As the fleet tug USS Zuni, she saw action in World War II, including in the Marianas, Philippines, and Iwo Jima operations.

The bulk of Tamaroa′s U.S. Coast Guard career was spent patrolling, working in drug interdiction, and fisheries protection.

Tamaroa was involved in the landmark 1969 tort case, Ira S. Bushey & Sons, Inc. v. United States, 398 F.2d 167 (2d Cir.

Her main mast was repurposed as a flagpole for the Ballast Point microbrewery in Roanoke, VA. Having been tied up in Norfolk, Virginia, and environmentally cleaned, she was selected in 2016 for use as an artificial reef.

She finally was scuttled at 13:00 on 10 May 2017 in the Atlantic Ocean about 33 nautical miles (61 km) from Cape May, New Jersey, at a depth of 120 feet, forming an artificial reef.