USS Healy DD-672

USS Healy (DD-672) was a Fletcher-class named in tribute for Cmdr. Howard R. Healy, damage control officer on the carrier USS Lexington that sank during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Healy was built by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey, and launched on the 4th of July 1943. When she was commissioned on 3 September 1943, Cmdr. J. C. Atkeson served as her first captain.

World War II

Healy sailed from New York on 10 November for a week of coastal patrol duty, and after meeting up with a convoy in the Atlantic, reported to the Norfolk NOB on the 18th. Two days later, she was ordered to the Pacific, reporting to Pearl Harbor on 11 December. There, her crew spent several weeks training with the new Essex-class carrier USS Yorktown and other ships that would form the Fast Carrier Task Force, the first-strike unit for virtually every operation in the Pacific.

Healy sailed from Pearl on 16 January 1944 for the invasion of the Marshall Islands. For the next two weeks, Healy screened (guarded) the USS Enterprise and Yorktown during raids on the target islands.

Healy's next assignment was to neutralize Truk Island, a major Japanese naval installation. The carrier group attacked Truk on 17 February, ultimately destroying the facility. After this operation, Healy sailed with the Enterprise on a series of raids in the western Pacific that would facilitate future invasions.

After a period of training and preparation, Healy sailed for the Marianas on 6 June. As screening ship for the carriers, Healy supported preliminary strikes from 11 to 15 June and guarded them from submarines and enemy aircraft during the troop landings.

Two days later, Healy and the other ships steamed out to engage the Imperial Japanese Navy in the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea. After rescuing pilots from downed aircraft on 21 June, Healy returned to the Eniwetok NB on 9 July.

On 17 July, Healy's carrier task force attacked Japanese positions on Guam, followed by strikes against the various island groups over the next two months.

Halsey's Typhoon

After surviving and helping to secure U.S. victory in the Philippines, Healy rode out the typhoon of 17-18 December 1944 that sank three other destroyers. Healy searched for survivors to Ulithi with her carrier group on Christmas Eve 1944.

End Game

Healy and her task group moved back to the Philippines on 30 December. By 21 January, the task group was responsible for the sinking over 130,000 tons of enemy shipping and the destruction of hundreds of enemy aircraft.

Next on the agenda was Iwo Jima. Healy screened the carrier planes and supplied fire support for the invasion 19 February, continuing for three days before departing for strikes against Japanese air bases.

Healy remained off the island patrolling and screening until sailing for home on 27 March for overdue repairs and maintenance. She arrived in San Francisco Bay on 23 April.

Healy set out once more for the Pacific on 20 June 1945, arriving in Guam on 11 August. While she was on the way back to Iwo Jima, the Japanese surrendered. Healy became the harbor control vessel at Tokyo Bay during the formal surrender ceremony, then sailed for home on 5 September. She arrived in New York on 17 January 1946 and stood down at Charleston, South Carolina, on 11 July 1946.

Korea and the Cold War

Healy was reactivated on 3 August 1951. After crew training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she operated in the Caribbean until 29 June 1953, when she left on a world cruise. Healy participated in operations with the 7th Fleet with patrols off the coasts of China and Korea between 3 August and 3 December 1953.

In 1955, she was assigned to the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. Upon her return to Norfolk, she did one last training cruise for midshipmen, then put in at Annapolis on 31 July 1956. Healy operated in local waters until she was decommissioned on 11 March 1958.

The USS Healy was sold in April 1976 and scrapped.

Asbestos Risks

The mineral asbestos was commonly utilized for insulation and for fireproofing on board each American navy vessel in the first seven decades of the 20th century. A vessel's boilers and engineering compartments were the sections where sailors or maintenance workers were apt to inhale fibers of asbestos; however, essentially all parts of the Healy posed a real danger of asbestos contamination. When the vessel was damaged, whether in battle, by Mother Nature, or accidentally, it frequently exposed asbestos-contaminated materials to the air or subjected them to fire or water; this brought about more risk of having extensive asbestos exposure.

With asbestos, the greatest risk of exposure is experienced whenever items containing the mineral are friable; if tiny asbestos fibers can enter the air, the particles can then be breathed in by people in the area. Historically, asbestos intake has been strongly linked with multiple forms of mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and other major medical disorders.

Since most asbestos-induced diseases can be hard to diagnose, those exposed to asbestos fibers should notify their doctors of the details about 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.

On top of the expected dangers of enemy encounters, crewmen who lived and worked on board the USS Healy were, as were people on her sister vessels, constantly endangered by asbestos inhalation. This was true in spite of the fact the Healy endured minor battle damage and went through routine refits and repairs. Even though the ship did not suffer heavy battle damage or undergo extensive overhauls and refit work, those who worked on the Healy were still endangered by asbestos fibers in the daily conduct of their duties, as were repair personnel such as pipefitters and carpenters who worked on the vessel when the Healy spent time at a shipyard.

In light of our increased understanding of the result of asbestos inhalation, those who sailed or worked aboard this naval vessel at any time in their career, as well as those who served on other vessels like her, should learn more about the risks posed by their former exposure to asbestos.

Sources:

Destroyers Index