The USS Lloyd Thomas (DD/DDE-764) was a Gearing-class destroyer laid down by Bethlehem Steel Corporation in 1944, launched in 1945, and commissioned in 1947. After shakedown, the ship departed in 1948 for training and a goodwill voyage worldwide. She joined the Atlantic Fleet in 1949 after being converted to a hunter-killer destroyer at San Francisco Navy Yard. Reclassified DDE-764 in 1950, the destroyer led antisubmarine operations in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, operating with NATO. After installing new electronic gear to update her antisubmarine capabilities in 1965, the vessel participated in Operation CANUS-SILEX. In the Vietnam War, she engaged in a naval strike against North Vietnamese coast artillery when she got hit and suffered minor damage. The USS Lloyd Thomas was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1972. Because Navy ships were built with over 300 asbestos-based products and materials, military asbestos exposure peaked from 1940 to 1980. With an overwhelming majority of veterans serving on ships, all Navy personnel were at a high risk of developing asbestos-related diseases and should be on alert for symptoms like breathlessness, dry cough, chest pain, or wheezing and consult a doctor immediately.
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