High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! USS Heron (AM-10) was an Lapwing-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. Heron was named by the U.S Navy after the heron, a long-necked, long-legged wading bird indigenous to Louisiana and the vast coastal marshes. Heron was launched 18 May 1918 by the Standard Shipbuilding Co.; sponsored by Miss Astrid Kundquist, daughter of the mine sweep's prospective commanding officer; and commissioned 30 October 1918, Lt. K. Rundquist in command.