was not allowed due to the danger from the large amount of ammunition stored there. Looking for a berth for the night, he called the duty office of the nearby U.S. Military Academy at West Point to ask if his ship could tie up at its pier. There was some confusion, as no Navy ship had tied up there in recent history. However, PC-1264, with its mostly African-American crew was made welcome, and numerous visitors walked along the dock inspecting her. In addition, the U.S. Army provided two buses, and many of the enlisted crewmen were taken on a tour of the academy under the guidance of knowledgeable sergeants. Unfortunately for PC-1264, a number of other U.S. Navy bases and towns where the ship moored during its tour of duty did not extend the same hospitality as West Point. Especially in the southern United States, PC-1264s crew experienced various degrees of racial intolerance. For example, although most U.S. Navy seamen from nearby training facilities took their swimming tests off a pier at the municipal public beach at Miami Beach, on the day the crew of PC-1264 was supposed to qualify, the city of Miami Beach refused the use of its public beach for the training of Negroes. At the Submarine Chaser Training Center in Miami, the civilian guards at the gate often took a long time inspecting the crew's ID cards and passes when the men were entering and leaving the base, far longer than the time spent inspecting white seamen. Then one day, this suddenly stopped. It took some time before the officers of PC-1264 were able to discover why. At a local bar, white seamen of another anti-submarine patrol craft had overheard civilians talking about going down to the base to shoot up the "nigger ship." These seamen returned to base, armed themselves with rifles and pistols without authorization and went to the gate to wait. When the nervous civilian guards asked what they were doing, the white seamen explained. After that the officers and crew of PC-1264 noticed that racial harassment at this base decreased significantly. Shakedown cruise After loading ammunition at Iona Island and leaving West Point, the ship sailed to Fort Lafayette to load depth charges. Then it reported to the United States Naval Frontier Base at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, which became the PC-1264s home port. This base cared for the escort ships