirate(AM-275) and the USS Pledge(AM-275), two Admirable-class minesweepers built during World War 2, were serving in the waters of Wonsan Harbor during Operation Wonsan, when they simultaneously came under fire from shore and struck mines.

Operation Wonsan was a mine clearing operation that involved six ships, one destroyer and five minesweepers. They were working in a heavily mined channel just 2000 yards wide, but 14 miles long. After having successfully cleared several mines, they came under artillery fire from shore batteries of the North Koreans. In trying to evade the barrage, the Pirate struck a mine and sank in only four minutes. The Pledge was hit by artillery shell and also struck a mine. She was lost 45 minutes later. The shore batteries kept firing at the survivors in the water with both artillery and small arms until they were silenced by return fire from the remaining ships. This took over four hours. Men were in the water this entire time.

The crew logs list the following men as having lost their lives that day. We remember them on this day, 65 years later and vow never to let them be forgotten.

From the USS Pirate

Alfred Lewis Coleman

Adrian Warren Johnson

Earl Joseph Mocklin

Robert John Nelson

Gerald George Smith

John Norman Tomson

From the USS Pledge

Brenice Cauthen

Vern Harris Fuller

Kenneth Eugene Galley

Richard Thomas McCoy

Charles J Moore

Eugene Thomas Murphy

Martin Joseph Nowak

Marcel Albert Smith

Robert William Turner