USS Frazier DD-607

The Benson-Gleaves-class destroyers were that last vessels of this type to have been designed and ordered prior to the U.S. entry into World War II. They were part of the fourth generation of modern combat vessels built between 1932 and 1942. The USS Frazier (DD-607) was built by workers at the Bethlehem Steel Corporation's San Francisco shipyard and launched in March 1942. She was commissioned on 1 July under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Frank Virden.

1942-44

In early December 1942, Frazier arrived for a four-month tour of duty in the South Pacific, then in March 1943 was ordered to the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska, where Japanese forces had been attempting to gain a foothold in hopes of grabbing Alaskan oilfields. In June, she engaged an enemy sub off Kiska, sinking it after a two-day chase. Her duties in the Aleutians continued until the beginning of September, when she went to Puget Sound for maintenance before returning to the South Pacific.

Frazier's next run-in with an IJN submarine happened off the coast of Betio on 22 November. She and her sister ship, USS Meade, forced the sub to the surface with depth charges before opening fire. Finally, Captain Virden ordered Frazier to ram the sub. This sank the enemy vessel without incurring crew casualties, but caused substantial damage to Frazier's bow, necessitating a trip to Pearl Harbor for repairs.

Frazier returned to the action in January 1944, providing support during the Marshall Islands invasion. Following a period of anti-sub patrol near Kwajalein Island, Frazier escorted a convoy deadheading to Pearl before returning to the Marshalls on 28 February.

In late March of 1944, Frazier joined the Fast Carrier Task Force, a spearhead unit that was in the vanguard of virtually every major operation in the Pacific. She remained with this group until 10 May, when she was assigned patrol duty among the remaining Japanese-held islands in the Marshalls.

1944-45

During the heavy action in the Philippines during October and November 1944, Frazier was back in the States undergoing maintenance and refit. She returned to the Pacific in mid-December for escort duty out of Ulithi, then sailed for the Philippines and the invasion of Lingayen Gulf. The ship and her crew provided gunfire support during the last phases of the reconquest of the Philippines until moving on to Borneo in May 1945.

After The War

Frazier ended her active days escorting larger ships between the Philippines and occupied Japan, sailing for home on 3 November 1945. She was mothballed at Charleston, South Carolina, in April 1946 and remained in reserve until 1971.

USS Frazier was sold for scrap in October 1972.

Asbestos Risks

Through the war era, each American naval destroyer routinely used the substance known as asbestos for insulating pipes and as fire control, and a vessel's boiler room and mechanical spaces were the spaces where a sailor or shipyard worker was prone to be endangered by air contaminated by asbestos. Nevertheless, practically every part of the Frazier posed a significant level of asbestos risk. If the ship was damaged in battle, by catastrophic storms, or through misfortune, it almost inevitably exposed asbestos-contaminated fixtures to the air or subjected them to flames or flooding, which resulted in even greater risk of undergoing major asbestos exposure.

The worst risk to human health associated with asbestos occurs in circumstances where fibers become easily broken; when minute asbestos microfibers escape into the surrounding air, the particles may then be breathed in by those in the area. Significant asbestos risk has been definitively linked to pericardial mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and other major medical conditions.

Since most asbestos-caused problems are difficult to detect, those with a history of contact with this substance should promptly notify their family doctor of the details about this history. To learn more about the diagnostic process, available treatment options and financial assistance to help pay for medical costs, please fill out this form to receive a comprehensive packet in the mail.

Along with normal hazards associated with combat, sailors who fought on board the Frazier were, as with people on her sister vessels, constantly endangered by asbestos inhalation. The USS Frazier saw heavy damage in battle and had major refits and repair jobs, and on top of this major damage and refit work, sailors who served aboard the Frazier were also subject to inhalation of asbestos in the normal course of their duties. This was particularly true for port-based workers such as welders and carpenters who maintained the ship when the Frazier spent time dry-docked.

In light of what we now know about the result of prolonged contact with asbestos, the men who sailed or toiled aboard this naval vessel at any time in their career, and those assigned to her sisters in the fleet, should educate themselves about the hazards raised by their wartime exposure to asbestos fibers.

Sources:

Destroyers Index