The USS Harold J. Ellison (DD-864) was a Gearing-class destroyer launched and commissioned in 1945. Over nearly four decades, her deployments included Cold War peacekeeping operations, combat duty in Vietnam, and participation in the early American space program. Unfortunately, those years also saw her crew members exposed to the many asbestos-containing materials found throughout the ship. Many veterans who served on the Ellison are at serious risk of developing malignant mesothelioma and other devastating asbestos-related illnesses.
About the USS Harold J. Ellison
The USS Harold J. Ellison was built at the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard on Staten Island, New York, launched in March 1945, and commissioned the following June under the command of Commander J. C. South.[1] Bethlehem Steel produced many of the naval vessels deployed during World War II, and much of the Staten Island facility’s work was dedicated to the construction of Gearing-class destroyers like the Ellison, which were built specifically for reinforcement of the Pacific Fleet. Like virtually every wartime shipbuilding facility, the company was later found to be a source of significant asbestos exposure for the workers involved in that effort, and the ships themselves exposed the sailors who served on them.
The Gearing-Class Destroyers
The USS Harold J. Ellison was one of 98 Gearing-class destroyers produced during and immediately after World War II. The ships’ improvements over those that preceded them included a hull extension that gave them greater fuel capacity. This extended their reach while still allowing for the speed and maneuverability needed for their assignments.[2]
The Ellison displaced 2,425 tons, was capable of sailing at 35 knots, and carried a complement of 367 officers and enlisted personnel. She was equipped with high-pressure boilers, steam turbines, steam lines, and associated systems that generated enormous heat while powering the ship. The compartments that housed the machinery, and the sailors responsible for their operation and maintenance, were protected from the heat by an assortment of insulation and other asbestos-containing materials that the Navy had mandated as part of safe shipboard construction. The spaces housing these systems were under-ventilated, which meant that airborne fibers were concentrated where crew members were working. This dramatically increased their exposure and led to many being diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer, or related diseases.
The Ship’s Namesake
The vessel was named in honor of the sacrifice of Ensign Harold John Ellison of the United States Navy. Born in 1917 in Buffalo, New York, Ellison completed flight training in 1941 and reported to Torpedo Squadron 8 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.
At the Battle of Midway, he and his fellow aviators launched a torpedo attack against Japanese naval forces despite knowing that they didn’t have enough fuel to return to the Hornet, and that they’d be flying without fighter cover. Though they scored no hits, the bombers pulled enemy combat air patrols away from Navy dive bombers and contributed materially to one of the most decisive American naval victories of the war. Ellison was presumed killed and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. His widow, Mrs. Audrey Ellison, served as sponsor of the destroyer at her March 1945 launch ceremony.[1]
Active Service and Tours of Duty
The Ellison had been scheduled to join the Pacific Fleet for the final assault on Japan, but was still completing her shakedown cruise when Japan surrendered in August 1945. Assigned to Norfolk for her home port, she spent the next two years conducting Naval Reserve training cruises and antisubmarine exercises in the Atlantic and Caribbean. In November 1947, she was periodically assigned to Mediterranean deployments focused on regional peacekeeping and protecting American interests.
In April 1951, she joined the search for a lost British submarine, and in 1953 was sent on European cruises and Caribbean operations, with East Coast tactical training and additional European deployments continuing through 1956. After the Suez Crisis, Ellison participated in peacekeeping operations in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the following summer, she screened carriers and cruisers when insurgents threatened the Lebanese government.
From September 1958 through April 1959, she operated with Task Group Alpha, refining tactics and equipment in antisubmarine warfare until Mediterranean cruises resumed in September 1959. In 1960, her home port shifted to Charleston, South Carolina, and in 1961, she operated in the Persian Gulf during the Kuwait crisis. In January 1962, the ship was assigned to Project Mercury as part of the Atlantic range recovery unit before entering the New York Naval Shipyard for a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) overhaul designed to extend her service life and enhance her combat readiness. She rejoined the fleet in early 1963 and continued Atlantic coast training and readiness operations through 1964, earning five Battle Efficiency “E” awards across her years of peacetime service.
in September 1965, the Ellison left Norfolk to reinforce fleet strength during the Vietnam War. During her combat deployment, she served as a rescue destroyer, screened carriers, conducted patrols, and fired more than 1,000 rounds in support of friendly troops against Viet Cong targets. Returning home through the Suez Canal, she completed a full circumnavigation of the globe upon her return to Norfolk in April 1966. A shipyard overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard followed through the rest of that year, and in 1967, the Ellison’s assignments took her to Brazil, around the southern tip of Africa, and then to the Middle East. In Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie went aboard the ship.[3]
The USS Harold J. Ellison returned from her final major overseas deployment with the U.S. Middle East Force in March 1971. Transferred to the Naval Reserve Force in July 1972, the ship became an underway training platform for drilling reservists from across the United States, participating in NATO exercises and demonstrating her continued ability to operate alongside fully manned fleet units. In July 1974, she deployed to the Mediterranean with the aircraft carrier USS Independence and two other escorts before returning to Norfolk. Her home port was shifted to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she continued reserve training operations along the eastern seaboard until being stricken from the Navy list in October 1983, and transferred to the Pakistan Navy. She was ultimately used for parts and sunk. Along with the USS William C. Lawe, she was the last of the Gearing destroyers.[3]
Where Was Asbestos Found on the USS Harold J. Ellison?
For much of the 20th century, the catastrophic health consequences linked to asbestos exposure were largely concealed from military personnel and the civilian workers whose lives were forever changed by this lack of information. Many of the manufacturers and distributors supplying asbestos-containing materials to the Navy had been informed about the mineral’s toxicity, but chose to suppress the information rather than jeopardize the highly profitable use of the mineral. Without adequate information, the Navy embraced asbestos as an indispensable construction material for insulation, fire resistance, chemical durability, structural versatility, and low cost. It ordered its use across hundreds of shipboard applications.
