sentences: "Widgeon" was laid down on 3 May 1954, as AMS-208 by Bellingham Shipyards, Bellingham, Washington; launched on 15 October 1954; sponsored by Mrs. John F. Cushing, the wife of the treasurer of the Bellingham Shipyards; reclassified MSC-208, on 7 February 1955; and commissioned at the naval station at Tacoma, Washington, on 16 November 1955, Lieutenant Bruce G. Stone in command.