USS Pioneer (AM-105) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

She protected critically important Allied convoys in the Mediterranean until assigned to the assault force for the Anzio operation early in January 1944.

When the transports entered the newly cleared area, Pioneer began antisubmarine and antiaircraft patrol, and then resumed escort duties, bringing reinforcements to Anzio on 24 January.

Again minesweepers led the way, clearing the assault area, ignoring shore battery attacks while completing their complex and vital task.

Pioneer sailed from Bizerte on 24 November for stateside overhaul preparatory to Pacific deployment, for which she left Norfolk, Virginia, 15 February 1945, bound for Panama en route to Hawaii.

For the remainder of the year, Pioneer joined in the gigantic task of clearing Japanese and Chinese waters of the thousands of mines laid in a decade of warfare.