The USS Tabberer (DE-418) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort laid down on January 12, 1944, and launched on February 18, the same year. It was commissioned on May 23, 1944, under Lt. Cmdr. Henry Lee Plage’s command as DE-418 and served in the U.S. Navy for 11 years until it was decommissioned in May 1960. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 215 people on board and had its main missions in San Diego, Eniwetok, Saipan, Bermuda, Okinawa, Leyte, and Hawaii. After decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on August 1, 1972, and sold for scrapping the following year. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Tabberer received 4 battle stars and a Navy Unit Commendation. Asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma are diseases many of our veterans face today due to asbestos exposure on a Navy vessel. Not only these diseases are often asymptomatic, but when symptoms do occur, they can easily be mistaken for the signs of other respiratory conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema. To determine whether a disease is a result of asbestos exposure, a doctor will take a detailed history to determine the patient’s history of asbestos exposure, usually at the workplace, and usually for decades.
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