The USS Long Beach (CGN-9) was a Long Beach-class cruiser laid down on December 2, 1957, and launched on July 14, 1959. It was commissioned on September 9, 1961, under Capt. Eugene P. Wilkinson’s command with the hull number CGN-9 and served in the U.S. Navy for 34 years until it was decommissioned on May 1, 1995. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 1,160 people on board and had its main missions in Philadelphia, Tonkin, San Diego, and Puget Sound. After decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on May 1, the same year, and sold for recycling to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton in 2012. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Long Beach received 11 battle stars. Because of its affordability, tensile strength, and the property of being thermally inert, asbestos was extensively used in the construction of Navy warships in a variety of components and products used on board. According to sailor Robert B., who served on the USS Long Beach: "We dealt with a lot of Red Lead Paint and the Overhead Asbestos lining above. After dealing daily with the Red Lead and Battle Ship Grey Paint we used over top, the fumes and headaches weren't worth it."
760-621-6147
