The USS Rich (DD-820) was a Navy destroyer that spent three decades supporting American objectives. The vessel played a role in many important moments, from the Suez Crisis to the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Apollo space missions. Like almost all ships of her time, the Rich was built with substantial quantities of asbestos, the carcinogenic mineral that causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other disabling illnesses.
About the USS Rich
Build in the period immediately following World War II, the USS Rich was one of 98 Gearing-class destroyers that represented the culmination of years of evolving and improving design. The ship was launched in October 1945 at the Consolidated Steel Corporation shipyard in Orange, Texas. Among the significant improvements the Gearing-class had over previous destroyer classes was an extended hull that gave it substantially more range and improved damage resistance. Her technical specifications included a 2,425-ton displacement, overall length of 390 feet 10 inches, 41-foot beam, and maximum speed exceeding 35 knots, powered by Babcock & Wilcox boilers and a General Electric advanced steam turbine propulsion system.[1]
Originally ordered as a multi-purpose destroyer, the Rich’s primary mission focus shifted, leading to an almost immediate conversion to an anti-submarine warfare configuration at New York Naval Shipyard in 1947. This was made official in March 1950 when she was redesignated as DDE-820 (Escort Destroyer). Over the thirty years that she operated, the Rich underwent several significant modernizations to equip her with appropriate tools to respond to evolving maritime threats. the most notable of these conversions was the comprehensive Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM I) she underwent during a ten-month shipyard period from 1963 to 1964, which substantially enhanced her combat systems, surveillance capabilities, and crew accommodations while extending her projected service life.[1]
Over her decades of diverse missions and deployments, the USS Rich earned a record of excellence. During the 1950s, she deployed multiple times to the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet, participating in critical operations during the 1956 Suez Crisis and supporting the 1958 Marine Corps landing in Lebanon. The ship participated in the early space program, providing recovery support for President Kennedy’s South American flight, participating in Colonel John Glenn’s historic Mercury mission, and supporting multiple Gemini space recoveries. Among her many scientific contributions was when she served as the Atlantic station vessel during the Apollo X lunar mission came in May 1969. [2]
The destroyer also had combat experience. During her Vietnam deployment in 1968, she provided escort protection and plane guard services for aircraft carriers conducting strike operations from the Gulf of Tonkin. She later switched to search-and-rescue duties off North Vietnam’s coastline, then ended her combat tour with naval gunfire support missions helping South Vietnamese Army and Marine Corps operations in northern South Vietnam. After her Vietnam service, the USS Rich conducted extensive operations with the Middle East Force in the Indian Ocean, demonstrating American naval presence in the region.[2]
Deployment History of the USS Rich
The USS Rich was named in honor of Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Ralph McMaster Rich, a distinguished naval aviator who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism during the pivotal Battle of Midway. Rich was born in 1916, in North Dakota, and enlisted in the Naval Reserve in October 1939 before receiving flight training at Pensacola. During the June 1942 Midway engagement, he shot down an enemy torpedo plane while protecting the USS Yorktown and led fighter coverage that let American dive bombers safely reach Japanese fleets. Days after this historic battle, Lieutenant Rich died in an aircraft accident. Lieutenant Rich’s widow served as official sponsor at he ship’s October 1945 launching ceremony. The ship was commissioned in July 1946, under Commander R.C. Houston’s leadership.[2]
After her initial shakedown in the Caribbean, the USS Rich was deployed to the Mediterranean for patrol duties, then returned for her anti-submarine warfare conversion at New York Naval Shipyard. She went to Key West to learn advanced submarine detection and neutralization techniques, then spent the early 1950s alternating between Atlantic Fleet exercises and Mediterranean deployments.
After a comprehensive FRAM I modernization that upgraded her combat systems, surveillance capabilities, and habitability features, she returned to Atlantic Fleet operations until being sent to Vietnam for combat operations in 1968. After her Southeast Asian combat tour and an Indian Ocean deployment, the vessel spent the 1970s conducting regular Atlantic-Mediterranean operational rotations.[2]
The Rich’s operational lifetime ended unexpectedly in 1977 when she collided with fleet oiler USS Caloosahatchee off the coast of Puerto Rico during underway refueling operations. The accident was caused by a steering system malfunction aboard the destroyer, and the estimated costs of repairing her proved economically unreasonable. Naval authorities decommissioned the USS Rich in November 1977 and struck her from the Naval Vessel Register the following month. She was sold for scrap metal recovery in December 1979.
Asbestos Use Onboard the USS Rich
Though today we know that asbestos is a toxic, carcinogenic material, between the 1930s and 1970s, it was standard Navy practice to use the substance in Navy ships. The USS Rich was no exception. The vessel was heavily fortified and insulated with the material from the time she was originally built through her multiple upgrading and conversion phases.
There were several reasons that naval engineers specified that asbestos be included in so many shipboard applications, but it was primarily chosen for its superior thermal insulation qualities, fire retardance, and electrical resistance. It was also favored for being lightweight, inexpensive, and readily available.
Following Navy specifications and unaware of the dangers, shipbuilders used these dangerous materials regularly, while at the same time, asbestos manufacturers were suppressing emerging scientific research showing the serious health risks associated with the mineral. Rather than acting to protect workers, veterans, and others occupationally exposed to asbestos, many aggressively marketed their products to military authorities.
Asbestos contamination could be found in virtually every compartment of the USS Rich, with particularly high concentrations in these critical areas:
- Propulsion Compartments: These primary engineering spaces held boilers, steam turbines, pumps, condensers, and associated high-temperature components essential that were heavily insulated with asbestos.
