USS Huse
USS Huse was an Edsall-class escort ship built in Orange, Texas and commissioned in August of 1943. She was named for Admiral Harry McLaren Pinckney Huse, who died in 1942. Most of the Huse’s career during World War II was spend patrolling the Atlantic for enemy submarines and escorting naval convoys.
While operating as part of the carrier Croatan’s hunter-killer group, she helped destroy two German subs in April 1944 and another in June. The patrols of these vessels were instrumental in keeping the trade routes of the Atlantic open throughout the latter part of the war. The Huse received five battle stars for her WW II efforts.
When the war in Europe ended, Huse sailed through the Panama Canal in order to assist in the defeat of Japan. During the voyage to Pearl Harbor, the crew learned of the collapse and surrender of the Japanese. The Huse entered into several training missions near Hawaii until being decommissioned in March of 1946.
When the Korean War began, the services of the Huse were required once again. She was recommissioned in August1951 and spent the next few years patrolling the Atlantic from the Caribbean to Labrador providing training in antisubmarine tactics.
In 1957 Huse was part of a Navy task force operating off Puerto Rico giving support to the US’s new space program. The group launched a Vanguard test satellite and participated in the recovery of its nose cone. Her next assignments included sailing in some NATO exercises near Northern Europe, and taking part in sonar training off Key West.
She entered the Naval Reserve Training program in 1960 and carried out cruises with reservists from New York, Norfolk and New Orleans. When the Soviet Union introduced missiles to Cuba in 1962, the Huse added support to the blockade of Cuba until the crisis was averted. In 1965 the Huse was decommissioned once more and eventually stricken from the Navy roles in 1973. She was sold for scrap in 1974.
Throughout her history, the Huse provided valuable support and training for the Navy. Her crews serverd her well without being aware that they were facing danger from an unknown source. The Huse was built with asbestos used as a key insulator of electrical systems and pipes. We now know that crewmen who worked in contact with asbestos are at risk for a variety of respiratory problems including mesothelioma, a type of cancer. If you think you may have been exposed to asbestos aboard the Huse or in another workplace you are encouraged to request an information packet.
