USCGC McCullough (WAVP-386), later WHEC-386, was a Casco-class

Casco class cutter

The Casco class was a large class of United States Coast Guard cutters in commission from the late 1940s through the late 1980s. They saw service as weather reporting ships in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans until the early 1970s, and some saw combat service during the Vietnam War.-Design:Between...

 United States Coast Guard Cutter

United States Coast Guard Cutter

Cutter is the term used by the United States Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. A Cutter is or greater in length, has a permanently assigned crew, and has accommodations for the crew to live aboard...

 in service from 1946 to 1972. She was the fourth ship of the United States Revenue Cutter Service

United States Revenue Cutter Service

The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1790 as an armed maritime law enforcement service. Throughout its entire existence the Revenue Cutter Service operated under the authority of the United States Department of the Treasury...

 or United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 to bear the name.

Construction and U.S. Navy service

McCulloch began life as the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 motor torpedo boat tender

Motor torpedo boat tender

Motor torpedo boat tender is a type of ship used by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The Motor torpedo boat tender's task was to act as a tender in remote areas for patrol boats and to provide the necessary fuel and provisions for the torpedo boats she was responsible for...

 USS Wachapreague (AGP-8)

USS Wachapreague (AGP-8)

USS Wachapreague was a motor torpedo boat tender that served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946.-Construction and deployment:...

. She was laid down on 1 February 1943 by Lake Washington Shipyard

Lake Washington Shipyard

Lake Washington Shipyards was a shipyard in Houghton, Washington on the shore of Lake Washington. Today the shipyards are the site of the lakeside Carillon Point business park...

 at Houghton

Houghton, Washington

Houghton is one of the lakeside neighborhoods of the city of Kirkland, Washington. Consisting mostly of upscale, single-family homes, Houghton overlooks Lake Washington and is one of the wealthier districts of the Eastside suburbs of Seattle. The village was named for Willard Houghton, a local...

, Washington, as the Barnegat-class seaplane tender

Seaplane tender

A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

 USS Wachapreague (AVP-56), but selected for conversion to a motor torpedo boat tender on 2 February 1943. She was launched on 10 July 1943 and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 into the U.S. Navy on 17 May 1944. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 she served in the New Guinea campaign

New Guinea campaign

The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...

, the Philippines campaign

Philippines campaign

Philippines campaign may refer to various military campaigns that have been fought in the Philippine Islands, including:-Spanish colonial period :...

, and the campaign

Military campaign

In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...

 in Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, and performed postwar service in Borneo. She was decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

 on 10 May 1946 at Boston, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

.

Transferred to the United States Coast Guard

Barnegat-class ships were very reliable and seaworthy and had good habitability, and the United States Coast Guard viewed them as ideal for ocean-station duty, in which they would perform weather reporting and search and rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

 tasks, once they were modified by having a balloon

Balloon

A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...

 shelter added aft and having oceanographic

Oceanography

Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...

 equipment, an oceanographic winch

Winch

A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope . In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and...

, and a hydrographic

Hydrography

Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...

 winch installed.

The Navy transferred Wachapreague to the Coast Guard on 27 May 1946 and struck her from the Navy List

Navy List

A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....

 on 5 June 1946. After she underwent conversion for service as a weather reporting ship, the Coast Guard commissioned her as USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386) on 25 November 1946.

North Atlantic service 1946-1972

McCullochs first home port

Home port

A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull...

 was Boston, Massachusetts, where she would remain stationed until July 1966. Her primary duty was to serve on ocean stations in the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 to gather meteorological

Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

 data. While on duty in one of these stations, she was required to patrol a 210-square-mile (544-square-kilometer) area for three weeks at a time, leaving the area only when physically relieved by another Coast Guard cutter or in the case of a dire emergency. While on station, she acted as an aircraft check point at the point of no return

Point of no return

The point of no return is the point beyond which one must continue on his or her current course of action because turning back is physically impossible, prohibitively expensive or dangerous. It is also used when the distance or effort required to get back would be greater than the remainder of the...

, a relay point for messages from ships and aircraft, as a source of the latest weather information for passing aircraft, as a floating oceanographic laboratory, and as a search-and-rescue ship for downed aircraft and vessels in distress, and engaged in law enforcement

Law enforcement agency

In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...

 operations.

While McCullough was patrolling Ocean Station Bravo off the coast of Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, in January 1959, raging winter

Winter

Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...

 seas cracked her main decks and swept one crewman overboard. In spite of that harrowing experience, she managed to reach Naval Station Argentia

Naval Station Argentia

Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...

 in Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, Canada, without further mishap.

