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USS Makin Island

The USS Makin Island CVE 93 was a Casablanca-class escort aircraft carrier that was laid down of January 12^th, 1944 by the Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard in Vancouver, Washington and was officially launched on April 5^th, 1944. The ship was sponsored by a B. B. Nichol and was commissioned on May 9^th, 1944 under the command of Captain W. B. Whaley. The USS Makin Island set out on her maiden voyage departing Sand Diego Bay on June 19^th, 1944 where she was charged with the mission of ferrying crewmen and aircraft to Pearl Harbor as well as the islands of Majuro and Kwajalein and returning to San Diego on July 24^th. While stationed at San Diego, the aircraft carrier began combat training until October 16^th when she set sail once again steaming towards Ulithi bypassing Pearl Harbor and arriving on November 5^th.

The Makin Island then headed for Leyte where she successfully protected convoys transiting in preparation for the island invasions. On November 22^nd, she sailed for the island of Manus to prepare to take part in a similar invasion operation against Luzon that was underway. Under the newly appointed command of Admiral C. T. Durgin who was the Commander of the Task Force 77 the Makin Island left Manus on December 27^th to join up with the Allied invasion force in the Surigao Strait, Leyte. The Makin Island then steamed towards the Lingayen Gulf on January 3^rd, 1945 where she was met with ferocious and almost continuous attack her passage to assault the shorelines of the enemy installations.

She provided air support and cover-fire while conducting mine sweeping missions on July 11^th while in the waters of Asia and initiated strikes against Japanese targets along the coast of China. On August 13^th she had anchored in Buckner Bay, Okinawa and on proceeded on September 9^th to southern Honshu for occupational duty. The USS Makin Island CVE 93 was officially decommissioned April 19^th 1946 at Puget Sound and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on July 11^th. She was awarded the five battle stars for her service in World War II.

Although the brave crews of the USS Makin Island CVE 93 were placed in constant peril aboard the vessel due to the obvious nature of their duty to service for their country, many of them also faced a significant hazard within the walls and fixtures of Makin Island’s hull and sadly, none of them could have ever known the wiser. Asbestos materials could found almost anywhere in naval vessels such as the USS Makin Island, and it is most likely that some of her crew were exposed to this harmful airborne toxin while working aboard the ship or in a repair capacity. Asbestos itself has been directly linked to types of cancer and other respiratory complications, one such being the cancer known as mesothelioma, or . Those who think they may have been exposed while aboard the USS Makin should consider this and notify their physicians of their concerns.