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Shakamaxon (AN-88) was laid down on 30 June 1944 by the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; launched on 9 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Theodore E. Layman, and commissioned on 5 April 1945.

Shakamaxon completed fitting out at the Boston Navy Yard, then conducted shakedown off the New England coast before commencing post-shakedown availability at Boston. The auxiliary net-laying ship was assigned to the Pacific Fleet for duty in July 1945. By March 1946, she was at Guam in the Marianas and from there, moved to Bikini Atoll in the Marshalls for Operation "Crossroads," the atomic bomb tests. She remained at Bikini from 25 May until 23 July, when she put to sea. Shakamaxon arrived at Kwajalein on 28 August and stayed until early September. She put to sea again for a time and then made for Guam on 13 September. She made a trip to Tinian on that date and returned to Guam, where she remained until 14 October. Shakamaxon arrived in Pearl Harbor on 29 October and did not depart until 16 January 1947. From there, she voyaged to San Diego for inactivation overhaul. On 21 April 1947, the auxiliary net-laying ship entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego.

She remained out of commission, in reserve, until 1 July 1963 when her name was struck from the Navy list and she was transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up. She was reacquired in 1968 and transferred to the Department of Interior, for which she now serves as a cargo carrier in Micronesia.

Submitted by Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.