USS Token

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USS Token (AM-126) was an Auk-class minesweeper in the United States Navy, built by Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation in Chickasaw, Alabama. Laid down on July 21, 1941, she was launched on March 28, 1942, and commissioned on December 31, 1942. The 890-ton ship was about 221 feet long, had a top speed of 18 knots, a crew of 102, and carried a modest armament of two 3"/50 cal guns, four 20 mm guns, and depth charge gear for anti-submarine work.

After shakedown along the Florida coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, Token moved to the Pacific war zone. She escorted convoys between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal from late 1943 through mid-1944, then went to Sydney for propeller repairs. She then operated in the Solomons, Palau, and Ulithi, and participated in minesweeping and support for the Leyte invasion. In October 1944 she weathered a typhoon, and after further repairs, she headed back to the United States for a major overhaul in Portland. In May 1945 she returned to the Pacific, reaching Okinawa during intense kamikaze attacks and later sweeping in the East China Sea and Tokyo Bay. Token was the second surface ship to enter Tokyo Bay after the surrender and helped clear the harbor before the battleship Missouri entered.

Following the war, Token swept areas around the Pescadores and China coast before returning to Charleston, South Carolina. She spent time on the U.S. East Coast until June 1947, then was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange, Texas. Token was recommissioned on April 12, 1951, for duty with Mine Squadron 8, conducted training and a Mediterranean tour, and returned to Charleston in 1953. She was decommissioned again on April 16, 1954, reclassified as MSF-126 in 1955, and was struck from the Navy list on December 1, 1966. Token earned four battle stars for World War II service.