2 September she pointed her bow south for the Philippines and for the next month and a half conducted diving and demolition operations to rid Subic Bay of the hulk of the Japanese vessel Oroyoku Maru. Arriving back at Pearl Harbor on 17 December Mender operated in the mid‑Pacific area until sailing for Japan on 20 August 1953. Dropping anchor at Sasebo on 11 September, she sailed again for Inchon on the 23rd. There, until mid-January 1954, she carried out a harbor clearance project. After a similar assignment near Paengyong Do in February, she began preparations for her second atomic test, "Operation Castle". Arriving at Bikini on 24 March, she fulfilled much the same role as on her first such assignment until 11 May, then sailed via Johnston Island, to Pearl Harbor. Arriving 23 May, Mender did various salvage jobs in the Hawaiians until 10 October 1955, when she got underway for Astoria, OR. Here she decommissioned and joined the Columbia River group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet on 20 December 1955. Later transferred to San Diego, she remained in reserve until struck from the Naval Register, 1 June 1973. She was sold for scrapping by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS), 1 January 1974. Awards USS Mender received: Two battle stars for the Korean War. World War II Victory Medal National Defense Service Medal Korean Service Medal (×2) United Nations Service Medal Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive) References External links Ships built in Houston Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States 1945 ships Gypsy-class salvage lifting vessels