Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body, service-history paragraphs; retrieved via Wayback Machine capture (live URL returns HTTP 404 as of 2026-09-24)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Operated under general agency agreement by Isthmian SS Co. through WWII and the postwar period, then by Waterman SS Corp. and A. L. Burbank and Co. Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Wilmington, Del., December 1947; transferred to the Army 23 April 1948 and renamed Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton, receiving radar and enlarged hatches, then operating 18 months under the Army Transportation Service. Transferred to the Navy 1 March 1950 for MSTS operation; placed in service as USNS Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton (T-AKV-5), civil-service crewed, homeported San Francisco. Operated transpacific cargo runs supporting the Korean War (1950-53), then Central Pacific/Far East/Arctic schedules through the 1950s, including a 1958 rescue of a Japanese fishing vessel's crew and a 1959 Suez Canal transit into the Mediterranean/Atlantic. Redesignated AK-276 on 7 May 1956. In 1960 diverted to carry the bathyscaphe Trieste to San Diego after its record Marianas Trench dive; later shuttled Vietnam War cargo between Subic Bay and South Vietnam. Homeported Oakland, Calif., by the mid-1960s; DANFS narrative (as published/captured) describes continuing MSC Pacific operations into fall 1974.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Limitations
- Authoritative for operational service history as published. Does NOT mention any 1973 grounding or loss - the narrative describes ongoing MSC operations into fall 1974, which conflicts with the 1973-loss claim in secondary/tertiary sources (see ev-05 and gaps). Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-02
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[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton' (namesake paragraph) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body, namesake/Medal of Honor paragraph; retrieved via Wayback Machine capture
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's namesake, Staff Sergeant Jack J. Pendleton, Company I, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division, was killed in action near Bardenberg, Germany, on 12 October 1944 after advancing alone on an enemy machine-gun position with hand grenades to draw fire from his pinned-down squad; he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Naming/namesake background only. No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim and does not bear on the vessel's operational or exposure history.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-03
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[3]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, PMID 3555021
- 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 WWII, including the Maritime Commission's VC2 Victory-ship program under which this hull was built (laid down April 1944), and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in boiler and steam-system insulation, pipe lagging, gaskets, and packing aboard merchant-type and auxiliary hulls of this era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII Maritime Commission shipyard workers and Victory-ship merchant/auxiliary crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was, or remained, aboard this hull, nor its quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-04
-
[4]Wikipedia, 'USNS Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton (T-AKV-5)' and 'Triton Island' articles (and derivative mirrors: NavSource Online, shipscribe.com, military-history.fandom.com); mutually inconsistent on date/cause [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wikipedia article body (Grounding section) and Triton Island article body; cross-checked against shipscribe.com class page ('Grounded 25 Sep 1973... wreck was abandoned Nov 1974')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary/tertiary compilations report that the ship grounded on the reef at Triton Island, Paracel Islands, South China Sea, in 1973 while inbound from Vietnam, reportedly carrying contaminated ordnance and surplus small-arms ammunition being returned to the United States; salvage attempts (reportedly including USS Mount Vernon, LSD-39) failed and the hull was abandoned. Sources disagree on date and cause: one states 23 September 1973 at 17.5 knots; another states 25 September 1973; a third states the vessel originally grounded during an October 1973 typhoon and was driven further ashore by three subsequent typhoons.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1973-1974
- Limitations
- NOT an official/authoritative source under this batch's evidence standard - carried as context only, not as a confirmed finding, because no NHHC/Navy record, GAO report, or contemporary press account corroborating the loss was located, and because the NHHC DANFS entry for this hull (ev-02) does not mention the incident and instead describes operations continuing into fall 1974, directly conflicting with a September 1973 loss date. Internal source-to-source date/cause conflicts are unresolved. Does not establish or bear on any asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-05
-
[5]Batch-9587 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 (authenticated) opinion searches; NARA record-group guides RG178/RG248/RG336; MARAD ShipHistory lookup (server error, inconclusive); NVR direct-URL lookups (template page only, inconclusive) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-01 through sl-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull under any of its names was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener exact-phrase opinion searches on 'T-AK-276' and 'Mandan Victory' returned zero results; a broader 'Jack J. Pendleton' opinion search returned only name-collision noise (unrelated cases matching the surname). The exact-phrase opinion search on 'Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton' and all docket/RECAP-type searches were blocked by the shared fleet-wide CourtListener pacing limit before completion in this session.
- Verification
- partial
- 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 during the vessel's 1944-1973 service - a Victory ship of this era is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and packing per class/era context (ev-04). CourtListener litigation coverage is incomplete due to a shared fleet-wide pacing limit that blocked the exact ship-name opinion search and all docket searches - this is logged as a genuine coverage gap, not a completed clean search. Does not establish presence or absence of asbestos, nor any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-06
-
[6]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (US Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration), RG 336 (records touching the Army Transportation Service) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 178 Construction Division + Pacific Coast/regional directors; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/248.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/336.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved - record-group mapping only, no box-level retrieval performed, no spend authorized): NARA RG 178 (Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission) holds Construction Division and Pacific Coast/Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. contract and outfitting files for MCV hull 109; RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) holds vessel-operation files for WSA general-agency-operated hulls (Isthmian SS Co., Waterman SS Corp., A. L. Burbank and Co.); Army Transportation Service records touching the 1948-1950 USAT Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton period fall generally under RG 336 (U.S. Army Transportation Command records) and related Army Quartermaster/Transportation Corps series.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1973 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for MCV hull 109 / this vessel is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-07
-
[7]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton' vs. shipscribe.com, 'USNS Lt James E Robinson (T-AKV 3, VC2-S-AP3) Class' page [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body, redesignation sentence; shipscribe.com class table row for T-AKV-5
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancy resolved: shipscribe.com states the ship was 'Reclassified from AKV to AK 276 effective 7 May 1959.' The NHHC DANFS entry states 'Redesignated AK-276 (7 May 1956).' DANFS, the official ship-specific source, is adopted; the shipscribe.com date is not used and the conflict is logged rather than silently dropped.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1956-1959
- Limitations
- Resolves a publication-level date discrepancy in favor of the official DANFS record; does not affect identity or asbestos content. No asbestos information in either source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-08
-
[8]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body, construction and specification block; retrieved via Wayback Machine capture (live URL returns HTTP 404 as of 2026-09-24 - link rot, consistent with prior batch findings)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton was laid down under Maritime Commission contract as Mandan Victory (MCV hull 109) on 15 April 1944 by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg.; launched on 26 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. George C. Carter; and delivered to the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration on 19 June 1944. Specification block: 'AKV-5: dp. 15,199 (f.); l. 455'3"; b. 62'; dr. 28'7"; s. 16 k.; cpl. 55; cl. Lt. James E. Robinson; T. VC2-S-AP3.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, builder, construction dates, and design type. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-sgt-jack-j-pendleton-01