She was laid down at Portland, Oregon, on 7 September 1942 by the Commercial Iron Works; launched on 20 March 1943; sponsored by Mrs. P. S. Treiber; and commissioned on 16 August 1943.
On 12 April, the tug departed Majuro to return to Hawaii and reached Pearl Harbor a week later. There, she performed miscellaneous towing, rescue, and salvage duties until 10 May, when she got underway for Majuro with three
barges in tow. En route, her designation was changed to ATF-93 on the 15th. On the 26th, Tekesta reached her destination and delivered her charges. She continued westward on 1 June, arriving in Eniwetok lagoon on the 3rd. There, she joined TF 52 to prepare for the invasion of the Marianas. On the 11th, she sortied with that task organization bound for its first objective, Saipan
.
The tug arrived off Saipan on D-day, 15 June. The following day, she helped to fight off two enemy
bombers which flew over her formation. She remained in the Marianas until late July, towing pontoon bridges to the beaches, retracting landing craft, and assisting in repairs and salvage operations. By the time she departed Saipan, that island had been declared secure, but the struggles for Tinian and Guam continued. On 26 July, Tekesta headed for the Marshalls, arriving at Eniwetok on the 29th. Following four days turnaround time there, the tug made a round-trip voyage to Guam, returning to Eniwetok on 14 August. She remained at the atoll
until the second week in September doing extensive salvage work with grounded craft and towing barges.
Return to Pearl
Tekesta headed eastward on 9 September and entered Pearl Harbor once more a week later. After trials and salvage operations there, the tug got underway on 26 October, with Barite (IX-161) and YF-625 in tow, and proceeded via Eniwetok to Ulithi where she delivered her charges on 3 December. The tug then settled into a routine of towing and salvage operations which took her to Guam, Saipan, Ulithi, and the Palaus. Those operations, which lasted until March 1945, were broken only by one short period of operations with the fast carriers in mid-December.
Invasion of the Philippines operations
On 1 March 1945, Tekesta cleared the
warships into Kerama Retto and assisted in their repairs. She also labored retracting and repairing beached and damaged landing craft. On 7 April, the tug towed Newcomb (DD-586) into the anchorage. On the 15th, her gunners helped to bring down a Japanese plane. She assisted Harding (DMS-28) into Kerama Retto on the following day. On 4 May, Tekesta towed Aaron Ward (DM-34) to repairs at Kerama Retto and, five days later, did the same for Oberrender (DE-344)
.
Under constant attack by Japanese fighter planes
On 14 May, Tekesta took up station at
kamikazes. Three days later, she fired on a four-plane flight of Japanese aircraft. She hit one, but it managed to crash into SS Brown Victory. Tekesta immediately came to the aid of the stricken merchantman with fire-fighting crews and medical aid. On 10 June, the tug rushed to the aid of William D. Porter (DD-579), but only arrived in time to watch helplessly as the destroyer
rolled over and slipped beneath the sea. Three days later, she returned to Kerama Retto and, the following day, departed the anchorage with Newcomb in tow for the Marianas.
End-of-War operations
Tekesta remained in the Marianas four days before continuing on to
Sasebo, Japan, early in May. On the 11th, she returned to Shanghai. Later in the month, she visited Subic Bay
before returning to China for three more months of duty.
On 28 June 1948, Tekesta returned to San Francisco and resumed operations along the
Yokosuka, Japan, on the 30th. In January, she shifted to Qingdao, and operated there until early in March. Tekesta departed China on 10 March, visited Okinawa from the 14th to the 18th, and returned to Qingdao on the 21st. She reentered Yokosuka on 7 April and operated from that port for two months before beginning her return voyage to the United States. Stopping at Wake Island
and Pearl Harbor along the way, the tug put into San Francisco on 24 July 1949.
Operating from her base at
Pacific Reserve Fleet
.
Decommissioning
She remained inactive until 24 January 1958, when she was placed in service. She operated under control of the Commandant,
12th Naval District and based at San Francisco. In August 1959, Tekesta resumed duty at San Diego. She was placed out of service early in 1960 and, in May, was transferred to the government of Chile under lease, where she continued to serve Chile as Yelcho (AGS 64) until decommissioned on 16 August 1996. Yelcho was sunk as a target on 5 July 1999.[1]
Awards
Tekesta (ATF-93) earned four battle stars during World War II:
Marshall Islands operation (Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 1 February to 8 February 1944).
Marianas operation (Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 June to 26 July 1944).
Tinian capture and occupation (27 April to 20 July 1944).
Okinawa Gunto operation (Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April to 14 June 1945).
United States
Chile
