The USS Saint Paul (CA-73) was a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser laid down on February 3, 1943, and launched on September 16, 1944. It was commissioned on February 17, the following year under Capt. Ernest H. von Heimburg’s command as CA-73 and served in the U.S. Navy for 26 years until it was decommissioned on April 30, 1971. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 1,700 people on board and had its main missions in Boston, Maizuru, Kamaishi, Pearl Harbor, Sasebo, Bremerton, Inchon, and Yokosuka. After decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy Register on July 31, 1978, and sold for scrapping two years later. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Saint Paul received 1 battle star, 8 battle stars for the Korean services, and another 9 for the activity during the Vietnam War. From the 1930s to the late 1970s, asbestos was used virtually everywhere on a ship, from bow to stern. Asbestos-containing products on Navy ships included adhesives, gaskets, insulation, fireproof doors, packing material, and ropes. Aboard these vessels asbestos exposure was almost impossible to avoid. Every part of the ship, including the engine rooms, and machinery spaces, may have exposed Navy service members to dangerous levels of asbestos.
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