The USNS Michelson (T-AGS-23) was a Bowditch-class hydrographic survey ship laid down on May 05, 1944, as SS Joliet Victory under a Maritime Commission contract at the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, OR. It was launched on June 14, 1944, the same year and was acquired by the US Navy on February 8, 1958. The ship was then converted to a Survey Ship and placed in service on December 15, 1958. The ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet and then finally sold for non-transportation use in September 1977. The estimated number of naval shipyard employees at the height of World War II may have been as high as 1.7 million. Because asbestos was such an important component of the shipbuilding sector at the time, military veterans, particularly Navy Veterans, have been particularly severely affected by exposure-related illnesses. Many veterans are qualified for disability compensation, which is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Veterans must, however, demonstrate that their illness is the result of asbestos exposure and that it occurred while they were serving in the military.
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