The USS Havre (PCE(C)-877) was a United States Navy PCE-842-class patrol craft escort in commission from 14 February 1944 to 1 July 1970. She served in the Central Pacific during World War II, supporting invasions of Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa, and was present in Tokyo Bay for the formal Surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945. Unlike other ships from this class, which were scrapped or sold to other nations, the (PCE-877) stayed the property of the United States Navy, who transferred ownership to the United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District (Chicago) in April 1954. She was renamed USS Havre (PCE-877) on 15 February 1956 as part of a Navy-wide initiative to provide names to all numbered ships. The USS Havre served on Great Lakes until struck from Navy list 1 July 1970. Construction and commissioning The USS Havre was laid down on 6 May 1943 at Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland, Oregon, as Patrol Craft Escort, PCE-877. The PCEs were designed for general escort work and provided a cheaper and quicker alternative to the larger destroyers, while maintaining a substantial amount of detection and ranging gear used for locating submarines. The ship was launched 11 August 1943. The launching of the PCE 877 was a celebrated occasion that was noted in the 10 August 1943 edition of the Corvallis Gazette-Times of Corvallis, Oregon. On 11 August 1943, Marjorie L. Wooton, daughter of local Colonel Elmer V. Wooton, recent recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army), christened the PCE 877 in the presence of a crowd that included Oregon governor Earl Snell. The PCE-877 was commissioned on 14 February 1944 at the Albina Engine & Machine Works shipyard, Portland, Oregon. According to the U.S. Navy Muster Rolls, the PCE-877 set out with Commanding Officer Coleman H. Smith, Lieutenant, USNR, Executive Officer John R. Shea, Jr., Lieutenant, USNR, several additional officers and an initial crew of 87. The vessel received its fitting out and shakedown over the next six weeks, departing Portland, Oregon on 25 February 1944, docking in Astoria, Oregon on 26 February 1944, arriving in San Pedro, California (SCTC Terminal Island) on 6 March 1944, before finally arriving at Naval Base San Diego, California on 21 March 1944. Service history World War II Pacific Theatre operations Initial Deployment, Conversion to Control Vessel Starting 1 April