The USS Joseph E. Connolly (DE-450) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort laid down on April 6, 1944, and launched on August 6, the same year. It was commissioned on February 28, 1945, under Lt. Cmdr. M. C. Walley’s command as DE-450 and served in the U.S. Navy for one year until it was decommissioned on June 20, 1946. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 215 people on board and had its main missions in San Diego, Ulithi, Panama, Norfolk, Eniwetok, Ulithi, Tokyo Bay, Jinsen, Shanghai, and Saipan. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on June 1, 1970, and used as a target ship during training exercises in 1972. Between World War II and the late-1970sship construction involved asbestos, and although every navy veteran who served aboard a ship or in a shipbuilding yard may have come into contact with asbestos, the jobs with the highest risks include boiler technicians, damage controlmen, electrician’s mates, fire control technicians, gunner’s mates, hull maintenance technicians, machinery repairmen, pipefitters, radiomen, Seabees, and welders.
760-621-6147