During October and November 1965, McCulloch was assigned to patrol the Florida Strait and rescue Cuban refugees during the Cuban Exodus, in which thousands of Cubans chanced the rough, hazardous 90 nautical miles (166.7 km) passage from Camarioca, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, to Key West

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, many in overcrowded and unseaworthy craft handled by totally inexperienced persons. During this patrol, McCulloch was under the command of Commander Frank Barnett, USCG, who was in tactical command of 12 Coast Guard cutters and four airplanes assigned to the Cuban Patrol. In early November 1965, McCullough rescued 280 Cuban refugees from small craft in the Florida Strait and carried them to Key West. The crew was cited for outstanding service during this patrol and, on 22 April 1966, McCulloch was awarded a Unit Commendation for her Florida Strait patrol, with ceremonies held at Boston, entitling her crew of 144 to wear the Unit Commendation Bar.

On 1 May 1966, McCulloch was reclassified as a high endurance cutter

High endurance cutter

The designation of High endurance cutter was created in 1965 when the United States Coast Guard adopted its own designation system. High endurance cutters encompassed its largest cutters previously designated by the United States Navy as Coast Guard gunboats , Coast Guard destroyer escorts , and...

 and redesignated WHEC-386. In July 1966, she was stationed in Wilmington

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, which would remain her home port until 21 June 1972. Just as during her years at Boston, she spent her years at Wilmington in ocean station, law-enforcement, and search-and-rescue operations.

On 17 June 1970, McCulloch helped fight a fire aboard the merchant ship Tsui Yung in Wilmington.

Dcommissioning and transfer to South Vietnam

In April 1972, McCulloch and two of her sister ships, Coast Guard cutters USCGC Absecon (WHEC-374)

USCGC Absecon (WAVP-374)

USCGC Absecon , later WHEC-374, was a Casco-class United States Coast Guard Cutter in service from 1949 to 1972.-Construction and U.S. Navy service:...

 and USCGC Chincoteague (WHEC-375)

USCGC Chincoteague (WAVP-375)

USCGC Chincoteague , later WHEC-375, was a Casco-class United States Coast Guard Cutter in service from 1949 to 1972.-Construction and U.S. Navy service:...

, were deployed as Coast Guard Squadron Two, with crews composed mainly of members of the United States Coast Guard Reserve

United States Coast Guard Reserve

The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the reserve component of the United States Coast Guard. It is organized, trained, administered, and supplied under the direction of the Commandant of the Coast Guard through the Director of Reserve and Leadership....

. They were originally scheduled to sail to Subic Bay

Subic Bay

Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...

 in the Philippine Islands, but were diverted to the U.S. Navy base at Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of Guam in the Mariana Islands. The harbor is formed by Orote Peninsula in the south and Cabras Island in the north. To the south, the harbor narrows and then widens again to form an inner harbor. The southern end of the harbor is the location...

, Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

. Eventually the three cutters were decommissioned, transferred to the U.S. Navy, and then transferred to South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

, all three of these events happening for McCulloch on 21 June 1972.

Republic of Vietnam Navy service

In South Vietnam, McCulloch was commissioned into the Republic of Vietnam Navy

Republic of Vietnam Navy

The Republic of Vietnam Navy was the naval force of the former Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats from France. After 1955 and the transfer of the armed forces to Vietnamese control, the fleet was supplied from the United States...

 as patrol vessel  RVNS Ngo Quyen (HQ-17)

RVNS Ngo Quyen (HQ-17)

RVNS Ngo Quyen was a South Vietnamese frigate of the Republic of Vietnam Navy in commission from 1972 to 1975. She and her six sister ships were the largest South Vietnamese naval ships of their time...

.
When South Vietnam collapsed at the end of the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 in April 1975, Ngo Quyen fled to the Philippines. On 22 May 1975 and 23 May 1975, a U.S. Coast Guard team inspected Ngo Quyen and several other former Casco-class cutters which had been transferred to South Vietnam in 1971 and 1972 and, like Ngo Quyen, fled to the Philippines in April 1975. One of the inspectors noted: "These vessels brought in several hundred refugees and are generally rat-infested. They are in a filthy, deplorable condition. Below decks generally would compare with a garbage scow."

Philippine Navy service

After Ngo Quyen was cleaned, repaired, and made ready to return to service, the U.S. Navy transferred her to the Republic of the Philippines on 5 April 1976. The Philippine Navy

Philippine Navy

The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....

 commissioned her as the patrol vessel BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-8)

BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-8)

The BRP Gregorio del Pilar was an Andres Bonifacio class frigate of the Philippine Navy in commission from 1977 to 1990. She was one of six ex-United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tenders/ex-United States Coast Guard Casco-class high endurance cutters received from the United States after...

on 7 February 1977. She served until either May 1985 or April 1990, when she was decommissioned and probably scrapped.