USS Pasadena (CL-65)
History of the USS Pasadena Cruiser
The USS Pasadena (CL-65) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down at the Fore River Shipyard in Massachusetts on February 6, 1943. She was launched on December 28, 1943 and commissioned on June 8, 1944 under the command of Captain Richard B. Tuggle.
USS Pasadena arrived at Ulithi in mid-November 1944 to join Task Force 38. She took part in the operations at Luzon and Formosa until the end of the year. In January 1945, she headed to the South China Sea to strike at enemy shipping and shore targets along the coast of Indochina and on Formosa. Renamed Task Force 58 in February, the cruiser joined her fellow ships to the Japanese home islands. She covered the troop landings at Iwo Jima and provided shore bombardment.
After replenishing at Ulithi, the USS Pasadena took part in Operation Iceberg in March, hitting the Japanese home islands and the northern Ryukyu Islands to support efforts on Okinawa. She served as the flagship for Cruiser Division 17, making attacks on Minami Daito, Okinawa, and Kyushu through May.
Along with her task force, USS Pasadena struck at targets on Tokyo, Honshu, and Hokkaido until the Japanese surrendered on August 15. She took up occupation duties, becoming the flagship of Task Group 35.1 eight days later. The cruiser arrived at Tokyo Bay on September 1 to witness the surrender ceremony the following day.
After supporting the Allied occupation forces for several months, the USS Pasadena departed on January 19, 1946. She put in at San Pedro, California for a much needed overhaul before taking up training duties and local operations. The cruiser headed west for exercises before returning to California to conduct local operations for the next year.
The USS Pasadena made a training cruise in the summer of 1948 before another Far East deployment. Upon her return, she conducted local operations off California until she was decommissioned on January 12, 1950. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on December 1, 1970 and sold for scrap. The cruiser was awarded five battle stars for her service in World War II.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.
Sources include:
Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences, by John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed
