USS John Paul Jones (DD-932)

The USS John Paul Jones (DD-932) was a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer constructed at the Bath Iron Works Corporation shipyard in Bath, Maine. The keel was laid on 18 January 1954 and the hull launched on 7 May 1955. The completed vessel was commissioned on 5 April 1956.

The Early Years

The John Paul Jones commenced shakedown trials out of Guantanamo Bay, followed by a cruise to northern Europe and the British Isles. She returned to her home port of Newport, Rhode Island on 8 October 1956. Jones got underway for her first Mediterranean deployment on 25 March 1957, returning on 6 June. After a summer of local operations, she took part in NATO exercises that fall. After a second short Mediterranean assignment, she was posted briefly to Fall River, Massachusetts and spent some time in nearby Boston in the summer of 1958.

The next few years consisted largely of operations in the Atlantic and Caribbean, which included joint maneuvers with the Canadian Navy, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises and demonstrations and a circumnavigation of the Americas through the Straits of Magellan (Operation Unitas). John Paul Jones would also make several additional Mediterranean deployments over the course of the next several years.

The 1960s

In October 1962, John Paul Jones was on station with the Atlantic Recovery Forces during the orbital flight of Cmdr. Wally Schirra during NASA Project Mercury. Almost immediately, she was ordered to the coast of Cuba during the Cuban Crisis. In 1964, the John Paul Jones was assigned to a new home port in Norfolk, Virginia.

In 1965, Jones participated in Operation Springboard in the Caribbean. In March, the ship was fitted with a recovery crane and on the 19th she waited off the coast of Bermuda for the recovery of astronauts Maj. Virgil Grissom and Lt. Cmdr. John W. Young and their Gemini space craft should their flight end prematurely. After completing her sixth tour of the Mediterranean in November of that year, her crew made preparations for the Jones' conversion into a guided missile destroyer. She entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 20 December; the 18-month project was completed on 23 September 1967.

To the Pacific

Re-designated as DDG-32, the John Paul Jones was transferred to the Pacific and based out of Long Beach, California in the fall of 1967. The crew underwent intensive training over the next several months in preparation for an extended Far East deployment, which commenced in 1968. Between October 1968 and 1972, John Paul Jones made three combat tours of Vietnam. During her periods in port, she maintained a full schedule. The Jones hosted a midshipman's cruise during the summer of 1969 and underwent an extensive yard overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in the spring of 1971.

During her third Vietnam deployment, John Paul Jones was at sea nearly 80 percent of the time. In addition to carrying out search and rescue operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, she spent 40 days on the gun line off the coast, coming under enemy fire on 15 occasions. During this tour, she was able to participate in SEATO Operation Seahawk.

Jones' fourth Far East deployment consisted of anti-aircraft picket duty in the Gulf of Tonkin and mine sweeping in Haiphong Harbor as U.S. involvement in Vietnam was winding down. In August, she joined the naval forces of Australia, New Zealand and the UK for Operation Greenlight, a battle simulation. She returned to Long Beach in November 1973.

New Home Port

John Paul Jones moved to San Diego in 1974 and prepared for another Far East deployment, during which she engaged in an ASW exercise with vessels of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces. She participated in Operations Eagle Pull and Frequent Wind, which was the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Cambodia and Vietnam.

In 1976, Jones underwent an extensive yard overhaul, followed by a fifth Far East deployment. Her sixth tour of duty in East Asia took place between April and October 1979, during which she participated in joint exercises with Taiwanese and Filipino naval forces. She also made port calls at Hong Kong, Yokosuka and several other cities along the Asian coast. Upon her return, she underwent another maintenance session in preparation for another Asian deployment in 1980.

The USS John Paul Jones was decommissioned in December of 1982. In January 2001, she was scuttled off the coast of California in a target practice exercise.

Asbestos Risks

Nearly all compartments of a ship such as the USS John Paul Jones posed a significant level of asbestos exposure, but a vessel's engine room and engineering compartments were usually the sections where a crewman or maintenance worker was likely to be in danger of inhaling airborne asbestos. Increased risk of undergoing harmful levels of asbestos exposure occurred whenever a craft was in conflict.

Inhaling airborne asbestos fibers has been known to cause the development of several asbestos-related diseases, including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. Those who have been diagnosed with one of these conditions may have options for compensation as many have received financial assistance to help pay for medical expenses. For more information about compensation, asbestos exposure and treatment options, please fill out the request form on this page to receive a complimentary packet.

Sources:

Destroyers Index