The USS Blandy (DD-943) was a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer laid down in 1955 and commissioned in 1957. After her shakedown in 1958, the ship was deployed across the Atlantic, making several port calls in Europe. In the early 1960s, the destroyer operated with TG Bravo in the Eastern Atlantic, earning recognition as one of only two Atlantic Fleet destroyers to win the Battle Efficiency "E" award. Following an overhaul in 1961, she joined TG Alpha to test the feasibility of her class of destroyers recovering astronaut capsules. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the vessel was one of the first ships to get underway. In 1968, she deployed to Vietnam as part of the Seventh Fleet, operating on the gun line for 19 days during Operation Sea Dragon. Her performance in providing naval gunfire support earned her the Battle Efficiency "E" in 1968 and the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy. The USS Blandy was decommissioned in 1982 and struck from the Navy Register in 1990, after two decades of dedicated service. Asbestos was utilized extensively during and after World War II in the construction of the Navy's fleet, putting naval personnel at the highest risk of exposure of all military sectors. It’s why Navy veterans should make regular health check-ups to timely discover any asbestos-related diseases they may have developed years after service.
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