Articles by Josh Lange

Published February 20, 2025

In April 1963, the United States Navy launched a Natick Class harbor tugboat. This was not just any tugboat, but, in fact, YTB-764 Mishawaka. It had an impressive length of 109 feet and a maximum speed of 12 Knots (about 14 m.p.h.). This tugboat meant a lot to Mishawakans as most cities in the United States do not have any Navy vessel named after them. Images of the boat were even used on postcards that were given away throughout the city back in the late 1960s. Sadly, though, on October 28, 2002, YTB-764 Mishawaka was stricken by the Navy and sold at a government liquidation auction to a private company. After 2010, the ship, renamed Alois, was last seen in Port Arthur, Texas, waiting to be sold. While its fate is unknown, it is fair to assume that YTB-764 Mishawaka was probably scrapped. This means the city of Mishawaka has not had a ship named after it for almost 23 years, and that is 23 years too many.

Recently, I wrote up a proposal and sent it off to our federal representatives requesting that Mishawaka have another Navy or Coast Guard vessel named after our great city. This is a proposal that would be difficult to get approved, but the city of Mishawaka deserves another ship. It would be fitting that another tugboat is named Mishawaka, if we are lucky, we could get a submarine or a destroyer.

Our city has a deep military heritage with Mishawaka residents participating in every war going back to the Revolutionary War. Not a single male was drafted from Mishawaka during the Civil War because the number of volunteers heavily exceeded the draft quota. Over 4,000 residents served in the armed forces during the Second World War. On the industry side, Ball-Band manufactured fuel cells for airplanes during World War II, including fuel cells used in Doolittle’s Raid. Another company with a proud military history is Bendix, which produced the RIM-8 Talos Missile.

I know there is a slim chance that a proposal like this one ever passes, but someone has to propose it in the first place to even be considered. Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” and those are words I live by. Mishawaka having a ship named after it means a lot personally to me as well, as my great-grandpa and my father (both Mishawaka residents) served in the U.S. Navy during armed conflicts. I only have one request for the readers, and that is to reach out to federal officials and make the case that the city of Mishawaka should have another ship named in its honor.

Postcard depicting YTB-764 USNS Mishawaka