The USS Venango (AKA-82) was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship laid down on June 6, 1944, and launched on August 9, the same year. It was commissioned on January 2, 1945, under Lt. Comdr. Thurman A. Whitaker’s command and served in the US Navy for 2 years until it was decommissioned on April 18, 1946. It carried a complement of 247 men on board. During World War II, the ship operated in Norfolk, Pearl Harbor, Panama, Okinawa, Eniwetok, and Tanapag. After the decommissioning, USS Venango was struck from the Navy List on May 1, 1946. Later, the ship was sold to Waterman Steamship Corporation and then transferred to Isbrandtsen Co, Inc. where it was renamed SS Flying Eagle. Asbestos fibers can lie dormant in the lungs for decades before a process not fully understood by the medical profession manifests itself in either a malignant or benign asbestos disease. Sadly, there is little that can be done to help the Navy veterans who have been exposed to asbestos other than to monitor them closely so that any sign of asbestos exposure such as pleural fibrosis and calcification can quickly be identified and treatment can be started as soon as possible.
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