The USNS Private Francis X. McGraw (T-AK-241) started life as a Victory-class transport named SS Wabash Victory on the 6th of September 1945. After a stint in the Pacific which saw her delivering supplies to Eniwetok, Ulithi, and Okinawa she transited the Panama Canal for France, arriving at Le Havre in late March 1946. She was transferred to the US War Department in June but her mission remained unchanged; to carry supplies and troops between the US East Coast and Europe for the occupation and reconstruction efforts. The newly-formed Military Sea Transportation Service took her over in spring 1950 and mainly used her for cargo duty to “far-flung” ports in the Caribbean, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean. She delivered chemical weapons to Okinawa in 1965 and removed them some six years later during Operation Red Hat. Those weapons of mass destruction weren’t the only toxic things she had on board, as carcinogenic asbestos was used heavily in her construction. The dangerous mineral could have been found in all areas of the ship but maintenance crews who regularly handled it while working in the engine room, boiler room, pump room and when replacing piping were particularly at risk.
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