USNS Private Jose F. Valdez (T-AG-169), named after World War II Medal of Honor recipient PFC Jose F. Valdez, was a technical research ship in operation during the 1960s. The "Galloping Ghost of the Ivory Coast" or "Grey Ghost of the African Coast", as she was affectionately called by her crew, was deployed around Africa from 1961 until 1969. Army service, 1945–1949 Private Jose F. Valdez, originally Joe P. Martinez, was laid down by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Duluth, Minnesota, 22 April 1944; was launched as Round Splice on 27 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Guy R. Porter; and transferred to the American Ship Building Company, Chicago, Illinois, for completion on 15 December 1944; and delivered to the U.S. Army for operation 16 February 1945. The ship was delivered to the War Shipping Administration for operation by its agent American Export Lines at New Orleans on 5 July 1945 and then allocated for operation by the U.S. Army under bareboat charter on 12 July. Round Splice was one of 35 C1-M-AV1 vessels delivered to the Southwest Pacific Area's permanent local fleet with arrival in that fleet between 14 September and 16 December 1945 with designation in that fleet as X-350 into January 1946. The Round Splice was transferred to the War Department 30 August 1946 and renamed Private Jose F. Valdez. Transfer to the Navy, 1950–1959 On 2 September 1950 she was acquired by the United States Navy, designated T-APC-119, and assigned to Military Sea Transportation Service. Manned by a civil service crew she operated in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean areas until August 1951. Between then and December she cruised the Mediterranean Sea and in January 1952 began runs to Newfoundland and Greenland which continued until she was ordered inactivated in late 1959. On 22 December she arrived in the James River National Defense Reserve Fleet berthing area and was transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration. Technical Research Ship, 1961–1969 Private Jose F. Valdez was reacquired by the Navy in August 1961. Converted to a Technical Research Ship and reassigned to MSTS, she departed Brooklyn, her homeport, in November 1961 on the first of her extended hydrographic cruises to the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The USNS designation indicates that the ship was manned by civilians. A crew of approximately 55 civilians operated the ship while a detachment of approximately 100 Navy personnel carried out the research