USS Admiral Hugh Rodman (AP-126)

The USS Admiral Hugh Rodman (AP-126) was one of the U.S. Navy’s Admiral W. S. Benson-class large transports, in service with the Navy from the end of World War II through 1970. The USS Admiral Hugh Rodman was built in 1944 by the Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard in Alameda, California and commissioned on July 7, 1945.

After a brief shakedown and training cruise, the Admiral Hugh Rodman spent the months immediately following World War II ferrying troops into the western Pacific. The vessel made three round-trip voyages to the western Pacific between August and December of 1945, and following the third trip she was ordered to New York City. On May 14, 1946, the USS Admiral Hugh Rodman was decommissioned from the Navy and transferred to the custody of the U.S. Army. After a brief conversion, the ship entered Army service as the General Maurice Rose.

For the next four years, the Admiral Hugh Rodman sailed under the U.S. Army, based primarily out of New York City. On March 1, 1950, the Navy reacquired the vessel and shortly thereafter she entered port for a period of repairs and minor conversions. The Admiral Hugh Rodman’s overhaul was brief, but in the process of reworking her decks and superstructure, workers undoubtedly released asbestos from within the transport’s hull. In mid-1950, with the vessel fully prepared for Navy duty, the Navy began sending the Admiral Hugh Rodman on regular deployments into the Atlantic.

The USS Admiral Hugh Rodman, sailing under her new designation as T-AP-126, completed nearly a dozen trips per year to Europe, playing a vital role in maintaining the Navy’s elaborate supply chain and the Army’s troop rotation schedules. When the Vietnam War broke out in the mid-1960s, the USS Admiral Hugh Rodman was quickly deployed to the region, sailing via the Panama Canal for the Pacific Ocean. Admiral Hugh Rodman and her crew made two long-distance deployments to Vietnam, bringing fresh troops from the United States to the embattled country. In recognition of her service during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy awarded the Admiral Hugh Rodman and her crew two Vietnam battle stars.

In 1967, after more than 20 years in service with the military, the USS Admiral Hugh Rodman was decommissioned and placed into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She remained on inactive reserve until August 20, 1990, when she was struck from the Naval Register and ultimately sold for scrap.

Asbestos Risks

When acting in times of peace or war, troops have always accepted that signing up to be in the military brings expected dangers. However, what many U.S. servicemen and servicewomen during the mid-1900s did not know was that inhalation of asbestos could cause life-threatening illnesses, including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. These conditions all have a latency period of at least 10 years and most people do not realize their development. Mesothelioma, which typically develops in the lining of the lungs, can have a latency period as high as 50 years after the initial exposure to asbestos occurred.

To learn more about mesothelioma and the latest in treatment options, please fill out this form to receive a comprehensive and complimentary packet in the mail. For more information or free assistance regarding VA benefits, programs and eligibility, please call 800-615-2270 or contact our Veterans Assistance Department by filling out this form.

Sources:

Auxiliary Vessels Index