Leslie J. Fulton, a 195-ton purse seiner, was built in 1936 at Antioch, California. She was purchased by the Navy in November 1940 and commissioned late in that month as USS Waxbill (AMc-15). She operated along the California coast on training and patrol duty until mid-January 1941, when she began full conversion for minesweeping. The following month, Waxbill was decommissioned and thereafter her operating status was "in service". The rest of her Navy career was spent on minesweeping and patrol work in west coast waters. Taken out of service in September 1944 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in October, Waxbill was transferred to the U.S. Maritime Commission in January 1945 and sold back to her original owner.