The USS Sirona (AKA-43) was an Artemis-class attack cargo ship laid down on February 15, 1945, and launched on April 17, the same year. It was commissioned on May 10, 1945, under Comdr. Joseph A. Neal’s command and served in the US Navy for 1 year until it was decommissioned on June 12, 1946. It carried a complement of 303 men on board. During this period, the ship operated in Norfolk, Manila, Hilo, Okinawa, Tokyo Bay, Manchuria, Shanghai. After decommissioning, the USS Sirona was struck from the Naval Register on July 3, 1946, and sold for scrapping on May 17, 1966. Asbestos fibers are very small and are easily carried in the air as dust. This means that they end up in the throats, bronchi, and bronchioles of Navy veterans who are exposed to them. Often, the fibers find their way into the lung and become embedded into the mesothelium, a lining that surrounds the lungs and other bodily organs. The fibers cause the lungs to become scarred; this scarring leads to asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer.
760-621-6147
