USS Guadalupe (AO-32)

The USS Guadalupe (AO-32) was a Cimarron-class oil tanker in service with the Navy from World War II until 1974. The Guadalupe and her sister ships performed a vital logistical role for the Navy, allowing for the at-sea refueling of almost all Navy vessel types.

The USS Guadalupe was built in 1940 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, and commissioned on June 19th, 1941. After a brief shakedown cruise, the Guadalupe was assigned to domestic duty along the east coast for a period of several months. In late summer, 1941, the Guadalupe was sent to the western Pacific, where she delivered a full load of fuel and several patrol craft. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, the Guadalupe was sent to Baltimore, Maryland, where she was fitted out for combat duty.

While in Baltimore, the Guadalupe was equipped with 4 5-inch guns, as well as eight antiaircraft guns that dotted her decks. The process took just a few weeks, but the amount of metalwork required for the modifications undoubtedly resulted in the release of large quantities of asbestos from within the Guadalupe’s hull. Guadulupe’s sailors almost certainly received asbestos exposure when the returned to the ship, and they faced the risk of asbestos inhalation in early 1942, when they left Baltimore for the Pacific.

Upon her arrival in the Pacific, the Guadalupe was assigned to the Navy’s Seventh Fleet, which she operated with for most of the conflict. The Guadalupe provided critical at-sea refueling for dozens of Navy combat ships, including most of the Navy’s large carrier fleet. The Guadalupe’s service was largely trouble-free until January 1944, when the Guadalupe was involved in a collision with the Nantahala, another Navy oil tanker. The collision ruptured the Guadalupe’s bow, spraying debris and clouds of asbestos across her decks. The Guadalupe’s crew braved the asbestos and continued with their mission - supporting the invasion of Lingayen Gulf - and postponed repairs until later that month.

In May of 1945, the USS Guadalupe was ordered back to the U.S. for an overhaul, which effectively ended her wartime service. In recognition of her invaluable and valorous service during World War II, the U.S. Navy awarded the Guadalupe and her crew with fourteen battle stars. Following the cessation of hostilities in the Pacific, the Guadalupe was assigned to the western Pacific, where she remained for the majority of the inter-war years.

When the Korean War broke out in June of 1950, the Guadalupe was in California for an overhaul. Crews quickly rushed through the remainder of the repairs, but in the process of overhauling the Guadalupe they assuredly sent clouds of asbestos fibers coursing throughout the Guadalupe’s interior spaces. With her overhaul completed, the Guadalupe deployed for Korea, where she earned a total of six battle stars. The Guadalupe followed up her Korean War service by deploying with the Navy’s Pacific Fleet in Vietnam 12 years later. During her third and final war, the USS Guadalupe earned ten campaign stars, making her one of the most decorated tankers of the Vietnam War. In 1974, after a storied 33-year career, the USS Guadalupe was decommissioned and eventually struck from the Naval Register.

When acting in times of peace or war, sailors and soldiers have long known that being part of the armed services carries certain risks. What many were not aware of during most of the 1900s, however, was a danger unrelated to bullets or enemy actions: the chance of developing a disease caused by asbestos exposure.

Because fire on a navy ship can be extremely deadly, fireproofing is a critical factor in ship construction. As a result, it was not unusual and sometimes legally mandated for insulators such as asbestos to be included when vessels like USS Guadalupe were constructed. Unfortunately, what wasn't clearly understood or was sometimes overlooked was that contact with asbestos can lead to debilitating conditions such as pleural plaques and pericardial mesothelioma. The harm done by asbestos occurs when very small fibers are inhaled or ingested; they can invade the lungs and sometimes other organs, causing development of scar tissue in the case of pleural plaques and damage at the cellular level in the case of mesothelioma.

During the heat of battle or while hoping to survive a hurricane, the chance of someday contracting lung cancer or mesothelioma was no doubt the furthest thing from most people's thoughts. Asbestos exposure was definitely a real hazard if a vessel was damaged in battle or by misfortune, however, since such circumstances often exposed asbestos-containing materials to the elements. And even during peaceful times, sailors who toiled on navy ships like USS Guadalupe still faced some amount of exposure because almost all areas of the vessel contained parts made with asbestos. With asbestos being widely used near USS Guadalupe’s pipes and engines, service personnel whose jobs placed them in such areas were especially in danger. But it wasn't only shipboard personnel who were endangered by asbestos; those who maintained the vessel when it was in dry dock for repairs were also exposed to airborne asbestos.

Most asbestos-related disorders can take two or three decades to manifest. To be able to accurately diagnose such diseases, a doctor must know about a patient's history of contact with asbestos. If you lived or worked on USS Guadalupe during your career, you should learn more about the symptoms of asbestos-related diseases and talk about your asbestos exposure history with your doctor.

Sources:

Auxiliary Vessels Index