Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Sgt. George D. Keathley' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Final paragraphs of DANFS entry (AGS-35 conversion, survey service, transfer to Republic of China); same Wayback capture as ev-01
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- In late 1966 Sgt. George D. Keathley was ordered activated; in November she was towed to Norfolk for conversion to a survey ship. On 1 December 1966 she was reacquired by the Navy, assigned to MSTS, and designated T-AGS-35. In spring 1967, again a United States Naval ship manned by a civil service crew, she commenced survey operations in the Atlantic for the Oceanographer of the Navy, continuing until December 1971, then returned to the United States for inactivation. On 29 March 1972 she was transferred, on lease, to the Republic of China, serving as Chu Hwa (AGS-564).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1966-1972
- Limitations
- Establishes the AGS-35 conversion, survey mission, and 1972 foreign transfer. Contains no asbestos or materials information; the source does not describe the scope of the Norfolk conversion work (e.g., what machinery or insulation was touched), so no inference about asbestos abatement or disturbance during the 1966 conversion is supported.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-george-d-keathley-02
-
[2]Naval Historical Center (now NHHC), Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships, 'USNS Sergeant George D. Keathley (T-APC-117, later T-AGS-35), 1950-1972' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Caption text preceding the photograph index
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Naval Historical Center official ship-photo record: 'USNS Sergeant George D. Keathley was transferred to the Republic of China in March 1972. Under the name Chu Hua, she served in Taiwan's navy as a hydrographic ship until August 1988, when she was returned to the United States. The old ship was subsequently used as a target.' The same record confirms the C1-M-AV1 type designation and 6,090-ton full-load displacement, and corroborates the Grace Lines/Army Transportation Corps/MSTS operating history in ev-01 and ev-02.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1945-1988
- Limitations
- Content originates from the Naval Historical Center (NHHC's predecessor office) and is mirrored by ibiblio/HyperWar because the current history.navy.mil hosting of this exact page could not be located (link rot, consistent with other NHHC pages in this project). Establishes final disposition as 'used as a target' after 1988 return; does not give a sinking date, location, or any materials/hazmat information. Supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-george-d-keathley-03
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - SGT. GEORGE D. KEATHLEY (APC-117/AGS-35), Ship History Detail 4522, including digitized status card [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 4522 milestone table and name-history panel; status card PDF at https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/documents/008483f2-1980-4a8f-80f0-997f9635d37b.pdf (OCR-aided transcription of handwritten/typed card)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for SGT. GEORGE D. KEATHLEY (APC-117/AGS-35): U.S. Official No. 247260; built 1945 by Walter Butler Shipbuilders; gross tons 3,805, net tons 2,123; name history Acorn Knot (1945-1946), Sgt. George D. Keathley (1946-1972, loaned to Republic of China), Chu Hwa (1966-1988); milestone table shows Maritime Administration custody acquisition 11 December 1956. The digitized vessel status card (scanned document) records: 'Redel or Trans by: Maritime Admin. / Delivered or Trans to: Department of Navy / Date & Time: 11-15-66 9:30AM / Port of Del: Hudson R / From: [Maritime Admin] / To: Navy' - confirming the Hudson River NDRF-to-Navy custody transfer that DANFS (ev-01, ev-02) dates to November-December 1966.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1945-1988
- Limitations
- Authoritative for official number, builder, tonnage, and the 1956/1966 custody milestones; the page's summary field pairs 'Sgt. George D. Keathley (1946-1972, Loaned to Republic of China)' with a separately dated 'Chu Hwa (1966-1988)' row in a way that reads ambiguously in the rendered UI - the underlying status card and DANFS agree the Hudson River-to-Navy transfer on 11/15/1966 was a reactivation (Maritime Admin to U.S. Navy), not a foreign transfer; the 1966 date in the Chu Hwa name-history row is treated as a database display artifact, not evidence of an earlier foreign transfer than DANFS's 29 March 1972 date. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-george-d-keathley-04
-
[4]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II, the era and Maritime Commission program under which this hull (laid down June 1944, delivered March 1945) was built, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type and coastal-freighter hulls of this period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, its builder (Walter Butler Shipbuilders), or its C1-M-AV1 type, and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this specific hull, remains aboard it, or in what quantity, location, condition, or with what exposure/causation consequence. No C1-M-AV1-specific or Walter Butler Shipbuilders-specific primary specification document was located to support a more particular class/era claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-george-d-keathley-05
-
