USS Madison DD-425

The USS Madison (DD-425) was laid down on 19 September 1938 by the Boston Naval Yard and launched on 20 October 1939. She was a destroyer in the Benson class, commissioned on 6 August 1940 and commanded by Lieutenant Commander T. E. Boyce. In 1940, the year leading up to the Second World War, the Madison undertook neutrality patrol in the Caribbean and escorted convoys in the North Atlantic.

She acted as escort for two diplomatic voyages. The first, in January 1941, was a mission to deploy Admiral William D. Leahy to France as the ambassador to the newly conquered country. In August, the destroyer escorted the Augusta with Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard to Argentia Bay, where the ships rendezvoused with the Prince of Wales, carrying Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister.

During World War II

The Madison returned to her patrol and convoy duties and continued in this capacity through the start of the war and into the spring of 1942. On 4 April, the destroyer became part of the British Home Fleet and began voyages between Greenock, Scotland and the Mediterranean. The Madison was alongside the Wasp when the carrier provided combat aircraft to Malta. After this mission, the Madison returned to patrol duty in the North Sea.

On 2 November, the Madison departed for Casablanca with a convoy of troops and supplies bound for the initial invasion of North Africa. She arrived in mid-November and undertook patrol duties off the coast of Morocco to the end of that year. From January 1943 to January 1944, the Madison made oil runs from Curacao to the United Kingdom and operated as an escort for convoys of tankers and merchant ships between the Netherlands West Indies, New York, North Africa, and ports in the United Kingdom and the Mediterranean.

On 30 January 1944, the Madison began shore bombardment exercises before leaving for Italy on 11 February. She commenced anti-submarine patrols in the region and provided support to Allied actions in the Italian peninsula. The Madison was successful in stopping four (possibly five) "human torpedoes" during anti-submarine patrols on 10 September during Operation Dragoon. These were undersea vehicles designed to covertly place mines on the hulls of vessels.

The destroyer returned to the United States in January of 1945 and undertook one more Mediterranean escort before returning to the east coast and then leaving for the Pacific on 21 April. She arrived at Guam on 1 July, made a convoy run to Okinawa and was then assigned to radar picket duty off Ulithi. On 2 August, she attempted a rescue of survivors from the Indianapolis and just two weeks later made her way into Tokyo Bay for the formal surrender of Japan.

The Retirement and Sinking of the Madison

After the end of the war, the Madison remained in Japan with the occupation force until 5 November. After this she departed for Charleston, arriving there on 7 December 1945, exactly four years after the start of the war for the United States. She was decommissioned on 13 March 1946 and placed in the Reserve Fleet in Charleston and later moved to Orange, Texas. The Madison was struck from the naval register on 1 June 1968 and was sunk in naval target practice exercises off the southeastern coast of Florida on 14 October 1969.

Asbestos Risks

Through both world wars, every American navy craft routinely installed the substance known as asbestos for insulating pipes and for fireproofing. The vessel's boiler room and engineering sections usually were the areas where seamen or maintenance workers were most likely to come into contact with air contaminated with asbestos, but essentially all sections of the USS Madison offered a real danger of asbestos exposure.

When a ship was damaged in battle, by catastrophic storms, or accidentally, it almost inevitably exposed asbestos-laden materials to the open air, which meant even greater risk of having high levels of asbestos inhalation. With asbestos, the greatest risk to human health is experienced whenever strands are fragile, because if minute asbestos filaments go into the surrounding air, the particles may then be inhaled by workers in the area.

Persistent asbestos intake has been conclusively linked with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and many other life-threatening medical issues. Those workers and sailors whose duties put them near asbestos fibers should promptly inform their primary physicians since many asbestos-induced diseases can be puzzling to distinguish from other illnesses.

As with servicemen on other vessels of this era, the men who lived and worked on board the Madison were constantly at risk for asbestos fiber inhalation. Regardless of the lack of important combat damage and redesign activity, those who served aboard the USS Madison were nevertheless in danger of inhaling asbestos fibers in the normal course of their duties.

This was especially the case for maintenance workers such as pipe fitters and carpenters who worked on the craft when the Madison spent time dry-docked. For servicemen who worked aboard this ship at any time in their career, as well as those who served on other naval vessels, it is vital to be thoroughly informed about the risks posed by past exposure to this toxic mineral.

For those who have contracted an illness related to asbestos exposure, compensation may be available to help pay for medical expenses and lost income. For information about compensation and treatment options, please fill out the request form on this page to receive a free informational packet.

Sources:

Destroyers Index