The USS Kalinin Bay (CVE-68) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier laid down on April 26, 1943, and launched on October 15, the same year. It was commissioned on November 27, 1943, with the hull number CVE-68 under Capt. C. R. Brown’s command and served in the US Navy for 3 years until it was decommissioned on May 15, 1946. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 916 men on board and had its main missions in Saipan, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Manus. After the decommissioning, the ship was sold for scrapping on December 8, 1946, to Patapsco Steel Corporation in Baltimore. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Kalinin Bay received 5 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.
Certain onboard occupations posed a greater risk for exposure to asbestos such as boilermen, engine room machinists, electricians, water tenders, steamfitters, and fire control technicians. All were constantly exposed to asbestos products, and because of the need for redundant repairs, those exposures posed the greatest dangers. Today, many retired servicemen are developing asbestos-related diseases at an alarming rate.
760-621-6147
