The USS Mark (AG-143) was built as the Aircraft Repair variant of the Army FS types at Higgins Industries in 1944. The Camano class light cargo ship was constructed to provide shop space for aircraft repair work for embarked Aircraft Maintenance Units. She was acquired by the United States Navy in 1947 and placed in service later that year as a unit in the Subic–Sangley Ferry Service. The vessel was reclassified AKL-12 in 1949 and designated as a light cargo ship attached to Service Force, 7th Fleet. She carried cargo and passengers to various units operating in the Philippines until she was placed outside of service in 1956. The ship was commissioned in 1965 and took part a year later in full-time operations in the combat area, completing supply missions and surveying waters critical to operations in the Mekong Delta. Between 1966 and 1969, the USS Mark underwent an overhaul but kept vital supplies moving. The ship was decommissioned in 1971 and stricken in 1976. Asbestos has been used extensively in nearly all components of the U.S. Navy vessels built before the 1980s, putting veterans at a high risk of inhaling or ingesting the toxic fibers responsible for devastating diseases.
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