Laid down under a Maritime Commission contract in 1944 by the California Shipbuilding Corporation, the USS Allendale was a Haskell-class attack transport ship. It was sponsored by Mrs. Frank Hill and served during World War II, activity for which it earned one battle star. The ship was named after the Allendale County of South Carolina.
The U.S. Navy made use of tremendous amounts of asbestos during the last century, as the mineral has multiple convenient properties, such as resistance to fire, electricity and various chemicals. For this reason, asbestos was also employed in the building of military ships, including the USS Allendale. Thereby, the people who served aboard it were heavily exposed to asbestos, which now places them at high risk of developing a serious disease, such as lung cancer. Following inhalation or ingestion, asbestos fibers attach themselves to organs in the body, gradually causing inflammation and tissue scarring, which may over time turn into a terrible disease. The USS Allendale was eventually sold for scrap in 1988.
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