USS Token

History
United States
Name	USS Token
Builder	Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation, Chickasaw, Alabama
Laid down	21 July 1941
Launched	28 March 1942
Commissioned	31 December 1942
Decommissioned	6 January 1948
Recommissioned	12 April 1951
Decommissioned	16 April 1954
Reclassified	MSF-126, 7 February 1955
Stricken	1 December 1966
Honours and; awards	4 battle stars (World War II)
General characteristics
Class and type	Auk-class minesweeper
Displacement	890 long tons (904 t)
Length	221 ft 3 in (67.44 m)
Beam	32 ft (9.8 m)
Draft	10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement	102 officers and enlisted
Armament	2 × 3"/50 caliber gun; 4 × 20 mm guns; 2 × Depth charge tracks; 4 × depth charge projectors;

USS Token (AM-126) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

Token was laid down on 21 July 1941 at Chickasaw, Alabama, by the Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation; launched on 28 March 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Charles Hunt Ross; and commissioned on 31 December 1942.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

After

Sydney, Australia. A severe vibration developed en route, and Token's stay in Sydney was prolonged for the replacement of bent and damaged propeller blades. She departed Sydney on 30 July 1944 and proceeded to the Solomons

, where she spent the month of August conducting exercises and undergoing additional repairs.

Leyte Gulf minesweeping

In September, Token engaged in minesweeping in the

Admiralties

arriving at Manus on 5 November.

Overhaul in the States

Token steamed from Manus on 14 November and proceeded via

U.S. West Coast

for Pearl Harbor where she resumed escort duty.

Final Pacific Theatre operations

Arriving off

Kerama Retto in June, she swept waters off Okinawa, in the East China Sea, and in Tokyo Bay

.

Token was the second surface vessel to enter Tokyo Bay, on 2 September 1945, following USS Revenge, to sweep the harbor prior to the battleship USS Missouri entering and the signing of the surrender document by Japan.^{[citation needed]}

Token came alongside USS Missouri on the morning of 2 September 1945 and took on a load of fresh water before heading to Tokyo Harbor. Token and Revenge then raced to see which ship could enter the harbor first. But Token received a message from Admiral Halsey's staff to back off and let Revenge enter first.^{[citation needed]}

In the following months, Token continued sweeps of formerly contested waters off the

Kyūshū, and Pearl Harbor – to Charleston, South Carolina

.