The USS Glennon (DD-840) was a Gearing-class destroyer laid down, launched, and commissioned in 1945. Between 1945 and 1951, after shakedown, the ship sailed to Europe, toured North Sea ports, trained at Guantanamo, conducted Atlantic exercises, Mediterranean deployments, midshipman cruises, cold-weather operations, and continued fleet duties through 1951. In the following year, the destroyer continued cold-weather training, served as DesRon 8 flagship, and supported midshipman cruises. She later aided Mercury missions, search and rescue missions, trained crews, performed ASW duties, and operated with the Atlantic Fleet through 1967. During the Vietnam War, the ship was called to serve with TF77 as a Naval Gunfire Support Unit. She supported numerous operations there, delivering naval gunfire in South Vietnam and near the DMZ, as well as off North Vietnam's shores. For engaging in several firefights, her officers and crew earned the Combat Action Ribbon and multiple commendations. The USS Glennon was decommissioned and struck from the Register in 1976, and sunk as a target in 1981. Before the 1980s, asbestos was a common occurrence on Navy ships. Due to destroyer crews serving in cramped, poorly ventilated spaces, they risked exposure to asbestos dust, which caused many of them to develop related diseases decades later.
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