The USS Porterfield (DD-682) was a ship constructed for the U.S. Navy as America entered World War II. A Fletcher-class destroyer, she was built at a time when asbestos was thought to be a miracle mineral and was relied upon in shipbuilding for strength and fireproofing. The material was incorporated into much of the ship’s equipment and supplies. Consequently, the sailors who served aboard the Porterfield, as well as the workers who built, repaired, and maintained the vessel, faced a heightened risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses.
About the USS Porterfield and Asbestos
The USS Porterfield was named in honor of Lewis Broughton Porterfield, an Alabama native who began his Navy career as a cadet in 1898. Porterfield rose through the ranks, receiving the Distinguished Service Medal for anti-submarine operations during World War I and achieving the title of Rear Admiral in 1937. He also served as Chief of Staff in the 12th Naval District. Porterfield died in April 1942, and the vessel that was named for him was sponsored by his widow, Mrs. Louis B. Porterfield.[1]
The ship was laid down in December 1942, just days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the United States into World War II. The ship was built by the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard in San Pedro, California, and launched on June 13, 1943. She was commissioned in October of that year with Commodore J.C. Woefel in command.[1]
The Porterfield measured 376 feet in length, displaced 2,050 tons, and had a range of 6,500 nautical miles. It carried a crew of 329 officers and enlisted personnel. As one of 175 Fletcher-class destroyers commissioned by the U.S. Navy between 1942 and 1944, it was designed to reach speeds of 38 knots and was armed with five 5-inch guns and ten 21-inch torpedo tubes. Like other Fletcher-class destroyers, the Porterfield was equipped with what was known as a “superheat control boiler” that heated through the firing of an entirely separate furnace from which the steam was generated.[2] The USS Porterfield’s superheat boiler was manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox, a company well known for its use of asbestos components.[3]
The Porterfield participated in several Pacific campaigns during World War II, earning ten battle stars. After being briefly decommissioned at the end of the war, the ship was reactivated in 1951 for the Korean War, where she earned four additional battle stars. The ship remained in service until 1969, including operations with amphibious groups off the coast of Vietnam from 1964 to 1966. In her final years, the Porterfield served as part of the Pacific Midshipman Training Squadron.[1]
Deployment and Active Service
The USS Porterfield’s service spanned three decades and three major conflicts. Through World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, the vessel demonstrated both versatility and durability, responding to mission requirements that ranged from shore bombardment to anti-aircraft defense to anti-submarine warfare.
In January 1944, the United States was thoroughly engaged in World War II. The recently commissioned Porterfield quickly ended her shakedown period and joined operations in the Pacific theater. The ship’s early assignments involved shore bombardment in the Marshall Islands campaign, screening battleships, and supporting carrier operations. Throughout her first year, she served primarily as part of carrier screening forces, protecting the Allies’ aircraft carriers during operations against Japanese positions across the Pacific.[1]
In 1944, USS Porterfield participated in campaigns including the Marshall Islands, the Marianas, Palau, and the Philippines. In 1945, she was engaged in campaigns in the South China Sea, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Throughout her service, she rescued several downed pilots and demonstrated skill in anti-aircraft operations, particularly during the intense kamikaze attacks that characterized the war in 1945. In February of that year, Porterfield engaged and sank a 150-foot Japanese picket boat despite difficult sea conditions, and the ship distinguished itself repeatedly during the Okinawa campaign, shooting down four Japanese aircraft in a single engagement despite having one gun out of commission and helping the damaged destroyers Leutze and Newcomb, rescuing survivors while still under enemy attack. The USS Porterfield continued screening and bombardment duties until engine damage forced her to return to Puget Sound Navy Yard for repairs, where she remained through the end of the war.[1]
The Porterfield was decommissioned after World War II ended and spent six years in reserve. The ship was recommissioned in 1951 to support United Nations operations during the Korean War, joining Task Force 77 off Korea’s east coast to perform screening duties for carriers and participate in shore bombardment operations. Later, she operated with Task Group 95.11 in the Yellow Sea off Korea’s west coast.[1]
After the Korean War, Porterfield spent the years between 1954 and 1958 shifting between training operations off California and regular Western Pacific deployments. In 1958, she participated in the Taiwan Strait Patrol during heightened tensions between mainland China and Taiwan over the offshore islands, and in 1959, her mission reflected the changing priorities of the Cold War as she operated as part of Hunter Killer Anti-Submarine Task Groups.[1]
The USS Porterfield continued being deployed to the western Pacific throughout the early 1960s, and once American involvement in Vietnam escalated, the ship worked with amphibious groups off the Vietnamese coast. She was decommissioned in late 1969 and removed from the Naval Vessel Register in 1975.[1]
How Was Asbestos Used on the USS Porterfield?
During World War II, the U.S. government mandated the use of asbestos in the construction of all Navy ships. The decision to include the mineral in these important assets was based on its excellent insulating properties and fireproofing capabilities, as well as the added benefits of being lightweight, affordable, and widely available. While asbestos was considered a vital resource for military and government projects at the time, it later came to be notorious for its toxic effects.
