The USS Higbee was a Navy vessel that sailed from the end of World War II through the Vietnam War. The ship won battle stars for her participation in naval operations in the Pacific during World War II and the Korean conflict, had a notable place in history in the Vietnam War, and ended her service as a Naval Reserve Force vessel. Like other naval vessels of its time, the Higbee’s infrastructure contained significant amounts of asbestos that provided benefits at the time, but eventually created devastating health consequences, including mesothelioma and lung cancer for those onboard or who maintained the vessel.
About the USS Higbee
Nicknamed “Leaping Lena” by her crew, the Higbee has the distinction of having been the first American warship bombed during the Vietnam War. The ship was a Gearing-class destroyer, a design that reflects advancements from the previous Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer. After her construction and before her initial deployment, the Higbee underwent conversion to a radar picket destroyer at Boston. Throughout her operational life, the ship underwent several significant modifications, including a six-month modernization that incorporated an enlarged Combat Information Center, new height-finding radar, and an improved anti-aircraft battery in 1953 and an update through the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program from 1963 to 1964. [1]
The vessel was the first that the U.S. Navy named after a female figure in naval history. Lenah S. Higbee was one of the first twenty nurses in the Navy Nurse Corps and was the second woman named its superintendent. Credited for helping establish new opportunities for women in the military, she was the first living woman to receive the Navy Cross.[2]
The ship was built by the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, sponsored by Mrs. Higbee’s sister, Mrs. A.M. Wheaton, and launched in November 1944. The destroyer was commissioned in January 1945 under the command of Commander Lindsay Williamson.
Operational History and Deployments
The USS Higbee conducted shakedown exercises in Caribbean waters before being deployed to the Pacific in May 1945. She joined Carrier Task Force 38 less than 400 miles from Tokyo Bay and participated in campaigns against the Japanese mainland until hostilities concluded on August 15, 1945. After the war ended, the ship supported occupation operations for seven months before returning to San Diego. She conducted Western Pacific peacetime cruises, including escorting the heavy cruiser USS Toledo as it conducted official diplomatic visits to the newly established governments of India and Pakistan during the summer of 1948.[1]
When North Korean forces invaded South Korea in June 1950, the Higbee was immediately sent to Korean waters with the Seventh Fleet. She primarily protected supply lines and aircraft carriers launching strikes against Communist positions. In September 1950, the ship participated in the Inchon landing operation, providing shore bombardment and screening support for amphibious forces. After returning to San Diego in 1951, she completed two additional Korean War deployments before the conflict ended.
After a six-month modernization at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, she began a series of six-month Western Pacific deployments that included participation in multinational exercises with Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) naval forces. Between deployments, she returned to San Diego for maintenance and training.[1]
In May 1960, the ship’s home port shifted to Yokosuka, Japan, allowing her to participate in more sustained operations along the Asian coast. After two years, she returned to the United States, using San Francisco as her new home port. The following year, the Higbee underwent the comprehensive Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization overhaul that extended almost all of the Gearing-class destroyers’ operational lifespan.[3]
In early 1964, the Higbee conducted training exercises along the West Coast before returning to Yokosuka in July. During the Tonkin Gulf incident, the ship screened carriers of Task Force 77 in the South China Sea, and in February 1965, the Higbee supported the 9th Marine Brigade operations at Danang, Vietnam. Later that year, she participated in recovery operations for a Gemini space mission and helped rescue the crew of a French tanker after it had grounded near Scarborough Shoals in the South China Sea.[1]
After bombardment operations in Vietnam against enemy positions near Cape St. Jacques and the Saigon River mouth, she returned to the United States, with Long Beach serving as her new home port. After a major refit at Mare Island shipyard, the Higbee returned to Vietnam.
On April 19, 1972, the Higbee became the first U.S. warship to sustain bomb damage during the Vietnam conflict when North Vietnamese MiG-17 aircraft attacked her. A 250-kilogram bomb was dropped onto the ship’s rear 5-inch gun mount, destroying it and wounding four American sailors.
After Vietnam, the Higbee served with Destroyer Squadron 27 based in Long Beach, California, spending her later years as a Naval Reserve Force. The ship was finally decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on July 15, 1979, and was sunk as a target in 1986.
The USS Higbee’s service was recognized with one bronze service star for its World War II service and six bronze service stars for its Korean Service.[4] In 1978, the Higbee achieved the highest Naval Gunfire Support score of any vessel in the U.S. Navy.[1]
Where Was Asbestos Used on the USS Higbee?
