USS Goff (DD-247)
The USS Goff (DD-247) served in the US Navy for nearly more than twenty years in the early 20th century. She was named for Nathan Goff, who served as Secretary of the Navy under President Rutherford B. Hayes and Senator of West Virginia. Goff was built as a Clemson-class ship.
Construction
Goff was laid down in Camden, New Jersey by the New York Shipbuilding Company in June 1919, launched in June 1920, and commissioned in January 1921 with Lieutenant Rodman D. DeKay in command. Carrying a crew of 114, Goff was armed with four 4-inch rapid-fire guns, one three-inch anti-aircraft gun, and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.
Naval History
Goff operated along the east coast and in the Caribbean for her first two years of service, and was then deployed to the Mediterranean in October 1922. During this deployment, Goff visited ports in Turkey, Russia, Syria, Greece, Bulgaria, and Rumania to protect American lives and assist relief agencies and Greek and Turkish refugees. Goff returned to the United States in August 1923 to conduct fleet exercises, and in October 1926, participated in a rescue mission in Cuba following a hurricane.
Goff was deployed to Nicaragua in January 1927 to aid Americans during civil war, and was part of the flotilla that escorted USS Memphis, which was carrying Charles Lindbergh after his trans-Atlantic flight in June. She was decommissioned at Philadelphia from January 1931 to March 1932, and then operated along the east coast and in the Caribbean until joining the Pacific Fleet in 1935. Goff returned to the east coast in 1939 to train reserves and conduct Neutrality Patrol.
Goff reported to the Azores in June 1940 and served in Portugal until September. When the United States entered World War II, Goff operated as an escort and patrol in the Caribbean. Goff began anti-submarine patrols with the carrier Card in July 1943 as part of a hunter-killer team. From July to November, the group sunk eight U-boats, and Goff received the Presidential Unit Citation for her service.
Goff escorted Albemarle for seven months in 1944. In August, Goff reported to Key West, Florida and operated as a harbor guard and target vessel for ships and planes training in the area. She was decommissioned at Philadelphia in July 1945 and sold for scrap to the Northern Metals Company in December.
Asbestos Risk on the USS Goff (DD-247)
The use of asbestos in the design of naval vessels was required by the US Congress in the early 1930s, after a fire at sea aboard a luxury liner caused the deaths of 137 passengers and crew. Goff, like most Navy ships of the time, deployed asbestos-containing materials in large quantities around engines and engineering spaces, and for fireproofing in the other sections of the vessel. When asbestos-containing material is worn or damaged it can become friable, meaning that fibers can be broken off and escape into the air, and then can be breathed in by crewmen and dockworkers, increasing the odds of developing mesothelioma.
The prognosis for pleural mesothelioma is not often good. In addition, because mesothelioma is not a common disease, there are not many clinics or doctors that specialize in the treatment of mesothelioma.
Our mesothelioma information kit contains complete information on legal and medical options for mesothelioma victims and a list of clinical trials nationwide. Just fill in the form on this page and we will send you a packet at no charge.
Sources
Haze Gray & Underway. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. DD-247.
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd247txt.htm Retrieved 31 December 2010.
NavSource Naval History, USS Goff (DD-247).
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/247.htm Retrieved 31 December 2010.
