The USS Sargent Bay (CVE-83) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier laid down on November 8, 1943, and launched on January 31, the following year. It was commissioned on March 9, 1944, with the hull number CVE-83 under Capt. William Theodore Rassieur’s command and served in the US Navy for 2 years until it was decommissioned on 23 June 1946. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on July 30, 1959, and sold for scrapping to J. C. Berkwitt Corporation in September. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Sargent Bay received 6 battle stars.
The risk of asbestos exposure was nowhere higher than in the military, especially the Navy. Despite representing only 8% of the American population, military veterans account for around 30% of all the mesothelioma cases, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. A sailor stationed on a Navy vessel built during and after the Second World War could have had extreme asbestos exposure because so many areas of the ships have contained asbestos including turbine propulsion systems, reactors, engine rooms, or storage areas.
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