USS Gregory DD-802

USS Gregory (DD-802) was a Fletcher-class destroyer built by the Todd-Pacific Ship Building Company in Tacoma, Washington, and launched on 8 May 1944. She was commissioned on 29 July 1944, under the command of Cmdr. Bruce McCandless.

World War II in the Pacific

After initial shakedown along the west coast, Gregory sailed for Pearl Harbor, reporting for duty on 23 October 1944. In January 1945, preparations started for the impending invasion of Iwo Jima. Gregory sailed for the island on the 22nd, arriving on the first day of battle a month later.

Gregory spent the next four weeks in harm's way, protecting transport vessels and providing fire support for ground troops. As the Iwo Jima campaign wound down around 15 March, Gregory left in order to prepare for her duties for the invasion of Okinawa. Her task group was to stage a diversion on the southeast coast, hoping to distract some Japanese attention from the main invasion force along Okinawa's western coast. Afterwards Gregory remained off Okinawa on patrol and radar picket.

Functioning as a radar picket made a vessel a magnet for kamikaze suicide attacks, and was thus one of the most hazardous duties of the war. On the afternoon of 8 April, three Japanese planes came out of the sun, a favorite kamikaze device. One of the suicide craft crashed into the destroyer's port side above just above the waterline. Gregory's power failed in her forward engine, and fire rooms flooded. She was nonetheless able to reach the captured naval base on nearby Kerama Retto for temporary repairs, and on 19 April sailed for San Diego for battle repairs. Before her repairs were completed, the Japanese surrendered; Gregory was decommissioned in January 1947.

Korea

Gregory was reactivated on 27 April 1951 under command of Cmdr. H. C. Lank. She arrived at the U.S. Naval base in Yokosuka and began patrol duty along the coast of Korea. Her principal duties were to provide protection for the American carriers from which air strikes were launched, a task known as screening. Gregory was also assigned to the Formosa (Taiwan) patrol, intended to prevent Communist action against the island. Here Gregory came under fire from mainland Communist Chinese shore batteries.

After the Korean Armistice ended active hostilities in August 1953, Gregory returned to San Diego for local routine operations and periodic deployments to Asia.

Gregory was decommissioned at San Diego, California, in February 1964 and served as a stationary training vessel until January 1971. Two months later, she was run aground for use as a target.

Asbestos Risks

In every U.S. Navy vessel during the first two-thirds of the 20th century, asbestos, a fibrous mineral, was widely utilized for pipe insulation and as fire control. Practically all parts of a ship like the Gregory presented a real danger of asbestos risk; however, the vessel's boilers and mechanical compartments were the spaces where a crewman or a shipyard worker was most apt to come into contact with airborne asbestos. Furthermore, when a craft was damaged in battle, by Mother Nature, or by accident, it almost inevitably uncovered asbestos-laden materials to the open air or subjected them to flames or flooding; this meant even more danger of having major asbestos exposure.

The highest level of risk of exposure relating to asbestos occurs whenever fibers become damaged and easily broken (or "friable"); when the asbestos microfibers go into the surrounding air, the material can then be inhaled by those nearby. Repeated asbestos intake is known to be extensively linked with pericardial mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and other dangerous health issues.

All those with a history of contact with this mineral should make a point to tell their medical professionals, since most asbestos-related disorders are difficult to accurately diagnose. 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 people on her sister destroyers, the crewmen who fought on board the USS Gregory were all too often, on top of the expected dangers of war, imperiled by asbestos exposure. This was due in part to the major damage in combat and serious renovations and repairs experienced by the Gregory, but even beyond the large-scale combat damage and retrofit activity, those who served on board the Gregory were also in danger of inhaling asbestos fibers in the ordinary conduct of their duties. This risk was also an unfortunate fact of life for port-based personnel such as machinists and electricians who worked on the craft when the Gregory was in port.

Considering the USS Gregory's record, it is important that the sailors who at any point in their career sailed or worked aboard this naval vessel, as well as those who served on other vessels like her, understand the hazards raised by former exposure to this deadly mineral, especially based on what we now know about the outcome of asbestos inhalation.

Sources:

Destroyers Index