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UNITED STATES AIR FORCE OUTSTANDING UNIT AWARD
09 DECEMBER 1971-15 DECEMBER 1971
Vital (MSO-474) was laid down as AM-474 on 31 October 1952 at Manitowoc, Wis., by the Burger Boat
Co.; launched on 12 August 1953, sponsored by Mrs. Edwina Smith; redesignated MSO-474 on 7 February 1955; and commissioned
on 9 June 1955 at the Boston Naval Shipyard, Lt. Bruce E. Prum in command.
Following shakedown and availability at Charleston, S.C., Vital was deployed to the Mediterranean
late in the spring of 1956. In addition to normal 6th Fleet operations and Mediterranean port visits, she participated in
a special NATO minesweeping exercise conducted in the North Sea during September and October. The minesweeper returned to
Charleston later that fall and began operations along the southern Atlantic seaboard of the United States. In March 1957,
she moved to the Gulf of Mexico for a three-month training period at the conclusion of which she returned to Charleston and
resumed normal duty.
In July 1958, Vital's home port was changed from Charleston to Panama City, Fla. From the latter
port she participated in experimental work with the Operational Test and Evaluation Force under the auspices of the Naval
Mine Defense Laboratory. She remained based at that port for the next 12 and one-half years departing periodically for deployments
in foreign waters. The first break in her experimental work schedule came in August 1960 when she embarked upon a three-month
cruise in the Caribbean. After returning in Panama City in November and resuming duty with the Mine Defense Laboratory, she
remained so occupied until February of 1962, at which time the minesweeper headed across the Atlantic with the other units
of Mine Division (MinDiv) 81 for a six-month tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. She arrived back in Panama
City in August and resumed services to the Mine Defense Laboratory. Following 14 months of normal operations in the Gulf of
Mexico Vital headed south for a four-month assignment in the West Indies which she concluded at Panama City on 9 February
1964.
Upon the conclusion of that Caribbean deployment Vital settled down to a routine of operations out
of Panama City broken only by three Mediterranean deployments and an ascent of the Mississippi River in May of 1967 to participate
in the Cotton Carnival at Memphis, Tenn. On 1 January 1971, Vital received word that her home port had changed back to Charleston.
She arrived there on the 27th and, for the next 20 months, operated from that base as a unit of the Atlantic Fleet Mine Force.
On 22 September 1972, Vital was decommissioned at Charleston. She was towed to Hampton Roads late in November and, on the
30th, placed in the Norfolk Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She remained there until struck from the Navy list in September
1977. At that time, she was scheduled to be sold but no word of her final disposition was available as of May 1978.
1962
During the week of November 30 December 6, the U.S.S. PENGUIN (ASR-12) played a leading
role in a salvage operation, at the request of the Coast Guard.
A Helicopter, on an errand of mercy, ditched in
the Gulf of Mexico and sank about thirty miles from Tampa, Florida, one crew member was still aboard.
The PENGUIN
sped quickly to the scene, and initial search proved fruitless. A Navy Minesweeper, the U.S.S. VITAL (MSO-474) dispatched
from Panama City, Florida, soon arrived on the scene and with almost effortless ease, the VITAL electronically pinpointed
the location of the ill-fated craft, some 150 feet below the water's surface.
1963
I was aboard for the Tampa recovery and also there when we caught fire off the coast of
Panama City. If I remember correctly the fire started in the forward engine room while transfering fuel when a coupling broke
and sprayed fuel over hot generators. Because of the actions of 2 crew members that were on watch in that engine room there
names were submitted for the Navy Marine Corp Medal. Best I remember is that they were awarded.
Jim Weaver IC2
1963
I was also aboard during the fire. We were at minesweep detail with the tail fully
streamed. I was in the after engine room and we couIdn't get out through the boiler flats because of the fire. We first tried
to excape through the hatch in the booth. The tail in the reel well was laying directly over the hatch and we couldn't get
the hatch open. We finally got out through the hatch in the rear of the after engine room that exits on the fantail. 3 sailors
were burned that day, all in the fwd engine room. I remember for sure that David Wallace EM2 was presented an award
at Gitmo by Admiral Bulkeley, during a ceremony while we were on a Carribbean Cruse.
The Vital was adrift with
no power at all and the mag tail was streamed fully. After the fire was out, we went into the fwd engine room to try
to bring a generator online. The engine wouldn't start. Eventually, we had to abandon the effort. Turns out the
engines had been shut down from emergency trips topside. In all the confusion it was awhile before someone realized they had
to be reset. An emergency crash boat from Tindall Airforce Base picked up our burn victims and speed them to the Base Hospital.
My recollection is that we did get the engines running, and after retrieving gear, limped back into port under our own power.
Larry W.Miller EM2
1966 Battle Efficiency "E"
Mine Force, Atlantic
Meadowlark (MSC 196)
Skill (MSO 471)
Jacana
(MSC 193)
Direct (MSO 430)
Adroit (MSO 509)
Vital (MSO 474)
Fidelity (MSO 443)
All Hands Magazine
1969
We went through hurricane Camille in 1969 with an engine down and tied to the dock.
Blind dumb luck kept Camille west in Bay St. Louis or Vital would have been lifted by the storm surge and deposited on the
dock.
Jeff Brooks PN2
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