[1] She was decommissioned on 21 August 2020 and is earmarked for transfer to the Vietnam Coast Guard as CSB 8022, joining her sister ships Morgenthau and John Midgett.

By the mid-1970s, Mellon’s primary area of operation shifted northward to the icy waters of the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea.

[1] In February 1974, Mellon played a major role rescuing the crew of the empty Italian ore-bulk-oil carrier Giovanna Lolli-Ghetti.

[2] At roughly 1115 hrs the next morning, Mellon reached the area where the vessel Tamerlane (Norway) was rescuing survivors from the now deserted tanker.

Two survivors with severe burns were airlifted off Mellon by a USCG Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard helicopter carried out and flown off the Australian light aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne.

[4] In October 1980, Mellon assisted in the rescue of 520 passengers and crew of the MS Prinsendam, a 427 foot long luxury cruise liner in distress in the Gulf Of Alaska when fire broke out in her engine room.

After the rescue operations were completed, the Mellon remained on scene in a futile attempt to fight the fire that had originated in the Prinsendam engine room and progressed throughout the ship.

While the Prinsendam was under tow by salvage tugs, and escorted by Mellon, the burning ship suddenly listed hard over to port and sank within a few minutes.

[7] In the 1980 Disney film The Last Flight of Noah's Ark, the Mellon found and rescued the crew of an airplane that had been converted into a makeshift life raft.