The USS Charles E. Brannon (DE-446) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort laid down on January 13, 1944, and launched on April 23, the same year. It was commissioned on November 1, 1944, under Cmdr. E. W. Todd’s command as DE-446 and served in the U.S. Navy for 12 years until it was decommissioned on June 18, 1960. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 215 people on board and had its main missions in San Diego, Panama, New York, Tarakan, Okinawa, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. After decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on September 23, 1968, and sold for scrapping in 1969. Research shows that inhaling substantial amounts of asbestos fibers can lead to a greater chance of developing lung cancer, bronchial cancer, mesothelioma, colon/rectal cancer, throat/esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, plus many other types of pulmonary issues. Those working with asbestos have an even greater risk of developing lung cancer if they smoke. Individuals who develop asbestosis, which is a scarring of the lungs, were usually around high asbestos levels for a prolonged period of time. Generally, symptoms of asbestos-related diseases do not appear until decades after the initial exposure.
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