As a result, the USS Harold J. Ellison, as was true of nearly all naval vessels of her era, had asbestos embedded throughout her structure. Pipe insulation throughout the ship contained the mineral, as did the gaskets, packing seals, and joint compounds used across every mechanical system. Bonding agents, flooring materials, overhead linings, and the firefighting and protective equipment issued to crew members all contained asbestos in some form, but the heaviest concentrations were found in the spaces housing the ship’s propulsion plant—the boiler rooms, engine compartments, and turbine spaces—where the steam-powered equipment and high temperatures and pressures made thermal protection a necessity.
The Ellison’s FRAM overhaul at the New York Naval Shipyard in 1962 substantially added to the dangers her crew faced from asbestos. The modernization work involved workers dismantling sections of the ship’s existing structure, removing obsolete systems, and installing new weapons, electronics, and mechanical equipment—all of which involved cutting through, stripping away, and handling asbestos-containing materials that had been in place and slowly degrading for nearly two decades. Each phase of that demolition and reconstruction released asbestos fibers accumulated over years of shipboard operation into the enclosed spaces of the shipyard and the ship herself. The subsequent overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 1966 and another overhaul at the Portsmouth, Virginia, yard in 1973 created additional periods of vulnerability as aging asbestos-contaminated components were again disturbed, replaced, and handled by both shipyard workers and crew.
Asbestos Exposure Risks to Harold J. Ellison Crew Members
Many of the veterans who served on the Harold J. Ellison are at risk for mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. While every crew member aboard faced some level of asbestos exposure, those assigned to the engineering spaces and other machinery-intensive compartments were in the greatest danger, and today face the greatest long-term health risk from the deterioration of asbestos-containing materials they worked with and around.
Asbestos is a fibrous material, and whether from the stresses of normal shipboard operation, or the inevitable disturbance caused by maintenance and repair work, materials containing the toxic mineral constantly shed microscopic fibers that were invisible to the naked eye and light enough to remain suspended in the air for hours. Once inhaled, these needle-like particles can become permanently lodged in the tissue lining the lungs, abdomen, or heart, where no amount of coughing or other immune response can dislodge them. Over a latency period stretching from 20 to 50 years, the chronic inflammation and cellular damage they inflict can evolve into pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma, asbestosis, or other serious conditions.
Those at Greatest Risk
Those at greatest risk aboard the Ellison were the personnel stationed in the boiler and engine spaces, where poor ventilation and constant proximity to heavily insulated machinery created persistently high concentrations of asbestos fibers. The hazard did not stop at the doors to the engineering compartments. The technicians responsible for maintaining, repairing, and overhauling the ship’s mechanical and piping systems encountered asbestos-containing wrapping around all of the equipment they worked on, and asbestos fibers that hitched a ride on the clothing and bodies of crew members returning from these high-exposure work spread contamination throughout the ship. Berthing spaces, the mess decks, and every other area where shipmates gathered extended the risk to personnel with no direct connection to the machinery spaces.
The Ellison had a long service life spanning nearly four decades and encompassing multiple overhauls at different facilities. This work not only exacerbated the risk of asbestos exposure her crew members experienced, but extended it to civilian workers who participated in her conversions and maintenance periods. Even family members of shipyard workers faced secondary exposure to fibers carried home on their loved ones’ work clothes.
Support and Compensation for Veterans with Mesothelioma
Veterans who have served aboard the USS Harold J. Ellison and shipyard workers involved in her modernization and maintenance have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and other illnesses, and many others remain at risk. Many of those who have been sickened or have lost loved ones have successfully pursued legal action against the corporations whose asbestos-containing products created those conditions.
Health Monitoring
Those put at risk of asbestos-related diseases on the USS Harold J. Ellison—whether during her active fleet years, her reserve training period, or any of her overhaul intervals—should discuss that service history with their physician to make certain it is recorded in their permanent medical records. Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases typically progress without showing any symptoms at all, for decades. Documenting asbestos exposure history in medical records makes every healthcare professional treating you aware of your risk, leading them to pay close attention to relevant signs and ensuring that any symptoms that do arise receive appropriate attention. This significantly improves the odds of detection at a stage where treatment options are most meaningful.
VA Claims
Veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related condition following service aboard the Harold J. Ellison may be able to file a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs for disability benefits and medical support. The VA has acknowledged the impact of asbestos on veterans in every branch of service and has designated malignant mesothelioma as a condition qualifying for a 100% disability rating. Veterans who can establish a link between their shipboard service and their diagnosis may receive disability compensation along with access to specialized VA medical care at facilities across the country.
Legal Assistance for Asbestos-Illness Cases
In addition to VA benefits, those harmed by asbestos exposure during their time aboard or working on the Ellison may have grounds for legal claims against the manufacturers and distributors of the asbestos-containing products on the ship. Attorneys who specialize in getting justice for mesothelioma victims maintain detailed records of all aspects of asbestos and asbestos litigation, including the equipment on each ship, the specific suppliers responsible for these products, and the payments that these companies have been required to pay victims in the past.
These attorneys also have lists of the asbestos manufacturers that have declared bankruptcy as a result of asbestos-related judgments, many of which were required to establish dedicated asbestos trust funds for the benefit of future claimants as a condition of their bankruptcy protection. Those funds remain active and are estimated to hold $30 billion in reserve for victims. A mesothelioma attorney can determine which trusts apply to your situation, walk you through all available legal pathways, and make certain you’re aware of the statutes of limitations governing how long you have to bring a claim. With knowledgeable, experienced legal representation, Navy veterans and their families have the opportunity to secure the recognition and financial protection that their service deserves.
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