USS Trever DD-339

USS Trever (DD-339/DMS-16/AG-110) was a Clemson-class destroyer, built at the Mare Island Navy Yard near San Francisco. She was launched on 15 September 1920 and commissioned two years later under command of Lieutenant H. E. Snow.

Pre-war Years

After her shakedown cruise, Trever was taken out of commission for seven years. The ship was recalled to active duty on 2 June 1930, operating out of San Diego with the Battle Force.

In November 1940, she was converted into a high-speed minesweeper and redesignated DMS-16, then stationed at Pearl Harbor.

World War II

On the morning of 7 December 1941, Trever was moored in West Loch with other minesweepers. Her crew engaged the incoming enemy aircraft before escaping into the open sea. Trever spent the next several months conducting minesweeping operations, local escort missions, and antisubmarine (ASW) patrols.

Before sailing for the invasion of Guadalcanal in August 1942, Trever was refitted at Mare Island with heavier armaments. Her first assignment was to screen then bombard Japanese shore batteries on the island of Gavutu. This was followed by several months of convoy runs between the forward bases and the Solomons, during which her crew engaged the enemy numerous times. In January 1943, Trever steamed to Australia for overhaul, arriving in Sydney on 27 January.

Onward

Trever returned to escort duties in February. Over the summer of 1943, she took part in operations in the New Georgia campaign until getting underway to escort an eastbound convoy to San Francisco in mid-August.

After undergoing an overhaul at Mare Island, Trever returned to Pearl Harbor, reporting on 8 October before heading for Guadalcanal. On 11 November, she joined the screen for the USS American Legion, escorting her to Empress Augusta Bay. Later that month, Trever took part in the Bougainville landings.

For the next year, Trever's primary missions consisted of convoy escorts and target towing duty.

On 18 December 1944, as she was escorting a convoy toward the Western Carolines, Trever was caught in the storm that came to be known as "Halsey's Typhoon." Visibility dropped to zero and winds blew at up to 100 mph. At 4:30 in the afternoon, a man making emergency repairs topside was washed overboard, and Trever immediately began a search for the missing sailor. Two hours later, she picked up her man: bruised, battered, and in shock - but alive.

The following day, Trever put into Guam and transferred her injured seaman to the naval hospital on shore. On 24 December, she got underway for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 31 December. Trever proceeded to the Naval Repair Base in San Diego, and repairs commenced on 9 January 1945.

End Game

Upon completion of her repairs, Trever headed for Oahu on 25 March 1945, operating out of out of Pearl Harbor for the duration. On 4 June 1945, she was reclassified as a miscellaneous auxiliary and designated as AG-110.

On 22 September 1945, she sailed out of Pearl Harbor for the last time, returning to San Diego. After repairs, she proceeded to the Norfolk, Virginia, NOB, arriving on 21 October. There, she stood down on 23 November and was sold for scrap a year later.

Asbestos Risks

On every American navy ship through both world wars, the mineral asbestos was widely utilized for insulating pipes and for fireproofing. A vessel's boiler room and engineering spaces were usually the sections where a crewman or shipyard workers were likely to be exposed to air contaminated by asbestos; nevertheless, essentially all areas of a ship such as the USS Trever presented a measurable level of asbestos contamination. When the vessel was damaged, whether in battle, by Mother Nature, or accidentally, it almost inevitably exposed asbestos-contaminated compartments to the air or subjected them to flames or water, which brought about even greater danger of experiencing extensive asbestos inhalation.

The greatest danger of exposure relating to asbestos is experienced where strands become friable, since if very small asbestos filaments escape into the surrounding air, the material may then be inhaled by those close to the asbestos. Historically, asbestos proximity is known to be extensively associated with pleural mesothelioma, asbestosis, cancer of the lungs, and many other major medical disorders.

Therefore, those workers and sailors who worked around asbestos fibers should definitely inform their physicians, as many asbestos-induced problems are hard to distinguish from other illnesses. 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.

As with sailors on the other vessels of her type, the men who lived and worked on board the Trever were, in addition to the normal hazards of battle, endangered by asbestos inhalation. Besides the asbestos exposure caused by battle damage and retrofit activity, the troops who lived and worked on board the ship were often subject to inhalation of asbestos in the daily execution of their loyal service. Although the Trever absorbed only moderate damage in combat, during her long time in service, she underwent extensive reworkings and overhauls; therefore, asbestos exposure was a daily occurrence for maintenance workers such as machinists and carpenters who serviced the ship whenever the ship was dry-docked.

Given what we now know about the outcome of asbestos inhalation, the sailors who sailed and worked aboard this naval vessel at any time in their career, as well as those who served on similar ships, need to learn more about the risks posed by their past exposure to this deadly mineral, particularly considering the ship's history.

Sources:

Destroyers Index