The USS San Saba (APA-232) was commissioned on the 3rd of December 1944, fairly late for a Victory ship. With time spent for shakedown and amphibious training she only got to see a couple of weeks of the war, most of it on cargo transport duty between Ulithi, Leyte, the Philippines, the Caroline Islands, Admiralty Islands, Manus, Milne Bay, and New Guinea. After hostilities ceased the ship was employed for ferrying occupation troupes to and from the Japanese main islands. On the 6th of October, she headed for San Francisco but was detoured to Seattle and spent some time in dry dock at Everett. She was engaged in a series of voyages between the West Coast and East Asia throughout 1946 before being decommissioned in December of that year. She was sold for scrapping in 1975. With just two years of operation, it’s doubtful that many of the sailors who served on the San Saba were seriously affected by the large quantities of asbestos lining the ship’s interior. However, those who worked in the engine and propulsion rooms, as well as the room housing the pump, did face a non-negligible risk.
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