USS Gridley DD-380

The USS Gridley (DD-380), second USN ship to bear the name, was the lead ship of "Gridley" class of destroyers, one of six classes of 1,600-ton destroyers that modernized the fleet during the 1930s. A product of the Boston Navy Yard, her keel was laid on 1 June 1935, and she was launched 18 months later, receiving her commission and her first commanding officer in June 1937.

Pre-War Service

Following four months of shakedown in the Caribbean area, she then underwent upgrades at the Boston Navy Yard until 13 June 1938. Afterwards, she was stationed at San Diego, where she joined Destroyer Division 11. Gridley spent the next five months in tactical maneuvers off the coast of California, and in January 1939 joined the Battle Force for combined maneuvers in the Caribbean. Afterwards, she returned to Boston for maintenance and repairs.

Gridley returned to the San Diego NB in mid-July 1939 and became the flagship of Division 11. In April 1940, Gridley was transferred to Pearl Harbor.

World War II

Gridley's Task Force was approaching Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December when the message was received: "Air raid on Pearl Harbor, this is no drill." Gridley entered the harbor next day and was kept busy escorting transports and repair vessels between Pearl Harbor and South Pacific ports. In June 1942, she was posted to Kodiak, Alaska, with USS Nashville. During her time in the Aleutians, Gridley escorted transport vessels and patrolled Japanese-held islands. On 7 August, she bombarded the Japanese outpost on Kiska.

In September, Gridley joined the carrier USS Saratoga on its way to the South Pacific. Over the next several months, she was kept busy with the many tasks that naval destroyers - being far faster and more maneuverable than larger cruisers, battleships, and carriers - are assigned, including rescue operations, screening and shore bombardments.

Gridley returned to Pearl Harbor with escort carriers USS Suwanee and Long Island in September 1943, then proceeded to San Diego for six weeks of repairs and upgrades. She was back in action by November 1943, participating in the bombardment of Makin Island.

The Fast Carrier Task Force

Gridley joined the Fast Carrier Task Force in January 1944 for the Marshall Island invasion, screening the carrier USS Saratoga during the strikes against Wotje and Eniwetok. In March, she sailed with carriers Yorktown, Princeton, and Langley for the invasion of New Guinea, then was assigned to the USS Hornet for the invasion of the Marianas.

Gridley was present at the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea 19 to 20 June 1944, which broke the back of the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service. On the 30th, she escorted carriers for preliminary strikes on Iwo Jima and Guam, after which she joined the fleet for the invasion of the Philippines.

By February 1945, the Gridley had seen more action in three years than most combat vessels do in 20. The tired, battle-scarred veteran escorted the battleship USS Mississippi to Pearl Harbor, and then set out for New York, arriving at the end of March 1945. She entered the New York Navy Yard on the 31st for repairs, which lasted until June.

The USS Gridley was sold for scrap in August 1947.

Asbestos Risks

Through both world wars, each U.S. Navy craft commonly employed asbestos for insulating compartments and as fireproofing. The engines and engineering compartments were the workspaces where a sailor or dockworkers were prone to come into contact with fibers of asbestos, but nearly all sections of the Gridley offered a measurable level of asbestos exposure. Increased danger of being subjected to harmful levels of asbestos inhalation occurred when the vessel took damage, whether in battle or through misfortune, as that often uncovered asbestos-containing components to the air or subjected them to fire or water.

With asbestos, the most serious danger of exposure happens where strands become exposed and tiny filaments are released into the surrounding air to then be inhaled by workers nearby. Countless studies have demonstrated that major health diseases such as asbestosis, cancer of the lungs and peritoneal mesothelioma are the result of occupational asbestos exposure.

Asbestos-related conditions can be hard to distinguish from other illnesses, so those workers and sailors with a history of contact with this substance should definitely inform their primary physicians of 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.

In addition to the normal hazards associated with war, servicemen who lived and worked aboard the Gridley were, as were sailors on sister vessels of her type, constantly in danger of asbestos fiber exposure. This was the case even though the USS Gridley suffered only moderate damage in combat. Despite the lack of important battle damage, the troops who worked on the Gridley were nevertheless in contact with asbestos fibers in the normal course of their duty. And during the numerous refits and repairs she underwent, personnel such as welders and mechanics who services the vessel when the Gridley was dry-docked would also have faced almost certain asbestos exposure.

Based on our increased understanding of the consequences of asbestos inhalation, the men who sailed or labored on board this destroyer at any point in their career, as well as those who served on similar ships, need to be made aware of the hazards raised by their wartime exposure to asbestos fibers.

Sources:

Destroyers Index