The USS Caribou (IX-114) was an Armadillo-class tanker commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. The ship was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract by California Shipbuilding Corporation, in Wilmington, California, as Nathaniel B. Palmer, and launched on 2 November 1943. She was placed in commission the same day with Lieutenant Commander A. J. Nall in command, and reported to the Pacific Fleet. The Armadillo-class of tankers was a class of type Z-ET1-S-C3 Liberty ships tankers that they were given the hull classification symbols of unclassified miscellaneous vessels. During World War II, the USS Caribou (IX-114) was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the Leyte landings, from 18 October to 29 November 1944. On 2 December 1945, the USS Caribou (IX-114) cleared Guam for Norfolk, Virginia. There she was decommissioned one year later and delivered to the War Shipping Administration for sale on 6 May 1946. From the early 1930s to the mid to late 1970s, naval and commercial shipyards used hundreds of tons of asbestos to build and repair maritime vessels. Anyone who served onboard the USS Caribou (IX-114) was put at risk of developing asbestos-related illnesses like mesothelioma, throat cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, and asbestosis.
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