[5]Batch-9585 search ledger (this record): DANFS entry; NHHC/ibiblio Online Library record; MARAD ShipHistory 4522 + status card; CourtListener name/phrase/hull-designation searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-usns-sgt-george-d-keathley-01 through sl-usns-sgt-george-d-keathley-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record or litigation located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming this hull under any of its names or hull numbers (Alexander R. Niniger, Jr.; Acorn Knot; Sgt. George D. Keathley; T-APC-117; T-AGS-35; Chu Hwa/Chu Hua/AGS-564) was found in the public sources searched - DANFS contains none; the NHHC Online Library record contains none; the MARAD ShipHistory record and digitized status card contain none; six CourtListener queries (exact ship name, surname alone, surname+asbestos, Chu Hwa, and both hull designations) returned zero qualifying hull-specific opinions - every apparent hit was a name collision or a search-tokenization artifact (see search_ledger sl-06 through sl-11).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-45 Maritime Commission-built hull retaining original fabric through multiple conversions (1949 troopship, 1966-67 survey ship) is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials at some point in her service life. Does not establish presence or absence at any specific date; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-george-d-keathley-06
-
[6]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 336 (Office of the Chief of Transportation) and RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 336 finding aid (Ocean Transport Service Port of Embarkation architectural/engineering plans); RG 19 finding aid at https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html (Shipbuilding Division ship-design/specification records; Maintenance Division hull/machinery allowance lists)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 336 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Transportation) holds Army Transport Service ship blueprint/plan files maintained at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation (approx. 6,000 architectural/engineering items, 1917-45), potentially covering this hull's 1946-1950 Army Transportation Corps/Ryukyus Command period and its 1948-49 Moore Dry Dock troopship conversion. NARA RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships) holds ship-design, specification, and hull/machinery allowance records through the Bureau's abolition in 1966 - the exact year of this hull's Norfolk survey-ship conversion - so records of that specific conversion may fall under RG 19, its successor Naval Ship Systems Command records, or both.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1972 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull (MC hull 2247 / Official No. 247260) is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-george-d-keathley-07
-
[7]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Sgt. George D. Keathley' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full entry text, ship-history section following the George D. Keathley Medal of Honor biography; Wayback Machine capture 2024-05-26 used because the live NHHC URL currently returns 404 (link rot)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Sgt. George D. Keathley, built under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2247), was laid down as Alexander R. Niniger, Jr. on 16 June 1944 by Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc., Duluth, Minn.; launched 7 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. G.A. Meyer; renamed Acorn Knot in February 1945; and delivered to the War Shipping Administration on 30 March 1945. Operated initially by Grace Lines in the Atlantic and Caribbean, she was returned to the Maritime Commission and transferred to the Army Transportation Corps on 28 July 1946, assigned to the Ryukyus Command as an interisland cargo carrier. She departed the Far East for California 6 May 1948; in July entered Moore Dry Dock Co.'s Oakland yard for an eight-month conversion to a cargo-troop-passenger ship (troop/cabin passenger accommodations and hospital facilities added); renamed Sgt. George D. Keathley 15 March 1949; resumed Army Transportation Service in May 1949 on a Japan-Philippines-Marianas-Okinawa-Korea schedule. At the outbreak of the Korean War she was at Yokohama; on 1 July 1950 she became USNS Sgt. George D. Keathley (T-APC-117), Military Sea Transportation Service, civil-service crewed. For three years she shuttled troops, cargo, and ammunition between Japan and Korea (hospital evacuation runs to Hakata through Sept. 1950; cargo runs to Hungnam Oct. 1950; Inchon evacuation Nov.-Dec. 1950; overhaul at Yokohama 6 Jan.-2 March 1951; periodic Okinawa/Formosa runs from late 1951 through the July 1953 armistice, operating primarily Sasebo-Pusan with two runs to Naha and Keelung). She remained in Far East service two more years, transferred to MSTS Atlantic in 1955, was placed out of service 11 December 1956 and laid up in the Hudson River Group of the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet; her name was struck from the Navy list 24 October 1957 when the NDRF transfer was made permanent. She was awarded nine campaign stars for Korean Conflict service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1957
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, ownership/operator chain, and Korean-War-era transport service in detail. Contains no asbestos, insulation, materials, or hazmat information of any kind; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC URL returns 404 as of 2026-09-24; content verified via Wayback Machine capture dated 2024-05-26, which predates this access and matches the ibiblio/hyperwar NHHC-origin mirror (ev-03) in all overlapping facts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-george-d-keathley-01