USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986)

The USS Harry W. Will was one of 31 Spruance-class destroyers built at the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Her keel was laid on 3 January 1977, and she was launched on 10 August 1978. The vessel was commissioned on 17 November 1979.

Service History

The Harry W. Hill was based out of San Diego for most of her career.

In late November of 1982, Harry W. Hill was ordered to the Indian Ocean in order to shadow the Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk on her first deployment to the Far East - which was a matter of considerable interest to U.S. planners. Two intelligence specialists were assigned to Harry W. Hill during this time. Upon her return in December, she sailed to Portland, Oregon, in order to take part in that city's annual Rose Festival.

The Hill visited Vancouver, Canada, in 1987 and sailed 100 miles up the Columbia River in order to pay a call to the inland port of Longview, Washington, in 1990.

Harry W. Hill was deployed as part of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. On 14 January 1991, she collided with the oiler USS Kansas City during a refueling operation in the Gulf of Oman.

In 1994, Harry W. Hill was again damaged after undergoing a period in dry dock. While maintenance crews attempted to re-float her, one of the steel wire control lines intended to control the ship parted. The ship crashed into the dry dock; two crewmen were seriously injured. The ship itself sustained damaged to its rudders, screws and controllable prop pitch systems.

The USS Harry W. Hill was decommissioned and stricken on May 29, 1998. Her hulk was scuttled during a target exercise on 15 July 2004.

Asbestos Risks

Those who served their nation in the armed forces have always understood that their duties come with expected risks, whether or not they see time in battle. But on top of the obvious hazards one associates with time in the military, a more insidious one endangered those who served in the 1900s: asbestos contact.

Since flames onboard a navy ship can be quite difficult to deal with, fireproofing is a vital factor in the design and construction of ships. As a result, it was not unusual and sometimes legally mandated for fire retardants like the mineral asbestos to be utilized during the period when destroyers like USS Harry W. Hill were built. Asbestos has long been known for its insulation properties; however, it has also been demonstrated to be the primary factor in the development of such serious illnesses including lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma. The damage caused by asbestos occurs when very small fibers are inhaled or ingested so that they can infiltrate the lungs and occasionally other organs, leading to scar tissue in the case of pleural plaques and damage at the cellular level in the case of mesothelioma.

The results of asbestos exposure were probably not a major concern to many people while they were busy engaging in battle or dealing with hurricanes. But when a vessel was damaged from battle action, during severe weather or through misfortune, it almost always exposed asbestos and enabled it to be exposed to the elements, creating hazards besides the more obvious ones. In addition, since practically every compartment in naval vessels like USS Harry W. Hill had parts made with asbestos, sailors generally faced some amount of asbestos exposure even when performing their routine duties. Since asbestos was common around ship's conduits and engines, service personnel who worked in such places were particularly at risk. Even shipyard personnel like carpenters were subject to developing asbestos-related diseases when they repaired ships like Hill without proper safety equipment and procedures.

Asbestos-related diseases can be tricky to distinguish from other illnesses, because they can have similar symptoms to those conditions. In order to accurately diagnose such diseases, a doctor must have information about a patient's history of asbestos exposure. Naval veterans who serviced or served aboard USS Harry W. Hill are therefore advised to talk about their history with their healthcare providers. 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.

Sources

Destroyers Index