USS Wallace L. Lind (DD-703)

USS Wallace L. Lind (DD-703), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was laid down on 14 February 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Kearny, New Jersey, and launched on 14 June 1944. The vessel was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 8 September 1944.

World War II

On 5 January 1945, Lind reported for duty with the Fast Carrier Task Force under Admiral William F. Halsey. Strikes against Luzon began on 6 January 1945 and were followed up with attacks on other Japanese-occupied locations along the Asian coast and initial attacks on Japan itself.

After a two-week period of routine upkeep in Ulithi, Wallace L. Lind set course for Okinawa, where her crew performed various duties ranging from screening the carriers to recovering downed pilots in addition to fighting off kamikaze suicide attackers. On 1 June, Lind arrived at San Pedro Bay, Philippines, and went alongside the repair service vessel USS Dixie for availability through 12 June.

Heading Home

Following a period of occupation duty, Lind arrived at her home port of Norfolk, Virginia, on 19 February 1946. For the next few years, her primary duties involved Naval Reserve training cruises in the Caribbean. In January 1949, the vessel commenced a Mediterranean cruise that lasted through 26 January 1950.

Korean War

On 6 September 1950, the destroyer sailed for the Far East, arriving off the coast of Korea on 13 October. Her tasks throughout most of her tour of duty were to provide naval gunfire support and minesweeping operations.

Wallace L. Lind returned to Norfolk on 9 June. For the next several years, she returned to her Caribbean and mid-Atlantic operations except for two deployments to the Mediterranean in 1956 and 1958-59 and a diplomatic cruise to Western Europe. The Lind underwent a major overhaul in Philadelphia between mid-October 1955 and 12 February 1956.

In November 1961, Wallace L. Lind underwent Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) II conversion. This overhaul amounted to a complete renewal of her aft superstructure in addition to other major upgrades.

Wallace L. Lind was declared ready for sea in August 1962, returning to her duties in the Caribbean and Atlantic.

In 1964, Lind was designated as the special project ship for the space program. Large cranes were installed on the fantail. In June, she was made available for hull work at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company prior to a fall Mediterranean deployment.

After four years of operations in the Caribbean and Atlantic and another tour of the Mediterranean, Lind was ordered to Vietnam in 1968.

Vietnam

During the summer of 1968, Lind was stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin as a "screen" for larger vessels. From 17 July through 9 October, the destroyer took three turns on the "Gunline" off the DMZ. She returned to Norfolk on 27 November for upkeep and post-deployment repairs.

The year 1969 was devoted almost entirely to maintenance and crew training. In 1970, Lind was stationed at Pearl Harbor, and from there she sailed to another Vietnam and Far East deployment.

During March and April 1971, Lind underwent necessary repairs. In July, Wallace L. Lind was assigned to Portland, Oregon, as her new home port. She assumed a new mission training reservists from the western states.

January, February, and March 1972 were spent undergoing repairs at Swan Island in Portland. After several months of operations along the Pacific Coast, Wallace L. Lind became active in the recruiting effort in addition to reservist training. During an availability in Portland, hull problems were discovered. On 12 February, the destroyer entered dry dock for nine days.

On 1 August, Wallace L. Lind departed Portland for Hawaii. However, two days out, she developed engine trouble and limped back to port.

ROKS Dae Gu

Wallace L. Lind was transferred to the Republic of Korea in 1973, where she served as the ROKS Dae Gu (DD-917) until 1994.

Asbestos Risks

The substance known as asbestos was widely employed for insulating compartments and for fireproofing in each US Navy vessel through both world wars. The vessel's boiler room and engineering spaces were usually the areas where seamen or maintenance workers were prone to inhale fibers of asbestos, but essentially all areas of a ship such as the Wallace L. Lind posed a measurable level of asbestos exposure. More risk of being subjected to extensive asbestos exposure occurred if a ship was damaged, in battle or by accident, since such events frequently uncovered asbestos-containing materials to the open air or subjected them to flames or water

With asbestos, the highest level of risk to human health happens in circumstances where products made from the mineral deteriorate and become easily broken (or "friable"); if tiny asbestos filaments escape into the air, the particles can then be inhaled by those in the area. Extensive research has proven that grave medical disorders such as asbestosis, lung cancer and several types of mesothelioma are linked to repeated asbestos contact.

Those workers and sailors who were exposed to asbestos fibers should definitely tell their physicians, since many asbestos-induced disorders are puzzling to diagnose. 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.

In addition to the inherent hazards of war, men who fought aboard the Wallace L. Lind were, as with sailors on other destroyers of this type, frequently in danger of asbestos inhalation. This was particularly true since the Lind suffered moderate damage in battle but went through extensive renovations and overhauls. In addition to the important repair work, those who worked aboard the ship were also subject to inhalation of asbestos fibers in the daily execution of their duty. The chance of encountering asbestos was also high for maintenance workers such as welders and mechanics who serviced the vessel whenever the craft spent time dry-docked.

Considering the Lind's history, and in light of our increased understanding of the outcome of prolonged contact with asbestos, it is vital that the sailors who at any point in their career lived or worked aboard this vessel, as well as those who served on her sister ships, learn about the dangers posed by wartime exposure to asbestos.

Sources

Destroyers Index