USS Okinawa (LPH-3)

The USS Okinawa (LPH-3) was one of the Navy’s Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ships. These LPHs were the first Navy ships specifically designed to carry helicopters for sea-based aerial assaults on enemy shore positions.

The USS Okinawa was laid down in 1960 by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Okinawa was commissioned on April 14th, 1962. After a brief period at sea for shakedown and initial training, the USS Okinawa reported to Norfolk, Virginia, which was to be her home base during her time with the Atlantic Fleet. The Okinawa spent the latter half of 1962 engaged in amphibious assault exercises and, for the last two months of the year, support of the Navy’s quarantine of Cuba.

In early 1963, after a return to Norfolk, the Okinawa entered port for her first major overhaul. This overhaul included a moderate reworking of the Okinawa’s interior equipment, and in the process of removing and upgrading her machinery, shipyard workers released significant amounts of asbestos that had been trapped within the Okinawa’s hull. After returning to the ship, the Okinawa’s crew was undoubtedly exposed to the asbestos fibers, and the Okinawa returned to sea in the summer of 1963 with her crew still faced with the risk of asbestos inhalation.

The USS Okinawa made her first deployment to Europe in 1965, which included stops in Spain, England, and France. In 1967, after five years with the Atlantic Fleet, the Okinawa was ordered into duty with the Pacific Fleet. Okinawa and her crew made their first combat deployment to Vietnam in early 1967, followed by a return expedition in 1969. Over the course of the Vietnam War, the USS Okinawa participated in seven Navy campaigns, earning a total of seven battle stars for her service.

Following her service in Vietnam, the USS Okinawa continued to operate with the Seventh Fleet in the Pacific. In 1971 the Okinawa served as the recovery ship for the Apollo 15 astronauts. In late 1992 the Okinawa was ordered to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Francisco Bay, where she began a pre-inactivation overhaul. The Okinawa’s overhaul stripped her of all nonessential equipment, and the work resulted in another significant asbestos release. Working under the constant threat of asbestos exposure, the Mare Island crews eventually prepared the Okinawa for her final decommissioning, which occurred on December 17th, 1992. On June 6th, 2002, the USS Okinawa was sunk during a Navy submarine exercise.

People who served our country in the military have long known that their enlistments come with inherent risks, regardless of whether or not they undergo battle action. However, what many US servicemen and servicewomen in most of the 1900s, especially those aboard navy ships, did not realize was that asbestos contact could turn out to be just as deadly as enemy fire.

To protect the ship's crew, as well as the vessel itself, from flames and excessive heat, fireproof materials are important when constructing a ship. As a result, it was not unusual (and in many cases required by law) for insulators such as the mineral asbestos to be utilized when ships like USS Okinawa were constructed. Asbestos was known even in ancient times for its insulation properties, but it was also proven to be the primary cause of such debilitating illnesses including "miners lung" and pleural mesothelioma. The harm caused by asbestos occurs when microscopic fibers are inhaled or ingested so that they can infiltrate the lungs and sometimes other organs, causing development of scar tissue in the case of asbestosis and damage at the cellular level in the case of mesothelioma.

The consequences of ingesting asbestos were probably not a high priority to many sailors when they were concerned with fighting off an enemy attack or dealing with collisions with other ships. Asbestos exposure was actually a significant secondary hazard if a ship was damaged in battle, however, because such circumstances all too often exposed asbestos-containing materials to the elements. And even outside of battle conditions, those who served on navy ships like USS Okinawa still were faced with at least a certain level of exposure because practically every compartment of the ship had asbestos. Since asbestos was common around ship's conduits and boiler rooms, service personnel who spent time in such areas were especially in danger. Even land-based personnel like carpenters were subject to coming down with asbestos-related illnesses when they repaired US Navy ships like USS Okinawa without using safety equipment and procedures.

Most asbestos-related diseases can take 20 years or more to develop. However, being aware of a patient's history of asbestos exposure can help a healthcare professional in being able to make an accurate diagnosis. Naval veterans who overhauled or had a tour of duty aboard USS Okinawa are therefore advised to discuss their service history with their physicians.

Sources:

Auxiliary Vessels Index