The USS Hamner (DD-718), a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War, was launched on 24 November 1945 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Port Newark, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. Henry Rawlings Hamner, wife of Lt. Hamner; and commissioned on 12 July 1946, Commander Joseph B. Swain in command. The USS Hamner (DD-718) spent nine months operating with Destroyer Division 111 out of various Chinese and Japanese ports before returning to the States for six months of training operations. It was awarded five battle stars as well as a Presidential Unit Citation for her outstanding service in Korea. Between the 1930s up to mid-1970s, Navy veterans were exposed to asbestos without knowing it and were seriously harmed by something that could be preventable. While its durable properties made it desirable from a manufacturing standpoint, they’re also what made asbestos so dangerous. Since asbestos fibers are microscopic, it is easy for them to be inhaled. The rigid asbestos fibers stick in the soft tissue of the lungs, abdomen, or heart, causing irritation, inflammation, and genetic damage in time.
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