By the mid-1970s, the military was aware that asbestos had been linked to malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, and asbestos-related lung cancer and began removing it from its ships, but this decision came too late for those who had served onboard the Porterfield. It’s been determined that asbestos was incorporated into hundreds of ship components during Navy ship construction and outfitting, particularly in the parts and insulation of the ship’s turbines and boilers where it acted as a crucial insulator against the intense heat and fire hazards generated by this equipment.
Some of the parts and equipment on the USS Porterfield that contained asbestos included:
- Firefighting equipment
- Gunner’s gloves
- Gaskets and valves
- Deck matting
- Spray insulation
- Rope
Who Was at Greatest Risk of Exposure to Asbestos on the USS Porterfield?
Engineering personnel onboard the USS Porterfield faced the most severe exposure risks. There were multiple crew members assigned to the firerooms and engine rooms, including the Watch Supervisors who controlled the air supply to the furnace and operated the superheater burners, a burnerman who served as the fireman, four or five watchstanders in the engine room along with a throttleman, and a lower level oiler who attended to auxiliary machinery on the lower level of the engine room.[2] These and many other crew members stationed in boiler and engine rooms worked near:
- Asbestos-wrapped pipes
- Insulated boilers
- Heat-resistant gaskets and seals
- Fireproofing materials
Maintenance crews and repair specialists encountered even greater hazards, as their duties often required directly handling, cutting, or replacing deteriorating asbestos components within the boilers and turbines. The confined spaces in which they performed these tasks made matters worse, as they concentrated the airborne fibers they breathed into dangerous levels.
The design of Fletcher-class destroyers like the USS Porterfield made the already critical dangers of asbestos even worse. The ship was notorious for its cramped crew quarters, and inadequate ventilation systems meant that airborne asbestos fibers were able to circulate freely throughout the vessel. Asbestos-containing materials were disturbed constantly during routine operations, maintenance, and combat, resulting in fibers becoming airborne and carried throughout the ship, putting everyone onboard at risk of inhaling them, regardless of their duty station or role.
How Did Asbestos on the USS Porterfield Harm Veterans?
During the years that the USS Porterfield sailed, the dangers of asbestos were known to the companies that provided it, but they chose not to alert the military or the public. This decision, motivated by the desire to continue earning profits, meant that sailors aboard the ship were unaware of the risk they faced. This lack of awareness meant that few protective measures were implemented, leaving crew members vulnerable to exposure throughout the three decades of the ship’s service.
Asbestos exposure has been responsible for some of the most significant health impacts for veterans who served on Navy ships, creating consequences that extended far beyond their years of active service. Years later, veterans developed and continue to be diagnosed with serious respiratory conditions and cancers, including:
- Malignant pleural mesothelioma
- Asbestosis
- Asbestos-related lung cancer
- Pleural plaques
- COPD
- Pleural thickening
- Pleural plaques
In one notable case, in 2018, Navy veteran William Phipps was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma decades after having served for four years onboard the USS Porterfield and decades after working as an HVAC technician repairing and installing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units. A California jury awarded him $25 million in damages, agreeing that his illness was the result of his Navy exposure, secondary exposure to asbestos carried home on his father’s work clothes, and his occupational exposure to asbestos-containing replacement gaskets and other parts he worked with in his post-Navy years.
Benefits and Compensation Available for Veterans Sickened by Asbestos
If you are a Navy veteran who served aboard the USS Porterfield or if you worked on the ship during repairs, there’s a very high likelihood that you were exposed to asbestos. Though you may feel fine, it’s important to be aware of your risk and notify your physician so that they can monitor your health; asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma have long latency periods that can take decades to develop, with symptoms appearing as long as 50 to 60 years after exposure.
If you’re a veteran and you’ve been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, the exposure you endured during your service may entitle you to compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Filing a claim can grant you access to valuable benefits, including comprehensive medical coverage, treatment at VA medical centers or specialized cancer facilities, and disability compensation. Malignant mesothelioma is classified as 100% disabling under VA guidelines, ensuring your full eligibility for disability benefits if you’re able to establish your military exposure.
In addition to VA benefits, you may also be eligible to pursue compensation from the asbestos companies that supplied the military with hazardous materials. This may mean filing a personal injury lawsuit, which can result in substantial jury awards or out-of-court settlements. Beyond that, many asbestos companies filed for bankruptcy due to extensive asbestos-related liabilities, and as part of the process, they were required to create asbestos trust funds. These accounts were required by bankruptcy courts to ensure that individuals diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases in the future would be able to receive compensation for the harm they suffered.
If you were exposed to asbestos while serving on the USS Porterfield or during other military service, it’s important to reach out to an experienced mesothelioma lawyer as soon after your diagnosis as possible. These experts can offer valuable guidance and information about the process, help identify the companies responsible for your exposure, assist with filing VA benefit claims, and support you in pursuing legal actions for additional compensation, but there are legal deadlines called statutes of limitations that restrict the amount of time you have to take legal action. The sooner you speak to an asbestos attorney, the more options you’ll have to get the justice you deserve.
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