ICEBREAKER EDISTO AG-89/AGB-2/WAGB-284

USS Edisto Association - Reuniting Shipmates

The pages herein contains information on the status of shipmates who sailed on the Edisto AG89/AGB2 during the years of commissioning, 1947-1965 or the Edisto WAGB-284 under the command of the United States Coast Guard from 1965 to 1972.  If you have any new information or clues to the whereabouts of missing shipmates, please send them by email to Glenn Smith or Eugene Fettinger by clicking on either name - or both.

One of four powerful icebreakers, the USS Edisto was launched May 29, 1946 by Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA and commissioned as AG-89 by the US Navy on March 20, 1947.  She was later reclassified in 1949 to AGB-2.  Named after an island near Charleston, SC, the USS Edisto sailed the frozen waters of the Arctic and Antarctic continents until decommissioning in 1965, at which time she was transferred to the US Coast Guard where she served until decommissioning in 1974.  It is believed that her fate was the junk yard and may have been melted down and made into razor blades.

A visit to our web site www.ussedistoagb2.com will provide an understanding of the camaraderie shared by the men of the USS Edisto.  Unlike many of the larger US Navy ships, the Icebreaker crew – civilians, officers and enlisted - were a close-knit group that worked side-by-side and shared the same rigors of the frozen Arctic and Antarctic waters.  Whether a midshipmen, kiddy-cruiser, 4-year enlistee or a career salt, completing a northern or southern cruise were life-altering experiences.  It is this unique experience that sets an icebreaker sailor apart from other sailors and is the bond that keeps them together.  

Unlike other Navy ships, fewer than 3400 sailors walked the decks of the USS Edisto from 1947 to 1965.  It is these men and their surviving spouse that make up the USS Edisto Association. Founded in September 2004, the USS Edisto Association, Inc. is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation organized exclusively for historical, social, fellowship and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Commencing in 1955-56 with Operation Deep Freeze One, each year the USS Edisto made a southern cruise to the Antarctic waters a cruise book was published.  These and other records extracted from the Navy Daily Diaries is how the crew list was developed.  Cruise books may be viewed by using Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be obtained free at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

JOIN THE EDISTO ASSOCIATION - Click Here for Application Form

CLICK HERE for the USS EDISTO AGB2 website

Web updated: 06/30/2010