USS Stockham DD-683

USS Stockham (DD-683) was named after Gy. Sgt. Fred W. Stockham, USMC, and was a Fletcher-class destroyer. She was laid down in San Francisco by Bethlehem Steel Co. on 19 December 1942 and commissioned on 11 February 1944 with Cmdr. E. P. Holmes in the lead.

World War II

Stockham did shakedown training on the west coast and then went to Pearl Harbor. She left on 31 May for the Marshalls to invade the Mariana Islands. By 18 June she had gone to the west of the Islands to confront an enemy fleet. The battle was to be known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea. She had a role in the fight by downing three Japanese planes. She supported occupations of Tinian and Saipan until August when she went to Eniwetok Atoll and then made another trek to the Philippines.

By 1 October, she had entered Ulithi for maintenance. During this time, a typhoon struck, and she was set loose from her holdings. She later anchored but eventually had to continue to get away from the storm. Five days later she was beginning another trek near the Philippines. Several strikes followed on Formosa and Okinawa, along with carrier screening duties. By 26 October she had joined the 3rd Fleet.

Stockham spent much of the beginning of 1945 screening carriers. Several raids and bombings occurred throughout January in Formosa, Hainan and Okinawa. She spent two weeks at Ulithi for upkeep and then set out to bomb Tokyo on 16 February. Then, she brought down a plane in the Volcano Islands, screened carriers, and sank a patrol craft near Tori Shima. Early March saw her back in Ulithi, and then she joined in sweeps of Okinawa and Kerama Retto on 14 March with Fast Carrier Task Force. Stockham protected the invasion fleet until 29 April while landings on Okinawa took place. During this time, she bombarded islands and took down two Zekes. After conducting a few drills, she helped stave off enemy attacks while screening the fleet, and then she helped ships in need of repair get to Guam.

In the summer, she screened more fleet carriers and bombarded Cape Shiono on 24 July. On 15 August, she helped the landings at Tateyama and Tokyo Bay. She took part in minesweeping in Sendai Bay and then trained in Tokyo Bay starting on 19 September. She was eventually decommissioned in San Diego.

Korean War and After

In 1951, Stockham was recommissioned to serve in the Korean War. As a part of the Atlantic Fleet, she joined up with the United Nations Fleet in the Far East near Japan. In July 1954, she went to the Boston Naval Shipyard for overhaul and then had a shakedown in the Caribbean. She spent much time all over the world with the 6th Fleet in 1956, including work on anti-submarine exercises.

Fate

Stockham went to Newport on 23 February 1957 and was decommissioned in September. She stayed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet for several years before being removed from the Naval Vessel Register and eventually being sunk in target practice near Puerto Rico on 17 February 1977.

Asbestos Risks

In the first seven decades of the 20th century, each American naval ship commonly used the mineral asbestos for insulating compartments and for fireproofing. Essentially all areas of the Stockham presented at least some asbestos contamination, the ship's boilers and engineering compartments were usually the sections where crewmen or maintenance workers were likely to be exposed to airborne asbestos. If the craft was hit in combat, by Mother Nature, or through misfortune, it often uncovered asbestos-contaminated fixtures to the open air or subjected them to fire or flooding, which meant further risk of undergoing major asbestos exposure.

The highest level of risk of harmful exposure with asbestos is experienced when products made from the mineral deteriorate and become fragile; when very small asbestos strands escape into the surrounding air, the particles can then be breathed in by those near the hazard. A history of asbestos proximity is known to be extensively associated with malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, cancer, and other dangerous medical disorders.

Seamen with a history of contact with asbestos should therefore promptly notify their primary care physicians, as many asbestos-related conditions can be tricky to detect. To learn more about the diagnostic process, available treatment options and financial assistance to help pay for medical costs, please fill in the form on this page to receive a comprehensive packet in the mail.

Along with the normal dangers of combat, crewmen who lived and worked aboard the Stockham were, like sailors on the other craft of this class, frequently imperiled by asbestos exposure even though the destroyer endured minimal combat damage and required mostly routine redesigns and overhauls. Despite the lack of major battle damage and retrofit work, the men who lived and worked on board the Stockham were still exposed to asbestos fibers in the normal course of their loyal service.

Moreover, this was particularly true for repair personnel such as machinists and carpenters who maintained this naval vessel when the destroyer spent time at a shipyard. For the troops who fought and toiled aboard the Stockham at any time in their career, and those assigned to other Navy ships, it is critical to learn more about the risks posed by service-related exposure to asbestos, especially in light of what we now know about the result of asbestos inhalation.

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