As the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the ship was built by Newport News Shipbuilding in 1944. It was a Midway-class aircraft carrier with the motto “Older and Bolder”. Due to the extraordinary achievements of the ship, the USS Coral Sea was the recipient of numerous awards, such as the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Navy Expeditionary Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. Because it was laid down during the heyday of asbestos, the mineral was inevitably present on the ship, which posed a great danger to the health of everyone who was serving on it. Asbestos exposure occurs when one inhales or ingests the tiny fibers of this carcinogenic mineral and can result, within 20 to 50 years, in terrible diseases such as lung cancer, asbestosis, or mesothelioma. Therefore, the military personnel who were aboard the USS Coral Sea need to periodically undergo medical examinations. The ship was eventually scrapped and dismantled in 2000.
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