Arikara rushed to her aid. Just when she began taking up slack on the towline, a Japanese shore battery opened up on the stranded destroyer with uncanny accuracy. The enemy artillerists straddled Longshaw immediately, and quickly scored four hits. One of the four caused a forward magazine to detonate blowing off the bow forward of the bridge. With Longshaw a total loss, Arikara parted the towline and moved off to see to her own defense and to rescue survivors. Longshaw was later destroyed by "friendly" gunfire and torpedoes. Arikara performed salvage work in the Ryūkyūs well into June. On the 19th of that month, she took kamikaze-damaged Evans in tow and set course for the Marianas. The tug arrived at Saipan on 25 June and remained there until 11 July. From Saipan, she sailed to Leyte where she stayed through 18 August when she got underway for Japan. The tug stopped at Okinawa before proceeding on to Kyushu. She returned to Okinawa briefly in September and then continued on to the Philippines. On 9 October, while still en route to Leyte, the ship weathered a severe typhoon. After reaching Subic Bay, she underwent repairs until getting underway late in November for China. Upon reaching Tsingtao, Arikara began towing and salvage work in support of occupation forces. Late in February 1946, Arikara left China to resume operations in the eastern and Central Pacific. During the next few years, her towing and salvage operations took her to such varied locales as the Panama Canal Zone, the west coast of the United States, Hawaii, Okinawa, and the Marianas. Korean War Service In January 1950, the tug resumed occupation duty upon her arrival at Yokosuka and, for the next five months, provided towing and salvage services in Japan. However, on 25 June 1950, North Korean forces surged south across the 38th parallel into South Korea. Thus, Arikara entered her second war. She was assigned to TF 90, the Amphibious Force, Far East. Due to the skeletal nature of American naval forces in Oriental waters, her assignments early in July consisted of the unlikely duty of escorting shipping between Japan and Korea until an escort group of more suitable warships could be assembled. The tug also served as a communications ship and landing control vessel during amphibious operations at Pusan on the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula. In addition, she performed her familiar salvage