Built by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in 1945 to serve during World War II, the SS William and Mary Victory was one of the ships, which were named after educational institutions. It was sponsored by Eleanor Harvey, the retiring president of the Women Students’ Cooperative Government Association at the College of William and Mary. The ship served in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II, being responsible for transporting troops to Europe. In 1947, the ship was sold to Argentina and was scrapped in 1972.
The U.S. Navy is notorious for having employed tremendous amounts of asbestos and the SS William and Mary Victory is no exception, as there were over 300 different hazardous products aboard it. This inevitably led to exposure among the military personnel who were serving on the ship. Over the decades, asbestos exposure can lead to the development of terrible diseases, such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. For this reason, veterans who served on the SS William and Mary Victory should regularly undergo medical examinations, as they are at high risk of developing a disease as a result of asbestos exposure.
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