The USS Wesson (DE-184) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort laid down on July 29, 1943, and launched on October 17, the same year. It was commissioned on November 11, 1943, under Comdr. H. Reich’s command with the hull number DE-184 and served in the U.S. Navy for 3 years until it was decommissioned on July 25, 1946. During its activity, the ship carried a complement of 216 men on board and had its main missions in New York, Bermuda, Panama, Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, Kwajalein Atoll, Balboa, Roi Namur, Eniwetok, Leyte, and Iwo Jima. After decommissioning, the ship was transferred to Italy in 1951 where it was renamed Andromeda. Before the health risks associated with asbestos exposure became more widely known, the military ships built in the first half of the 20th century had asbestos added to more than 300 products. Asbestos exposure was not limited to one specific area on a Navy vessel, however, areas with a high risk of exposure to asbestos included engine and boiler rooms, damage control rooms, navigation rooms, pump rooms, propulsion rooms, plotting rooms, and powder and shot magazines.
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