USCGC Citrus

After the Coast Guard took over the United States Lighthouse Service in 1939, the plans for the USLS Juniper class of seagoing buoy tenders were modified to . These were built in three classes. The Cactus (A) class had 12 vessels, the Mesquite (B) class had six, and the Iris (C) class had 20. Twenty were built at one of two shipyards in Duluth, Minnesota. Early in February 1944, a five-day storm swept the Massacre Bay area with winds up to . At Attu, Citrus took nine men off a swamped Army tug without loss of life and then sank the foundering tug with gunfire. Citrus also assisted in getting a Liberty ship off the beach after it had been driven ashore by a severe storm. Citrus arrived at Ketchikan on 7 February 1944. From 24 to 26 January 1968, the crew of Citrus fought a fire on the Japanese motor vessel Seifu Maru in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. On 9 August 1968, she assisted the distressed motor vessel Dantzler after Dantzler ran aground, and she escorted Dantzler from near Cook Inlet to Homer, Alaska. ==Awards and honors==

Throughout her 51 years of service, Citrus was decorated with four Unit Commendations, three Meritorious Unit Commendations, two Arctic Service Medals, the American Defense Medal, World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. ==Dominican Navy==

Citrus was initially transferred to the Mexican Navy, but delivery was refused in February 1995. Citrus was transferred to the Dominican Navy on 16 September 1995, and renamed Almirante Juan Alejandro Acosta (C-456). It was rearmed with a 102 mm 45 caliber DP gun, two single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons, and four M60 machine guns. Acosta was decommissioned by the Dominican Navy in 2012. ==References==