USS Leary DD-158

The USS Leary (DD-158) was a destroyer built in the post-WWI era by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey. She was a destroyer in the Wickes class, laid down on 6 March 1918 and launched on 18 December 1918. She was named for Lieutenant Clarence F. Leary, who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his service in World War I. The Leary is notable for being the first U.S. naval vessel to have a radar system.

History of Service

The Leary was commissioned on 5 December 1919 and departed Boston on 28 January 1920 for Guantanamo Bay. This shakedown and training cruise continued in more northern waters before she left the Atlantic for the Pacific, transiting the Panama Canal on 22 January 1921.

Once in the Pacific, the Leary joined the Battle Fleet and engaged in large-scale maneuvers off the coast of Peru in February.

In June, after these maneuvers, she witnessed the bombardment of what were formerly German vessels by seaplanes in the Caribbean.

The Leary was put in reserve in June 1922 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard as a result of the Washington Naval Disarmament Conference. Only in May 1930 was she reactivated, joining the Atlantic Fleet out of Newport, Rhode Island.

Following her reactivation, the Leary participated in maneuvers every second year off the west coast of the United States alongside the Pacific Fleet, as well as yearly exercises in the Caribbean. After five years, she was occupied primarily with the training of midshipmen and reserves.

The Leary made history in 1937 when she became the first U.S. Navy ship to have a radar system.

After having been outfitted with this system, she was involved in antisubmarine patrol alongside the Hamilton in 1939. At first only patrolling the New England coast, her purview expanded to include missions to Iceland in 1941. The Leary again made history on 19 November when she became the first US vessel to encounter a U-boat through radar. The next year, she escorted convoys to a number of ports throughout Iceland, only being relieved of this duty in 1943.

After returning to Boston and dry dock, she once again embarked on a journey to sea. She traveled to participate in antisubmarine exercises in Guantanamo Bay on 1 March alongside USS R-5. For the next four months, she guarded a number of convoys on their way to the British West Indies. Only in June did she return to New York.

The Leary was again charged with escort duty, and she guarded supplies on their way from America to the Mediterranean. Sailing to Algiers via the Dutch West Indies, she escorted a convoy out of New York to arrive on 31 July. She returned via the same route on 27 August, and went on to sail a second voyage, as well, which concluded on 30 October.

The Sinking of the Leary

Late in November, the Leary left the east coast on a hunter-killer operation. Early on 24 December 1943, the destroyer discovered that she had been set upon by a German wolf pack. Immediately upon discovery, the destroyer took two torpedoes to her side and began to founder. A third torpedo sank her.

Ninety-seven officers and men were lost in the sinking, including the ship's commander, James E. Kyes.

As a side note, there stands today a memorial to Commander Kyes, erected by fellow classmates of the Annapolis Naval Academy. It is located in an abandoned mining town in Snohomish County, Washington, where his parents once ran a hotel. The monument stands under a tree that Kyes is said to have planted as a young boy. The town site no longer has buildings, and the four-mile approach to the town is not accessible by car.

Asbestos Risks

The fibrous mineral asbestos was commonly installed for pipe insulation and for fire control on board every American naval destroyer through the war era. Ships' engines and engineering compartments were the workspaces where a sailor or dockworkers were apt to be in danger of inhaling particles of asbestos; nevertheless, nearly every part of a ship like the USS Leary offered a significant level of asbestos contamination. If the craft took damage, whether in combat, from Mother Nature, or accidentally, it usually uncovered asbestos-containing components to the open air or subjected them to fire or water; this meant additional danger of high levels of asbestos contact.

The highest level of risk of exposure when dealing with asbestos happens where strands become fragile, because if minute asbestos microfibers escape into the surrounding air, the particles can then be breathed in by those near the exposure. Repeated asbestos proximity is extensively linked with several types of mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and other serious medical ailments.

Seamen who were exposed to asbestos fibers should therefore make a point to tell their primary care physicians, because many asbestos-caused conditions can be hard to distinguish from other illnesses. 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.

As is the case with sailors on other craft of her type, the sailors who sailed on board the Leary were, in addition to the inherent dangers associated with enemy encounters, at risk for asbestos fiber inhalation. This was especially the case because the Leary endured heavy damage in combat and received extensive redesigns and patch jobs. In addition to the serious battle damage and refit activity, sailors who worked on the ship were also endangered by asbestos in the daily conduct of their service, as were repair personnel such as pipefitters and electricians who serviced the ship when she was in port.

Based on our increased understanding of the outcome of prolonged contact with asbestos, servicemen who sailed and labored on board the Leary at any time in their career, as well as those who served on other vessels like her, should educate themselves about the risks posed by wartime exposure to asbestos, particularly given the Leary's history.

Sources:

Destroyers Index