USS Halsey Powell (DD-686)

USS Halsey Powell (DD-686), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was launched by Bethlehem Steel Company from its Staten Island, New York, shipyard on 30 June 1943 and commissioned on 25 October 1943 under the command of Cmdr. W. T. McGarry.

Early Service

Halsey Powell's shakedown training off the east coast lasted six months. On 20 January 1944 she sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, to join the Pacific Fleet. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 12 February, the destroyer steamed to the war zone for screening and escort duty, participating in a number of combat operations as well during the Marshall Islands campaign.

Following the Marshalls operation, Halsey Powell returned to Pearl Harbor on 30 May for training for the impending Marianas invasions. From 11 to 15 June, she took up a fire-support station off the beaches and was instrumental in the operation's success.

On 21 June, she entered Saipan Harbor following the Japanese defeat in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. She then steamed to Tinian, where she bombarded shore positions, clearing the way for troop landings on 24 July. Following this she spent two weeks on screening and radar picket duty off Guam before returning to Eniwetok on 22 August to join the Fast Carrier Task Force, which led virtually every campaign in the Pacific throughout the war.

On 6 October 1944, Powell sailed with the FCTF for air strikes on Okinawa, then proceeded to Formosa (Taiwan) in order to destroy Japanese airfields. At a cost of three damaged ships, the task force had driven off nearly a 1,000 enemy aircraft, destroying over 500, of which Powell's gunnery crew accounted for 15.

As the historic invasion of Leyte began, the Japanese Navy moved its remaining units into the Philippines. During the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf, Halsey Powell screened carriers during the initial strikes that made up one phase of the battle, the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, on 24 October. Halsey Powell picked up downed pilots after the battle and returned to Ulithi Atoll with the FCTF on 9 November 1944.

1945

In February Halsey Powell screened the carriers during initial strikes on Japan. On 20 March, Halsey Powell was alongside the carrier USS Hancock when Japanese aircraft attacked. Halsey Powell was hit by a kamikaze pilot, killing nine crewmen and injuring 30 while jamming her steering gear. Halsey Powell returned to San Pedro, California, for battle repairs on 8 May, and sailed again for Pearl Harbor on 19 July 1945. By the time she arrived at the Eniwetok base, hostilities had ended. Powell was present in Tokyo Bay for the formal surrender ceremonies on 2 September. She supported the occupation forces until sailing for Puget Sound at the end of October. Halsey Powell was mothballed on 10 December 1946 at San Diego.

Korean War

Halsey Powell was recommissioned on 27 April 1951. As part of Task Force 77, the destroyer guarded carriers and their aircraft, continuing these operations off the eastern coast of Korea until October. After a month of training off Okinawa, she returned to take part in bombardments of Suwon Dam, Wonsan, Hungnam, and other areas. Halsey Powell remained in Korea until 20 February 1952.

Halsey Powell did a second tour in Korea starting on 4 October 1952, and in the next seven months took part in shore bombardment and screening duties as United Nations naval forces isolated North Korea. She returned to the States on 6 May 1953, and after training exercises out of San Diego sailed for the Western Pacific on 26 December 1953.

Cold War

Halsey Powell made yearly cruises to the Western Pacific, patrolling the strait between Formosa (Taiwan) and mainland China. Eventually, she was transferred to South Korea. From April 1968, she sailed under the name ROKS Seoul, serving another fourteen years before she was scrapped in 1982.

Asbestos Risks

Through the war era, each American naval craft widely employed the fibrous mineral asbestos for insulating pipes and for fireproofing. Though practically all parts of the USS Halsey Powell posed a significant level of asbestos contamination, the boiler room and engineering spaces generally were the areas where seamen or dockworkers were most likely to inhale asbestos dust. Even more risk of being subjected to harmful levels of asbestos inhalation resulted if a craft was hit, in combat or through misfortune, since such events frequently uncovered asbestos-contaminated compartments to the air or subjected them to flames or flooding.

The highest level of danger to human health when dealing with asbestos is experienced in circumstances where strands become damaged and easily broken, because if minute asbestos filaments are released into the air, the material can then be inhaled by people near the hazard. Historically, asbestos intake is thoroughly linked with malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other grave health conditions. Workers who were exposed to this substance should make a point to tell their medical professionals, as most asbestos-induced diseases can be puzzling to accurately diagnose.

Like people on the other craft of her type, the sailors who lived and worked aboard the USS Halsey Powell were constantly in danger of asbestos fiber exposure, especially because the ship suffered serious damage in battle and had extensive renovations and patch jobs. Besides this important battle damage and repair work, the men who worked aboard the Halsey Powell were also in contact with asbestos in the daily conduct of their duties, as were. maintenance workers such as welders and mechanics who repaired the vessel when the Halsey Powell spent time in port. Given our increased understanding of the outcome of prolonged contact with asbestos, the sailors who sailed and labored aboard this destroyer at any point in their career, as well as those who served on other American ships, need to be made aware of the risks posed by service-related exposure to asbestos, especially in light of USS Halsey Powell's record.

Sources

1. Mooney, James. Dictionary of American Fighting Ships. (Washington DC; Department of the Navy, 1991).
2. National Association of Destroyer Veterans. Tin Can Sailors (website).
   http://www.destroyers.org/DANFS/h-DD-686.htm

Destroyers Index