My friend, Richard, had retired from the Navy. He was active in several humanitarian organizations in the county and was always ready to offer an assist to anybody in need. He seemed the picture of health for a man of his age. Then, about 6 months ago, he started having trouble breathing and would cough when he got winded.
Rich went to the VA and they told him he had lung cancer from asbestos exposure. I asked him,
"How they heck do you get exposed to asbestos on a boat out in the middle of the ocean?"
He said that Navy ships were full of the stuff - around the boilers, around the steam pipes and even the gun emplacements. He said it was considered the perfect material because it was cheap and it wouldn't burn or blow up. Rich went downhill amazingly fast and within a few weeks he was in the hospital on a ventilator.
Rich passed away last month and we still can't quite get over it - so healthy and robust for so long and then struggling for a breath of air in so short a time. I had never heard of the asbestos problem in the military before so I looked it up on the web.
USS Navy Ships | Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure
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