The USS Investigator (AGR-9) was a radar picket ship belonging to the Guardian-class that was acquired by the US Navy from the reserve fleet and converted for radar picket operations in the North Atlantic Ocean as part of the Distant Early Warning Line Project. The ship was originally laid down and launched by J.A. Jones Corporation as the Liberty Ship Charles A. Draper at their shipyards in Panama City, Florida in January 1945. During its short World War II service, the ship was responsible for delivering replacement aircraft and cargo and it was placed in the reserve fleet, James River Group in October 1945. It was acquired by the US Navy in July 1956 and equipped with air search and tracking systems to be used as part of the Continental Air Defense Commands air warning system. It was decommissioned in March 1965 and placed in the reserve fleet until May 1971 when it was sold for scrapping. Anyone who has had any occupational contact with asbestos fibers is at serious risk for the many health problems asbestos can cause. In the early 1980s, Navy veterans and workers in shipbuilding began reporting health complications that doctors linked to asbestos exposure. Navy veterans exposed to asbestos while on duty are eligible for free health care, disability compensation and other VA benefits.
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