The USS Roche (DE-197) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort laid down on October 21, 1943, and launched on January 9, 1944. It was commissioned on February 21, the same year under Lt. Robert E. Parker’s command with the hull number DE-197 and served in the U.S. Navy for almost 2 years until it struck a mine on September 22, 1945. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 216 men on board and had its main missions in Bermuda, New York, Maine, England, Gibraltar, Cuba, Tokyo Bay, Eniwetok, and Ulithi. After the sinking, the ship was struck from the Navy List on June 5, 1946.
Prior to the 1980s, almost all Navy vessels contained asbestos - as the mineral has been widely used as an insulation material. Unfortunately, many Navy veterans are not even aware that they have been around asbestos until years or decades later when they receive a diagnosis as the result of asbestos exposure. If you’re a Navy veteran who’s been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, you usually have between one and three years from the time you were diagnosed to make an asbestos claim.
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