The USS Wedderburn (DD-684) was a Fletcher-class destroyer laid down and launched in 1943. She was commissioned the following year and served as a plane guard and on anti-submarine duty. Later, the vessel joined TF 53 for the battle of Guam and the Leyte invasion. With TG 38.2, the ship covered for the troops until she was assigned to TF 38 when she was damaged by the infamous typhoon in 1944 but participated in the search for survivors. The vessel escorted the carriers to Iwo Jima with TF51, did shore bombardments, and patrolled against submarines. Near misses caused minor damages after the enemy bombardments, but she could fulfill her duty for the remainder of World War II. The destroyer was decommissioned in 1946, recommissioned in 1951, placed in the Pacific Fleet Destroyer Force, and departed for her first tour of the Korean War. For the next decade, the warship continued deployments to the western Pacific. The USS Wedderburn embarked upon her final deployment in 1968, was placed out of commission, struck from the Register in 1969, and sold for scrapping in 1972. Asbestos was the primary choice for insulating the ships due to its versatility, but it endangered veterans' health, causing them to develop severe illnesses decades later.
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