USS Stribling (DD-867)

The USS Stribling (DD-867) was a Gearing-class destroyer built by at the Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Staten Island shipyard. The keel was laid on 1 January 1944; the hull was launched on 8 June 1945 and the completed vessel commissioned on 29 September 1945, Cmdr. J. D. Buckeley in command.

Early Service

Stribling underwent shakedown trials out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after which she reported for duty at the Fleet Sonar School in Key West, Florida. Her first days in active service were marred by a gruesome incident in which the body of a 19-year-old seaman was found hidden under a tarp in one of the gun turrets; he had beaten and strangled to death. Later, a crewmate confessed to committing the murder under bizarre circumstances.

In 1948, Stribling embarked upon the first of a several deployments to the Mediterranean Sea. Between 1948 and 1953, Stribling operated with the 6th Fleet for at least a few months of the year. During her first deployment to the "Med," she flew the United Nations flag during patrols off the coast of Palestine. In 1949, she became the first U.S. ship to visit a Spanish port since the Spanish Civil War 12 years earlier.

Korea

On 23 August 1953, Stribling left Norfolk Virginia for the Pacific. She initially operated in the Sea of Japan with the carriers of Task Forces 77, then moved over to the west side of the Korean peninsula with the United Nations Escort and Blockading Force.

In March 1954, Stribling got underway for home, continuing westward for a trip around the world. On the March 19, she put into Port Said, Egypt, and continued through the Mediterranean, arriving back in Norfolk on 10 April.

Cold War Ops

Over the next six years, Stribling continued her schedule of 6th Fleet deployments and tours of duty with the 2nd Fleet in the western Atlantic and Caribbean. She was in the Mediterranean in 1958 during the Lebanese Civil War, during which the president of that country called upon the United States for assistance.

The 1960s

From June 1960 until April 1961, Stribling was in the Charleston Naval Shipyard undergoing a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) overhaul. The objective of these overhauls was to (A) extend the useful service life of the vessel and (B) upgrade the vessel's antisubmarine (ASW) capabilities.

In February 1962, Stribling was part of the recovery team for astronaut John Glenn and his Mercury space capsule. In August, she again deployed to the Mediterranean, but spent at least a third of that tour in the Persian Gulf with the Middle East Force. During her time there, she participated in joint exercises with vessels of the Saudi and Iranian navies, visiting several exotic ports in the region.

In the spring of 1966, the destroyer received a Drone Anti-submarine Helicopter (DASH) system and, by 4 May 1966, completed DASH qualification.

Vietnam

Stribling continued her patterns of alternating deployments between the Atlantic-Caribbean and the Mediterranean until late January 1969. She then got underway for the Far East and combat duty in Vietnam.

Stribling's duties included bombardments of enemy shore positions, search and rescue missions and Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone (PIRAZ) duty. The latter involved air traffic control and monitoring the positions of over a hundred aircraft that might be in the air at any given moment. Stribling returned to Mayport on 17 September 1969.

The 1970s

The Stribling resumed her routine of Mediterranean deployments and duty in the Atlantic and Caribbean with the 2nd Fleet over the next three years. She made two deployments to the 6th Fleet during this period, the first one being from August 1970 to March 1971 and the other from February until September 1972.

On 22 October 1972, Stribling pursued an unidentified nuclear submarine, stalking her quarry for almost 48 hours.

A second deployment to Vietnam followed later that year; she started for home in March of 1973. In September and October 1974, Stribling took part in NATO exercise Northern Merger, visiting ports in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In mid-October 1974, she returned to port and resumed her eastern seaboard operations.

In early 1976, the 31-year-old destroyer Stribling got underway for the Mediterranean for the last time. Her bilge had been filled with concrete to plug several leaks that had not been repaired properly. During this mission, Stribling accidentally fired upon a French submarine during an ASW exercise. As of this writing, the consequences of that accident have not been made public.

Fate

Upon her return in July 1976, Stribling was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. She was sunk as a practice target four years later.

Asbestos Risks

Regardless of whether they were performing duties during peace or conflict, servicemen and servicewomen have long known that a stint in the military brings with it expected dangers. But as well as the obvious hazards associated with serving in the military, a more insidious one endangered soldiers and sailors in the 20th century: exposure to asbestos.

Being able to stop the spread of flames onboard a navy ship is critical; many maritime disasters illustrate the hazards of conflagrations at sea. Given asbestos' superb imperviousness to flames, it seemed eminently appropriate for use in ship construction, and at the time navy ships like USS Stribling were built, asbestos-containing materials were common. Unfortunately, what wasn't clearly understood or was at times overlooked was that contact with asbestos is the primary cause of debilitating conditions such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. Asbestos harms the human body when it is friable (in other words, easily smashed into tiny pieces) since it is then able to enter the body by being inhaled.

During the heat of battle or while hoping to survive catastrophic storms, the possibility of one day contracting mesothelioma was probably the last thing on most people's thoughts. But if a navy ship was subject to damage from enemy attack, during severe weather or through misfortune, it almost always exposed asbestos-containing material and permitted it to be exposed to the elements, leading to hazards beyond the obvious ones.

Furthermore, because virtually all spaces in ships like USS Stribling contained asbestos, those aboard typically faced some amount of asbestos exposure even when performing their routine jobs. With asbestos being widely used near ship's pipes and mechanical areas, service personnel who worked in such areas were particularly in danger. Those who repaired Stribling or other destroyers like her whenever she was in dry dock being serviced were faced with the possibility of asbestos exposure too.

Many asbestos-related disorders can take two or three decades to show up. In order to make an accurate diagnosis, a physician needs to be aware of a patient's experience with contact with asbestos. If you lived or worked aboard USS Stribling during your career, you should learn more about the signs of asbestos-related diseases and talk about your asbestos exposure history with your doctor. 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.

Sources:

1. NavSource. "USS STRIBLING." http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/0586621.jpg
2. USN. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (Web site). http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s19/Stribling-ii.htm
3. Wall, Ed. "Murder On Board" (various articles from the Miami Herald, 1946). http://ussStriblingdd867.org/1946Murder.html

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