USS O'Bannon (DD-987)

The USS O'Bannon was a Spruance-class destroyer, laid down on 21 February 1977 by the union steelworkers of Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched on 25 September 1978 and commissioned on 15 December 1979.

About the Spruance Class

The concept of the "destroyer" as a naval war vessel evolved from the early "torpedo boats" in the years following the American Civil War. However, the first modern steel destroyer was built in Japan. This was the IJN Kotaka, which was launched in 1888 - beginning an international naval arms race that culminated in the catastrophic conflicts of the early 20th century.

The first US destroyer was the USS Bainbridge (DD-1), launched in 1902. The second generation of destroyers came out during the First World War, and were the flush-deck "four pipers" of the Wickes and Clemson class. The Fletcher class of World War II was a departure - a fourth-generation design that, externally, changed little in subsequent classes over the next 30 years.

During the Cold War, the role of the U.S. naval destroyer changed radically; the emphasis was no longer on surface ship-to-ship combat, but on anti-submarine (ASW) and surface-to-air operations. Many of the post-World War II destroyers were retrofitted for such purposes; however, the Spruance-class was the first modern "fifth-generation" destroyer designed from the keel up for such operations. Unlike its predecessors, the Spruance-class was powered by gas turbine engines rather than steam, and in terms of size and firepower the ships were more comparable to light cruisers of the World War II era.

All 31 Spruance-class vessels as well as the four very similar Kidd-class destroyers were built by Ingalls in Pascagoula.

About the O'Bannon

Public records on the service history of the O'Bannon are sketchy. However, photographs from 1980s show that O'Bannon transited through the Panama Canal and was deployed to Europe. She stopped in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1984.

In the following decade, the O'Bannon participated in Unitas XXXII, 1991's edition of the annual exercise conducted with the navies of several South American countries. She also took part in BALTOPS 92, a similar program that operates in the Baltic Sea. Among other assignments, she was deployed to Spain in 1995.

In 1998, the O'Bannon went through a major overhaul that included work on the hull as well as her machinery, electrical systems and pipe fittings.

From 9 to 13 January 2005, USS O'Bannon participated in Operation Reliant Mermaid, an annual exercise with the Israeli and Turkish Navies. The purpose is to improve co-ordination among the three naval forces in the event of a humanitarian crisis in the eastern Mediterranean.

The USS O'Bannon was originally scheduled to remain in service through 2010 but was decommissioned on 19 August 2005 as a cost-cutting measure in the wake of federal tax cuts. She was finally scuttled in October 2008 in a training exercise with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier group.

Asbestos Risks

Since people first began fighting organized battles, those who serve in armies and navies have accepted that their lives will contain serious dangers. What many didn't know about during the majority of the 1900s, however, was a danger that had nothing to do with mortar fire or attacks by the enemy: the danger of diseases caused by exposure to asbestos.

The ability to control the spread of fire on a ship is crucial; many maritime disasters illustrate the danger of conflagrations at sea. During the time when USS O'Bannon and similar ships were constructed, the fibrous mineral asbestos was frequently utilized in shipyards for its ability to insulate against flames. The downside with this is, as well as having insulation properties, asbestos has also been shown to cause serious illnesses as lung cancer and peritoneal mesothelioma. The damage caused by asbestos occurs when very small particles are inhaled so that they invade the lungs and occasionally other organs, causing scar tissue in the case of asbestosis and damage at the cellular level in the case of lung cancer and mesothelioma.

During the heat of battle or while hoping to ride out a hurricane, the likelihood of eventually being diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma was no doubt far from most sailors' thoughts. Asbestos exposure was certainly a real hazard when a vessel was damaged in battle, however, since such situations frequently exposed asbestos to air and water. Furthermore, since practically every area of destroyers like USS O'Bannon had parts made with asbestos, those aboard generally faced some amount of asbestos exposure even as they performed their normal duties. Furthermore, a sailor toiling in poorly ventilated areas containing asbestos, such as boilers or engines, was especially at risk. People who repaired O'Bannon or other destroyers like her when she spent time in dry dock for overhaul were faced with the possibility of contact with asbestos too.

Because asbestos-related illnesses such as mesothelioma sometimes don't appear until as many as 20 or 30 years after the patient came in contact with asbestos, they can be extremely tricky to diagnose. In order to accurately diagnose such diseases, a physician must understand a patient's experience with exposure to asbestos. If you are a veteran who served on USS O'Bannon during your career, you should educate yourself about the symptoms of asbestos-related diseases and talk about any concerns you have with your physician. 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