The USS Missouri (BB-63) was an Iowa-class battleship laid down on January 6, 1941, and launched on January 29, 1944. It was commissioned for the first time on June 11, 1944, under Capt. William Callaghan’s command with the hull number BB-63 and served in the U.S. Navy for 17 years until it was decommissioned on March 31, 1992. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 2,700 men on board and had its main missions in Ulithi, Okinawa, Guam, Gibraltar, Phaleron Bay, Algiers, Tangiers, and Norfolk. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy Register on January 12, 1995, and subsequently used as a museum ship in Pearl Harbor. For the services brought to the country during its activity, the USS Missouri received 11 battle stars. Navy veterans who served during World War II are at great risk of developing asbestos-related diseases due to a high rate of asbestos exposure. Many of these Navy veterans who have served our country worked in the ships’ boilers rooms and engine rooms - tight-fit, poorly ventilated areas - where asbestos fibers were inhaled. Some of the most dangerous locations with asbestos exposure were within navigation rooms, weapons and ammunition storage rooms, and even mess halls and sleeping quarters.
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