The USS Higbee was built during the mid-1940s wartime shipbuilding surge, when asbestos materials were incorporated into virtually every compartment and system of Navy ships. Asbestos was considered indispensable due to its exceptional fire resistance, thermal insulation, and strength, and those benefits were enhanced by its easy accessibility and low weight and cost. The military specifically required that asbestos be used in hundreds of shipboard applications, primarily to prevent fires, which would have catastrophic results at sea.[5] Despite growing knowledge of the health hazards posed by its use, manufacturers stayed silent, prioritizing continued profits over the health of sailors and others.
Asbestos was found in numerous critical applications throughout the USS Higbee. The most contaminated areas were the vessel’s engineering spaces, as asbestos was used to insulate the area as well as the boilers, turbines, pumps, and valves. The ship’s extensive network of steam distribution piping represented another hazard, as it was either sprayed with asbestos insulation or wrapped with it. Maintenance activities and routine operations in these areas disturbed asbestos components, generating significant asbestos dust in cramped, poorly ventilated compartments.
Asbestos could also be found in fireproofing and firefighting equipment and safety gear. It was compressed into panels designed to add strength during combat and used in materials in the crew’s living quarters, mess facilities, administrative spaces, and work areas.
In addition to the threat posed by life onboard the ship, the Higbee’s multiple modernizations and updates posed exposure risks to sailors and shipyard workers alike. Both the six-month 1953 refit and the 1963-1964 FRAM program involved the removal of original asbestos-containing materials and the installation of new components that also contained asbestos. These renovation activities released even more asbestos fibers throughout the vessel.
Health Consequences for Naval Personnel Aboard the USS Higbee
The significant asbestos exposure that personnel serving onboard the ship experienced had the potential for devastating health effects. The vessel’s confined spaces, filled with asbestos-containing equipment, with their limited ventilation, created perfect conditions for asbestos fibers to circulate. Whenever maintenance, vibrations from combat, or renovation projects disturbed the materials, microscopic asbestos fibers were released into the ship’s atmosphere, where they could eventually be inhaled or ingested by personnel unaware of the hazard in the dust that surrounded them.
Once asbestos fibers enter the respiratory system, their structure makes them nearly impossible to expel, and their chemical durability means that they don’t break down. Embedded in lung tissue, they begin a prolonged inflammatory response and cellular damage that can lead to scarring or the formation of tumors. Making things worse, this process happens slowly and silently over decades, allowing internal damage to progress until symptoms appear between 20 and 50 years later. The diagnoses range from pleural plaques or asbestosis to lung cancer or mesothelioma, the deadly and aggressive form of cancer that affects the lining surrounding the lungs and other organs.
The human impact of this exposure is seen in the significant representation of Navy veterans among all mesothelioma victims: roughly one-third of all those diagnosed served in the Navy. One example is the case of Peter Galassi, who served as a machinist aboard the USS Higbee and other naval vessels between 1963 and 1980. Throughout his naval career, Galassi maintained and repaired pumps, valves, and mechanical systems containing asbestos components, regularly removing and replacing asbestos-containing parts during maintenance procedures that created what he described as “dirty and dusty” conditions. He began experiencing mesothelioma symptomsmore than two decades later and was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in early 2005. He died just six months later.[6]
Resources for Navy Veterans Sickened by Asbestos
Former USS Higbee crew members diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases have several options for compensation in the face of these devastating illnesses. Those able to prove the link between their service and their diagnosis may be eligible for VA benefits ranging from comprehensive medical care to financial compensation. For particularly aggressive conditions like mesothelioma, the VA typically assigns 100% disability ratings, providing maximum monthly compensation to offset income loss and medical expenses not covered through standard healthcare programs.
In addition to the resources offered by the VA, those affected by mesothelioma have the right to sue the asbestos companies that manufactured and supplied asbestos products to the Navy. The case of Peter Galassi demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach, as a San Francisco jury awarded his family $2.3 million in damages. The jury found John Crane Inc. partially liable (2%) for defective product design and failure to warn about the dangers of asbestos in the parts Galassi worked with during his service aboard the Higbee and other vessels.[6]
Many asbestos manufacturers and suppliers forced into bankruptcy have been required to establish dedicated trust funds specifically designed to compensate individuals harmed by their products. Though these programs generally result in less compensation than filing a lawsuit, they are generally resolved more quickly in a less stressful process, providing immediate relief to affected veterans and their families.
Navy veterans concerned about the risks posed by their long-ago asbestos exposure should check in with their healthcare providers: alerting them to your history can result in regular screening and early detection. Those already diagnosed are well served by speaking with a mesothelioma attorney who specializes in asbestos exposure cases. These legal professionals can help you navigate the veterans’ benefits system, the asbestos trust fund application process, and personal injury lawsuits. They will be an invaluable resource for getting you the state-of-the-art medical care you need and the financial support you deserve.
References
View All References
