The USS Pierce (APA-50) was an Ormsby-class attack transport laid down on July 22, 1942, and launched on October 10, the same year. It was commissioned on June 30, 1943, under Comdr. A. R. Ponto’s command with the hull number APA-50 and served in the US Navy for 3 years until it was decommissioned on March 11, 1946. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 513 people on board and had its main missions in California, Pearl Harbor, San Diego, Saipan, Makin, Leyte, Okinawa, Guam, San Francisco, and Lingayen. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on April 17, 1946, and sold for scrapping in 1969. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Pierce received 6 battle stars. Asbestos - a carcinogenic mineral, was used extensively in the building and repair of ships due to its fire-resistant properties. Since asbestos-related medical issues can take many years to develop, a party who has asbestos exposure symptoms might not even realize the cause of these issues. It’s common for these side effects to be misunderstood or written off as other medical conditions.
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