USS Blue DD-744

The second U.S. Naval vessel to be named the USS Blue was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer built by Bethlehem Steel at their Staten Island facility. It was named for the captain of the USS Juneau, lost during the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. The keel of the USS Blue (DD-744) was laid down at the end of June 1943, and she was completed five months later. The Blue received her commission on 20 March 1944 under the command of Commander L. Ensey.

The USS Blue joined the Pacific fleet in July and took part in several actions throughout the next 11 months. Though she escaped battle damage, she was caught in a typhoon off the coast of Okinawa in June 1945. The damage to her from the pounding storm took a month of repair work in Leyte in the Philippines. Following her participation in the final attacks on the Japanese mainland between 10 July and 15 August, the crew of the USS Blue scored a major prize when, 12 days after Japan's surrender, they were able to capture one of the Imperial Japanese Navy's most advanced weapons intact: an I-400-class submarine.

After the war, the Blue reported to the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington for a complete refit and overhaul that lasted from November 1945 until January 1946. After one last tour of duty in the Pacific, she was mothballed at San Diego on Valentine's Day in 1947. She was reactivated briefly during 1949, undergoing yet another overhaul at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard that summer before she returned to the reserve fleet until September 1950.

Following her second reactivation, Blue engaged in training exercises off the coast of southern California then completed another tour of duty in the Sea of Japan that lasted until August 1955. Her next overhaul was performed during the winter of 1951 and early 1952 at the San Francisco Naval yard, after which she returned to combat duty off Korea. Another overhaul followed in November 1952.

For the rest of her career, she carried out various functions with the Pacific Fleet, operating primarily in the waters off Japan, China and Korea. She was retired in 1974 after 30 years of service, and scuttled in a torpedo exercise three years later.

Asbestos Risks

For as long as there have been wars, those who serve their country understand that certain dangers and risks accompany their daily duties. What many did not understand during much of the 1900s, however, was a risk unrelated to bullets or attacks by the enemy was present aboard many ships and vessels.

The substance known as asbestos was widely utilized on ships and vessels constructed for the U.S. Navy. The mineral's natural resistance to heat and fire made it ideal for use as insulation and fireproofing aboard destroyers like the USS Blue. A vessel's engine room and mechanical spaces were often the sections where those aboard vessels were most likely to be exposed to asbestos though practically all parts of a ship like the USS Blue presented a real danger of asbestos exposure. Further risk of high levels of asbestos exposure occurred when a destroyer incurred damage, in conflict or through daily operations, as this may have caused asbestos fibers to break off and enter the air where they could be inhaled or ingested by anyone nearby.

Those who served aboard the USS Blue or worked during the construction or repair stages may have been exposed to asbestos. Exposure to asbestos may result in the development of serious asbestos-related illnesses such as asbestosis or mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. When asbestos fibers enter the body they can become lodged in body cavities or organs, causing inflammation or infection. Overtime, this can cause mesothelioma to develop. Patients with mesothelioma may not demonstrate symptoms of the cancer for 20 to 50 years after initial exposure to asbestos occurred. If you worked on the USS Blue, served aboard the vessel or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and wish to learn more about treatment and legal options available to those with the cancer, please click here and Asbestos.com will send you a complimentary comprehensive packet.

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Destroyers Index