The USS Samar (ARG-11) was a Luzon-class internal combustion engine repair ship built at Bethlehem-Fairfield, Sparrow's Point, MD, during the final days of World War II and in the post-war period. The USS Samar (ARG-11) keel was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract on 21 September 1944, launched on 19 October 1944 and placed in commission on 5 June 1945 with Commander Andrew M. Harvey in command. Statistics show that Navy veterans and shipyard employees who worked between the 1930s and the 1970s have the highest rate of asbestos-related diseases among all military personnel. There were plenty of places and circumstances for Navy personnel to be exposed to asbestos. The mineral was used to cover and insulate various products and machinery such as compressors, motors, pumps, pipes, gaskets, and valves. Service members who handled, damaged or disturbed any materials that contained asbestos, who were tasked with removing damaged asbestos lagging in engine rooms and re-wrapped pipes, were directly exposed to the toxic mineral.
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