USCGC
Mellon was originally homeported in
Honolulu,
Hawaii.
Mellon saw extensive service during the conflict in
Vietnam. She was twice awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation during the
Vietnam War. During her service in the waters adjacent to Vietnam,
Mellon conducted numerous naval gunfire support missions, rescue operations, medical civic action programs, and training programs for Vietnamese military personnel. At roughly 1115 hrs the next morning,
Mellon reached the area where the vessel
Tamerlane (Norway) was rescuing survivors from the now deserted tanker. The survivors transferred to
Mellon for medical treatment, warm food and clean clothes. The nearby
Novikov Priboy from Russia arrived to give additional medical aid. Seven of the crew were not recovered. Two survivors with severe burns were airlifted off
Mellon by a USCG
Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard helicopter carried out and flown off the Australian light
aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne. The rest were taken back to Honolulu on
Mellon. in 1990. In October 1980,
Mellon assisted in the rescue of 520 passengers and crew of the
MS Prinsendam, a 427 foot long luxury cruise liner in distress in the Gulf of Alaska when fire broke out in her engine room. The vessel’s
master declared the fire out of control after an hour and ordered the vessel abandoned. Most of the passengers and crew made it into lifeboats, while some were left on board. Eventually all the lifeboats and all passengers and crew were found and recovered with no deaths or serious injuries. After the rescue operations were completed, the
Mellon remained on scene in a futile attempt to fight the fire that had originated in the
Prinsendam engine room and progressed throughout the ship. While the
Prinsendam was under tow by salvage tugs, and escorted by
Mellon, the burning ship suddenly listed hard over to port and sank within a few minutes. In 1981,
Mellon moved to her new homeport of
Seattle,
Washington.
Mellon was modernized from 1985 to 1989 during the
Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program. She and a portion of the Hamilton-class were outfitted with all-weather, over-the-horizon
RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and test firings of the harpoon were conducted on the
Mellon in January 1990. At least three WHEC cutters, the USCGC
Hamilton, USCGC
Morgenthau, and USCGC
Mellon, were equipped with Harpoon missiles. All
Hamilton-class cutters also carried an ASW suite that was upgraded during FRAM, this included MK 32 Mod 7 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes, AN/SQS-38 sonar, Mk-309 Mod 0 Underwater Battery Fire Control System, and AN/SLQ-25 (NIXIE) torpedo countermeasures. After the collapse of the
Soviet Union, the joint Navy/USCG board decided there was no military threat to require the installation of anti-ship missiles and anti-submarine weapons on board cutters, and subsequently removed the weapons. However the fitting and firing of Harpoons on these cutters served as a proof of capability for all Hamilton-class USCG cutters. On 21 August 2020,
Mellon was retired and transferred to the
Vietnam Coast Guard where she was renamed to CSB 8022. ==In popular culture==