The USS Nields (DD-616) was a Benson-class destroyer laid down on June 15, 1942, and launched on October 1, the same year. It was commissioned on January 15, 1943, under Lt. Comdr. Albert R. Heckey’s command with the hull number DD-616 and served in the US Navy for 3 years until it was decommissioned on March 26, 1946. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 259 people on board and had its main missions in Aruba, Netherlands West Indies, Cristobal, Norfolk, New York, North Africa, and Maine. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on September 15, 1970, and sold for scrapping in 1972 to the Southern Scrap Material Company in New Orleans. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Nields received 3 battle stars. The outbreak of the Second World War spurred the U.S. Navy to quickly build thousands of ships. More than 5,000 ships were built of which over 2,700 Liberty Ships, 800 Victory Vessels, 320 T-2 Tankers, and various auxiliary ships. Asbestos-containing materials were used in every U.S. Navy ship, thereby posing undue occupational hazards to the thousands of people who built and repaired these vessels.
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