USS Gherardi DD-637

The Gleaves-class destroyer USS Gherardi (DD-637) was launched in February 1942 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and commissioned in September of that year under command of Lt. Cmdr. J. W. Schmidt.

A Rough Start

In December 1942, while the destroyer was anchored in Narragansett Bay, one of Gherardi's whaleboats was capsized as 16 of her crew were attempting to return to the ship from onshore liberty in the middle of a storm. Attempts to rescue the seamen were stymied when the Gherardi's 348-foot, 1600-ton bulk broke loose from its moorings. The lost seamen were Gherardi's first and only casualties.

On 1 January 1943, Gherardi sailed for the Caribbean and Gulf Coast on escort duty. Returning to New York a month later, she was in port for a week before commencing the first of 10 transatlantic crossings she would make as a convoy escort. In June, she was assigned to the Western Naval Task Force in the Mediterranean for the support of the invasion of Sicily. It was here on the night of 3 August that Gherardi finally engaged the enemy in the form of German torpedo boats.

Action in the Atlantic and Mediterranean

Gherardi made her last transatlantic convoy run in February 1944, which was followed by a month of crew training out of Casco Bay, Maine, and a scouting mission to Gibraltar from 23 March to 22 April. Early in May, she was ordered to Ulster for rehearsals for Operation Overlord.

On D-Day (6 June 1944), Gherardi was stationed off Utah Beach for the bombardment of onshore defenses. She became a priority target, forcing her to expend her ammunition in self-defense. She ultimately ran dry and was forced to withdraw from the battle in order to replenish her ordnance.

On 18 June, she was ordered back to the Mediterranean island of Malta for joint training exercises with the British Royal Navy in preparation for the invasion of Southern France in August. During the actual operation, her job was to screen carriers during the airborne strikes against German and Vichy positions. She returned to New York on 16 September and spent two months being converted to a high-speed minesweeper.

The Pacific

Reclassified DMS-30, Gherardi was assigned to Mine Division 60 and sailed for the Pacific at the end of 1944. Reaching the Solomons in March, she proceeded to Okinawa for minesweeping duties in advance of the invasion scheduled for 1 April.

During the next three months, she was kept busy as a carrier screen while laying down fire against onshore batteries in support of invading ground troops. In August, she went to work clearing Tokyo Bay in preparation for the occupation and remained there until 5 December 1945, when she sailed home to San Diego. She would be stationed there on active duty for two years.

Post-War Duty

In late 1947, Gherardi was transferred to Charleston, South Carolina, which would be her home port for her remaining years of active duty. Over the next seven years, she operated in the Atlantic and Caribbean, primarily as a training vessel, also participating in NATO exercises. She did two tours of duty with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, the first time in 1949 prior to an overhaul in New London, Connecticut, in June, and the second in early 1952.

In July 1955, the USS Gherardi reverted to destroyer status, reclassified as DD-637; she and was decommissioned in December at the Charleston Naval Shipyard. She was used for target practice in 1973 and sunk off the coast of Puerto Rico.

Asbestos Risks

Asbestos was routinely installed for pipe insulation and as fire control on board every Navy vessel up for the first two-thirds of the 20th century. Although practically every section of a ship like the USS Gherardi offered a significant level of asbestos contamination, the vessel's boiler room and engineering sections generally where a seaman or a civilian worker was most likely to be at risk of exposure to strands of asbestos. More risk of experiencing high levels of asbestos inhalation resulted when the warship was damaged, whether in combat or through misfortune, because that often uncovered asbestos-containing compartments to the air or subjected them to fire or flooding.

The worst danger of exposure associated with asbestos is experienced when items containing the mineral are friable; if tiny asbestos strands can enter the air, the particles can then be breathed in by those nearby. Researchers have proven that major medical issues such as asbestosis, cancer of the lungs and several types of mesothelioma are associated with a history of asbestos inhalation.

Seamen exposed to this mineral should definitely inform their doctors, as many asbestos-induced diseases are hard to detect. 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.

As with servicemen on the other vessels of the era, the crewmen who served on board the Gherardi were, in addition to expected dangers associated with war, endangered by asbestos fiber exposure. The USS Gherardi underwent fairly extensive reworkings and repair jobs even though she experienced very little battle damage. In spite of the absence of serious damage, however, the men who worked on the Gherardi were nevertheless in danger of inhaling asbestos in the ordinary course of their service. This was especially true for maintenance workers such as machinists and carpenters who serviced the craft when she spent time dry-docked.

It is vital that the sailors who at any time in their career sailed and toiled aboard this naval vessel, and those assigned to other American ships, understand the health dangers posed by past exposure to this deadly mineral, particularly based on our increased understanding of the consequences of asbestos inhalation.

Sources:

Destroyers Index