The USS General William Weigel (AP-119), a troopship that served with the United States Navy in World War II, was laid down under Maritime Commission contract on 15 March 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey; launched on 3 September 1944; acquired by the Navy 4 January 1945; and commissioned at Bayonne, New Jersey, on 6 January 1945, with Captain Thomas Y. Awalt, USCG, in command. After the war, the ship was acquired by the US Army and became USAT General William Weigel. On the outbreak of the Korean War, it was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service and designated USNS General William Weigel (T-AP-119), a designation it retained for its later service in the Vietnam War. Navy personnel working with asbestos-containing materials in assembly operations, cutting, maintaining, repairing, and dismantling of structures were at significant risk of inhaling asbestos fibers. Our valiant soldiers who served on military ships were exposed to asbestos without being aware of its dangers, only to learn too late that it caused lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, or other illnesses.
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