USS Erben
The USS Erben was a Fletcher-class destroyer vessel employed by the United States Navy built in 1943. The ship was constructed by Bath Iron Works out of Bath, Maine. The ship was named after U.S. Admiral Henry Urban, whose most notable service was during the U.S. Civil War. The ship was launched in March of 1943 and commissioned by the Navy in May, heading out to sea with Commander J. H. Nevins, Jr., in command. She would become an integral mid-war acquisition by the Navy, as she was almost immediately sent into Pacific service.
The Erben arrived at Pearl Harbor in October of 1943, joining the 5th fleet and conducting training exercises in the Hawaiian Islands. Her first combat experiences would be in the Gilbert Islands, where she served in the initial pre invasion support to air strikes on the island. She would remain in Gilbert through the first weeks of December 1943. Upon return to Pearl Harbor in late December, she received refreshment and minor repairs. She would then join the Marshall Islands invasion fleet in early 1944, providing integral harassment bombardments to ongoing strikes. Erben then returned to Guadalcanal and provided screening service to carriers through the summer of 1944.
In the fall of 1944, Erben returned to the Hawaiian Islands for brief overhaul and minor training exercises. From here she was jettisoned to the Leyte invasion, where should provide screening service almost day and night to carriers flying sorties. After Leyte, Erben was sent to support the invasions at Okinawa and Kyushu. She would then support other invasions of the Japanese mainland by providing bombardments of Japanese infrastructure and machine plants. Following the war, she was sent to Long Beach, CA, and decommissioned in early 1946. She would be briefly re-commissioned in 1951 as a support ship for the Korean conflict. She was decommissioned for the last time in the United States Navy in 1958. The USS Erben was sold to the Navy of South Korea in 1963. It is believed that today she has been disassembled.
The service that Erben provided won her 2 battle stars in the Pacific theatre of WWII and 4 battle stars during her tenure in the Korean conflict. The men behind these battle stars are the true heroes however. It is important that these sailors be remembered for their brave service in these world conflicts. Unfortunately, the dangers aboard the Erben were not limited to enemy gun or artillery fire. In fact, among the more prominent dangers aboard naval ships was asbestos exposure. Asbestos was used in many aspects of ship constructions, but more commonly in boilers, electrical, and piping fixtures. Those who worked in the vicinity of these, in either a service or repair capacity, could be at risk of developing asbestos cancer, a disease whose symptoms may not appear for decades following an exposure. Monitor your health closely and consult a physician in the event of adverse symptoms.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
