USS Richard S. Edwards (DD-950)

USS Richard S. Edwards (DD-950) was a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer built at the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company in Seattle, Washington, and launched on 24 September 1957. She was commissioned on 5 February 1959, Cmdr. Richard R. Law in command.

Early Career

Richard S. Edwards' shakedown trials took her to Valparaiso, Chile, after which she returned to her new home port of San Diego on 13 May 1959. She was then deployed to the Far East, where she operated with the fast carrier units of the 7th Fleet and as a member of the U.S. Taiwan Patrol Force. She returned to the west coast exactly one year later, remaining in home waters there until deploying to the Far East again between February and September 1961.

Richard S. Edwards commenced her third Far East deployment on 13 November 1962 for fast carrier operations throughout the region, returning home in June 1963. She resumed local operations until getting underway for her fourth tour of duty in Asia in August 1964. During this deployment, Edwards engaged North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Tonkin Gulf on 18 September in the wake of the incident of 2-4 August. She returned to San Diego in January 1965.

Vietnam

Edwards returned to Vietnam on 1 March 1966, remaining there until 26 August 1966. Subsequent deployments took place between 3 November 1967 and 12 March 1968 and late January to August 1969. Following her last deployment, she entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for weapons upgrades, with were carried out between February 1970 and mid-January 1971.

On 4 March 1972, Edwards was moved to Pearl Harbor. Except for one tour of combat duty off the coast of Vietnam between 10 April and 10 November 1972, Edwards continued to operate in Hawaiian waters out of Pearl Harbor until she was decommissioned on 15 December 1982.

Fate

The USS Richard S. Edwards was scuttled in a target exercise off the coast of Kauai in May 1997.

Asbestos Risks

People who fought for the U.S. in the military have long known that their enlistments come with inherent risks, whether or not they experience time in battle. However, what many of our military personnel in the 1900s, especially those aboard navy ships, did not know was that asbestos inhalation could sometimes turn out to be nearly as life-threatening as enemy bullets.

The ability to control the spread of fire onboard an ocean-going vessel is critical; numerous maritime incidents attest to the hazards of conflagrations at sea. Given asbestos' superb ability to block flames, it seemed entirely appropriate for use in the construction of ships, and when ships like USS Richard S. Edwards were built, asbestos-containing materials were common. The problem with using asbestos is, along with its fireproofing properties, asbestos has also been associated with serious illnesses as pleural plaques and pleural mesothelioma. Asbestos causes illness in the body when it is friable (in other words, easily smashed into tiny particles) since it is then able to enter the body by being breathed in.

During the heat of battle or while hoping to ride out catastrophic storms, the chance of eventually contracting peritoneal mesothelioma was no doubt the furthest thing from most sailors' minds. But exposure to asbestos was in fact a severe secondary hazard of combat, as extensive damage to a ship frequently also damaged asbestos-containing parts so that particles could be inhaled by people nearby. And even during peaceful times, those who worked on ships like USS Richard S. Edwards still faced some amount of exposure since nearly every area of the ship had parts made with asbestos. Since asbestos was prevalent near ship's pipes and engines, service personnel with duties in such areas were especially in danger. Even shipyard personnel like welders were subject to coming down with asbestos-related diseases when they repaired U.S. Navy ships like Richard S. Edwards without using safety equipment.

Since asbestos-related illnesses like pericardial mesothelioma often do not show up until many years after a person was first subjected to asbestos exposure, they are quite difficult to diagnose. However, being aware of a patient's history of asbestos exposure can help a physician in being able to make an accurate diagnosis. Naval veterans who worked on or lived aboard USS Richard S. Edwards are therefore advised to discuss their history with their doctors. 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