The USS Dennis J. Buckley (DD/DDR-808) was a Gearing-class destroyer laid down and launched in 1944 and commissioned in 1945. Within a year of entering service, she deployed to the WestPac to support postwar occupation and stabilization missions. In 1949, the ship was reclassified as DDR-808 and served as a radar picket destroyer during the Cold War. Throughout the 1950s, she conducted Mediterranean deployments with the 6th Fleet, participated in Atlantic operations, and took part in NATO exercises. During the Korean War, the vessel screened fast carrier task forces, patrolled the Taiwan Strait, and delivered naval gunfire against coastal targets. Following an overhaul in 1960, the destroyer focused on antisubmarine warfare training and surveillance patrols, thereby reinforcing the American naval presence in the Pacific. In early 1965, she deployed to the Vietnam War, performing gunfire support missions, carrier plane-guard duties, and Taiwan Strait patrols. Following another overhaul in 1967, the ship returned to Southeast Asia and remained active through the early 1970s. Reclassified as DD-808 in 1973, the USS Dennis J. Buckley was decommissioned and stricken in the same year. Due to extensive asbestos use in Navy ships built for the WWII war effort, veterans deployed on these ships faced a high risk of exposure and developing severe diseases stemming from it.
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