- Firefighting Systems: Emergency response equipment, including firefighting equipment and clothing, thermal barriers and blankets, and damage control gear incorporated asbestos materials because of its superior heat-resistant qualities.
- Pipe and Utility Systems: Miles of steam pipes, exhaust ducts, electrical conduits, and water lines that ran from one end of the vessel to the other were sprayed with asbestos or wrapped with asbestos insulation materials to optimize their thermal efficiency and prevent injuries to pipefitters, plumbers, electricians, and others.
- Living Quarters: The crew’s quarters and mess used asbestos in overhead panels, bulkhead insulation, flooring materials, and acoustic tiles.
Medical Consequences of Asbestos Exposure
There were approximately 5,600 military personnel assigned to the USS Rich throughout her operational history, and all of them were at risk of being exposed to asbestos. Routine shipboard activities that seemed benign may have played a part in asbestos-related diseases that developed decades later. The toxic material floated into virtually all vessel compartments through the ship’s ventilation systems and personnel movement, and airborne concentrations intensified during maintenance activities that disturbed installed materials, equipment vibration from firing shipboard guns, and normal deterioration.
When microscopic asbestos fibers enter the human respiratory system, they can penetrate the cells that line the organs that line the cavity that holds the lungs. Because of the needle-like ends characteristic of asbestos, it is nearly impossible for the body to expel them, and the durability that makes asbestos so desirable in industrial settings also helps it resist natural breakdown that would eliminate other foreign bodies. Eventually, a progressive inflammatory response begins, leading to cellular damage and potential genetic mutations.
These biological processes are slow and invisible. It can take as long as five decades for tumors and scarring to show up as symptoms of serious health conditions like mesothelioma or asbestosis, and by then, the diseases have advanced beyond effective treatment.
Who Was at Risk for Asbestos Exposure Onboard the USS Rich?
While all crew members who served on the USS Rich faced the possibility of asbestos exposure, there were some duties and job specialties that carried elevated risks. Those in the greatest danger were the crew members who spent time in the engineering spaces, managing, operating, and repairing the ship’s propulsion systems, but damage control teams who handling emergency repairs also faced constant exposure, and maintenance specialists conducting routine system were frequently tasked with scraping asbestos off of parts, raising clouds of asbestos dust that was nearly impossible to avoid. When you combine the heavy concentration of asbestos dust with the cramped, poorly ventilated spaces onboard the ship, it’s easy to see why so many crew members were later affected by asbestos-related diseases.
Similarly, the vessel’s multiple modernizations and upgrades, including her extensive FRAM I conversion, created additional risk of dangerous fiber release both for those who lived on the ship during the work and the shipyard workers assigned to administer the changes.
While the USS Rich had a thirty-year history of naval operations, the health impact of asbestos exposure extends far beyond the ship’s crew’s active service time. Respiratory diseases associated with asbestos exposure frequently manifest decades after initial exposure, meaning that anybody who served on the ship lives with a cloud of uncertainty. Delayed-onset conditions like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and pleural effusions generally don’t emerge until Navy veterans are in their retirement years, when they should be enjoying life and family instead of battling a devastating illness.
Resources and Legal Options for Veterans Exposed to Asbestos on the USS Rich
Crew members who served on the USS Rich, as well as shipyard personnel involved in her construction, modernization, and repair, likely experienced asbestos exposure during their years of service. If this exposure has led to a diagnosis of an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma, you may qualify for specialized disability benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. You also may be able to file claims with asbestos trust funds or file a personal injury lawsuit against the companies whose asbestos-contaminated products exposed you to the toxic mineral.
The VA Claims System
Successfully navigating the VA claims process is challenging, but provides comprehensive benefits including specialized medical treatment at either VA healthcare facilities or state-of-the-art civilian treatment centers with expertise in asbestos-related disease management. The VA makes its disability decisions after reviewing documentation that links their service history with their disease. Veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma are generally assigned a 100% disability rating, which maximizes the compensation provided to both the veteran and their eligible dependents.
Personal Injury Lawsuits, Wrongful Death Claims, and Asbestos Trust Funds
Beyond government programs, affected service members and their survivors have the legal right to pursue compensation directly from the corporations that manufactured and distributed asbestos products throughout the Navy’s supply chain. Though more adversarial and time-consuming, this option frequently results in substantial financial settlements or, if the case goes to trial, significant jury verdicts that hold asbestos companies liable for knowingly supplying dangerous materials without appropriate warnings.
Additionally, numerous asbestos manufacturers have established court-mandated bankruptcy trust funds specifically designated to compensate exposure victims following corporate reorganization proceedings. Though these funds generally provide less compensation than pursuing litigation, they also release their funds to victims relatively quickly, and the process is less adversarial.
A Mesothelioma Lawyer Can Help
Former USS Rich crew members who are experiencing respiratory symptoms or are concerned about their historical asbestos exposure should speak with their healthcare provider about their risk factors so that a monitoring and screening process can be put in place. If you’ve been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, consulting with an asbestos attorney who specializes in seeking justice and compensation for mesothelioma victims can provide you with a comprehensive evaluation of your options.
These experienced lawyers will review your individual service history and exposure periods to determine which manufacturers and suppliers are responsible. With that information, you can pursue claims against the appropriate asbestos trust funds and identify the potential defendants for a lawsuit. They can also help you navigate the complex VA benefits process and represent you in all potential legal proceedings.
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