The Ship

USS Biscayne at Mers-el-Kabir, Algeria.

The USS Biscayne (AVP-11), later AGC-18, was a United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tender.  Built at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, the ship was launched on May 23, 1941 and served as a seaplane tender from 1941 to 1943 and as a amphibious force flagship from 1943 to 1946.

The Biscayne was 310 feet long with a beam of 41 feet.  She drew 13 feet of water and displaced 2,750 tons under a full load.

While in the service of the US Navy, the Biscayne was the flagship for Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly, Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, Rear Admiral Frank J. Lowry, Rear Admiral B. J. Rodgers, and Commander Frederick Moosbrugger.

The Biscayne was decommissioned by the US Navy on June 29, 1946 and was transferred to the US Coast Guard, where it was renamed USCGC Dexter (WAVP-385).  In 1966, she was redesignated WHEC-385 and served as a training ship.  

The Biscayne was finally decommissioned on July 9, 1968 and was used for target practice and sunk by the US Navy that same year.

Copies of Letters Home, either as a hardcover book or as a pdf download, can be purchased at:  http://lulu.com/spotlight/pastorathvpcdotorg.