The USS White Plains (CVE-66) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier laid down on February 11, 1943, and launched on September 27, the same year. It was commissioned on November 15, 1943, with the hull number CVE-66 under Capt. Oscar A. Weller’s command and served in the US Navy for 3 years until it was decommissioned on July 10, 1946. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 916 men on board and had its main missions in Astoria, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Alameda, Oahu, and Leyte. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on July 1, 1958, and sold for scrapping on July 29, 1958, to Hyman Michaels Company in Chicago. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS White Plains received 5 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation for the activity during the Battle off Samar. Used in engine and boiler rooms, ammunition storage units, sleeping quarters, and mess halls, asbestos products were abundant in naval vessels. Whether in port or living shipboard, sailors were constantly exposed to the dangers of asbestos products. Overcrowding and poor ventilation exacerbated the risk of developing an asbestos-related disease.
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