The USS Picket (ACM-8) was a Chimo-class minelayer laid down in 1942 as USAMP-1 General Henry Knox and commissioned on March 6, 1945, as USS Picket under Lt. Robert F. Harwood’s command with the hull number ACM-8 and served in the U.S. Navy for one year until it was decommissioned on June 24, 1946. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 69 people on board and had its main missions in Charleston, Panama Canal, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Okinawa, and Saipan. After decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on July 19, 1946, but it was acquired by the US Coast Guard and commissioned in 1946 as USCGC Willow (WLB-332) and it was in service for another 23 years until it was finally decommissioned in 1969. Asbestos was extensively used in the construction of ships, tanks, aircraft, weaponry, and clothing - nearly anything service members touched, used, or wore. As a result, malignant and non-malignant asbestos-related conditions are rampant among those who served in the U.S. Military. The main reason for this extensive use was the affordability of asbestos, and because it has the remarkable ability to resist heat, fire, chemical, and biological degradation.
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