The USS Greenwood (DE-679) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort laid down on June 29, 1943, and launched on August 21, the same year. It was commissioned on September 25, 1943, under Lt. Comdr. A. W. Slayton’s command with the hull number DE-679 and served in the U.S. Navy for 19 years until it was decommissioned on August 1, 1962. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 213 men on board and it had its main missions in New Hebrides, Samoa, Panama Canal, Eniwetok, New Guinea, Iwo Jima, and Ulithi. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on February 20, 1967. Several months later, it was sold for scrapping. Asbestos was used extensively in the building and repair of ships due to its durable properties and anti-flammable characteristics. As a result, people throughout the nation who worked on ship repairs and refits, now find themselves suffering from life-threatening diseases such as lung cancer, bronchial cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma.
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