USS Staff (AM-114) - Pacific Ocean Theatre Operations

Pacific Ocean Theatre Operations

On 9 May, she got underway in the screen of a westward-bound convoy. The ships reached Eniwetok on 18 May; and, two days later, Staff sailed for the Marianas with Tumult and SC-727. They entered Apra Harbor, Guam, on the 22nd. Almost a week later, on the 28th, she got underway for Okinawa. The minesweeper escorted a convoy of LST's to Nakagusuku Wan (Buckner Bay), Okinawa, then put into Kerama Retto on 6 June. For the remainder of the month, Staff operated out of the anchorage at Kerama Retto, patrolling and screening around Okinawa. She cleared the area on 30 June and returned to Guam the following day. She remained in the Marianas, visiting both Guam and Saipan, until 2 August. She arrived off Okinawa again on 7 August and took part in Operation Skagway, a minesweeping operation in the East China Sea, from 13 to 25 August.

On the 25th, Staff returned to Buckner Bay and, on 1 September, sailed in company with six other mine-craft and four smaller vessels to conduct the initial sweep of the Kyūshū approaches. On the 9th, she departed Japan for Okinawa and reentered Buckner Bay on the 11th. Staff stood out again on 21 September and headed for Bungo Suido to conduct further sweeps in the Japanese home islands, this time in the waters between Kyūshū and Shikoku. She continued minesweeping operations through the fall and into winter.