The USS Henry R. Kenyon (DE-683) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort laid down on September 29, 1943, and launched on October 30, the same year. It was commissioned on November 30, 1943, under Comdr. C. M. Lyons’ command with the hull number DE-683 and served in the U.S. Navy for 4 years until it was decommissioned on February 3, 1947. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 213 men on board and it had its main missions in Boston, Norfolk, Leyte, Okinawa, Manila, Maine, and San Diego. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on December 1, 1969. One year later, on October 22, the USS Henry R. Kenyon was sold for scrapping. The USS Henry R. Kenyon (DE-683), like many other Navy ships, contained enormous amounts of asbestos in all fireproofing and insulation products. The mineral continued being incorporated in ships until the 1970s, although the potential risk associated with fiber inhalation had been known since the 1930s. Exposure to asbestos aboard naval vessels caused many veterans to develop serious asbestos-related conditions.
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