The USS Raymond (DE-341) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort laid down on November 3, 1943, and launched on January 8, the following year. It was commissioned on April 15, 1944, under Lt. Cmdr. A. F. Beyer’s command as DE-341 and served in the U.S. Navy for 14 years until it was decommissioned on September 22, 1958. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 186 people on board and had its main missions in Bermuda, Newport, Panama Canal, Manus, Leyte, Samar, San Diego, Kerama Retto, Eniwetok, Tinian, and Saipan. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on July 1, 1972, and used as a target ship during training exercises in 1974. Our country houses many shipyards that may have used asbestos-containing materials decades ago. Such materials came in the form of insulation and pipe coverings used in the steam engines, boilers, turbines, pumps, and other equipment that reach extreme temperatures in the hull of a ship. Pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians, and even general laborers who may have had to walk through areas with heavy asbestos exposure are all at risk of developing diseases such as lung cancer, bronchial cancer, mesothelioma, colorectal cancer, throat cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, and types of pulmonary disease.
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