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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Lost to enemy action, 25 October 1942

USS Seminole (AT-65)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 25 October 1942) - American Defense Service Medal (with bronze star in lieu Fleet clasp)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Individual Awards

Purple Heart (1 KIA, 25 October 1942)
Navajo Class Fleet Tug:
  • Laid down, 16 December 1938, at Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y.
  • Launched, 15 September 1939
  • Commissioned, USS Seminole (AT-65), 8 March 1940, LCDR. William G. Fewel in command
  • During World War II USS Seminole was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Capture and defense of Guadalcanal, 25 October 1942

  • Lost to enemy action, 25 October 1942 off Guadalcanal
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 2 December 1942
  • USS Seminole earned one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,235 t.(lt) 1,675 t.(fl)
    Length 205'
    Beam 38' 6"
    Draft 15' 4"
    Speed 16.5 kts (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 5
    Enlisted 80
    Largest Boom Capacity 20 t.
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount
    two single 40mm AA gun mounts
    two single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity Diesel 2,265 Bbls
    Propulsion
    four General Motors 12-567 Diesel-electric main engines
    single Fairbanks Morse Main Reduction Gears
    Ship's Service Generators
    two 100Kw 120V D.C.
    one 60Kw 120V D.C.
    three General Motors 3-268A auxiliary services engines
    single propeller, 3,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Seminole 159k USS Seminole (AT-65) launching, 15 September 1939 at Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, Staten Island, New York.
    US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Alan Owens
    Seminole 217k
    Seminole 151k
    Seminole 206k USS Seminole (AT-65) at the fitting out pier at Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, Staten Island, New York, 4 October 1939. Seminole is astern of USS Navajo (AT-64)
    US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Alan Owens
    Seminole 89k USS Seminole (AT-65) underway, photo by her builder, the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, Staten Island, New York, at the time of her completion, circa early 1940. This photograph has been heavily retouched from the mainmast area to the stern.
    US Navy photo # NH 97793 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Seminole
    NH 97794    		 73k USS Seminole (AT-65) underway, near her builders yard in early 1940 at the time of her completion.
    US Navy photo #'s NH 97794 and NH 97795 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Seminole
    NH 97795    		 74k
    Seminole 630k USS Seminole (AT-65) moored pierside, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Jim Kurrasch
    Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
    USS Seminole (AT-65)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Fewel, William Galusha8 March 1940 - 25 October 1942
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

    Web Sites and Items of Interest for USS Seminole;
  • National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors
  • Location of the wreck of USS Seminole (AT-65) in Iron Bottom Sound
  • Press Releases:
    Loss of Seminole
     Tugs play Vital Part in Fleet Operations in Pacific
     Plaque Dedication to Officers and Men Lost in "Iron Bottom Bay"
    • Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Photo Index Back To The Fleet Tug (AT) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 6 September 2019