Laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 1940, the USS Flying Fish (SS-229) is another submarine that may have contained asbestos wall insulation, a terrible health hazard for the veterans who served on the submarine. It was sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy K. Kimmel, wife of Husband E. Kimmel, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet. The submarine was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, as well as 12 battle stars. In 1954, it was decommissioned and 5 years later, sold for scrap. Veterans who served on ships built during World War II and Vietnam War may have potentially been exposed to asbestos, a material that was commonly used for a variety of purposes throughout the shipbuilding industry since it worked as an effective flame retardant. Asbestos was used in many parts of the ship to control heat, and sailors serving on these vessels may have come in contact with this material on everything from boilers to pipes and insulation, or by simply passing through a section of the ship where the material was being utilized.
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