Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet o-packet.md (14 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS American Legion. Hull: APA-17 (originally commissioned as AP-35, reclassified APA-17 on 1 February 1943). Designation: attack transport (APA). Class: Harris-class attack transport.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-american-legion-apa17-pkt-o-packet-md
-
[2]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P, 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28(1):9-16 (1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article text, 'Pipe Covering Material' section and Tables
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A contemporaneous U.S. Navy industrial-health survey of pipe-covering operations in naval-vessel construction documents that amosite asbestos was an important ingredient of pipe-covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels, and that pipe coverers laid out and cut asbestos felt/pipe covering, sewed asbestos cloth, mixed asbestos cement, molded, ground, and installed it aboard ship at Navy yards and contract yards. Dust counts in these operations were documented as considerable. This hull was a Navy steam transport repeatedly handled by such yards in 1939-1944.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1939-1946 (vessel conversion/service era); study published 1946
- Population
- Navy-yard and contract-yard pipe coverers/insulators and nearby trades (era context); ship's engineering crew during refits
- Limitations
- Program/era documentation, not a hull record - the study surveyed anonymized Navy and contract yards and does not name this vessel. Supports the inference that asbestos-containing pipe covering was installed aboard Navy vessels of this era; does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-apa17-01
-
[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
- 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 and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard hulls built, converted, and repaired under federal programs - the era covering this vessel's conversion to Army transport, Navy commissioning, and wartime yard periods.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level scholarship; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-apa17-02
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[4]DANFS, 'USS American Legion (AP-35/APA-17)' (Naval History Division); NHHC live DANFS page returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-25 - cited via HyperWar/ibiblio verbatim transcription; earlier shorter DANFS text via hazegray mirror [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- https://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/APA/apa17.html (full revised entry); earlier-text mirror https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/auxil/ap35.txt
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Full service record per DANFS: laid down 10 January 1919 at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden NJ, under USSB contract; launched 11 October 1919; delivered to USSB 15 July 1921; sold to Munson Line December 1925 for New York-South America service; laid up after Munson foreclosure 13 March 1939; transferred to War Department 28 November/19 December 1939 and converted by Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn; USAT service including five Canal Zone voyages, the Petsamo evacuation of 897 people incl. Crown Princess Martha of Norway (Aug 1940), and the second Iceland troop convoy (Jul-Aug 1941); acquired by the Navy 22 August 1941 and commissioned as AP-35 on 26 August 1941 (Comdr. Thomas D. Warner); West Indies runs, Bethlehem Steel Brooklyn overhaul into January 1942, Boston Navy Yard repairs March 1942; Pacific service from April 1942: Tongatabu, Wellington, Guadalcanal landings 7-9 August 1942 (with Fuller AP-14 landed first troops; embarked Quincy CA-39 and Ellet DD-398 survivors after Savo Island); reclassified APA-17 on 1 February 1943; training landings Upolu and Paekakariki NZ (landing-boat capsizing killed one officer and nine enlisted men); Cape Torokina, Bougainville landings 1 November 1943 (grounded and refloated under air attack); San Francisco arrival 8 December 1943 (83,140 miles) and repairs into spring 1944; Transport Training Division, Amphibious Training Pacific, Coronado, for duration; postwar Guam and Philippines voyages; decommissioned Olympia WA and struck from NVR 28 March 1946; sold for scrap 5 February 1948 to Zidell Ship Dismantling Co., Portland OR; two battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1919-1948
- Population
- Navy crew (682) and embarked troops (up to 1,644); Army Transport Service crews/passengers 1939-1941
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity and operational history; contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement. Transcription issues: Munson sale date OCR-garbled ('189 December 1925'); the revised entry gives decommission/strike 28 March 1946 while the earlier DANFS text and NavSource give decommissioning 20 March 1946 - discrepancy logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-apa17-03
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[5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - AMERICAN LEGION (APA-17/AP-35), Ship History Detail 209; BADGER STATE Detail 12682 (linked same-hull name record) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 209 specifications, milestones, status-card scans; Detail 12682 name-history link
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory records for this hull: Detail 209 - AMERICAN LEGION (APA-17/AP-35), Year Built 1921, Official Number 221478, New York Shipbuilding Corporation, General Type Naval Auxiliary, Specific Type AP Transport, MARAD Type USSB 1029, gross 13,736; linked name-history record BADGER STATE (Detail 12682, same hull data, confirming alias consolidation); milestones: Reserve Fleet entry 23 April 1947; Sold 28 January 1948 under contract PD-X-395; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; digitized status cards attached.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1921-1948
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody, registry identity, and disposal milestones; contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information - supports no asbestos claim. MARAD 'Badger State' name link conflicts with the NYSB hull list ('Gopher State' as building name) - logged in gaps. Sale milestone (28 Jan 1948) differs from DANFS scrap-sale date (5 Feb 1948) - likely contract vs completion; logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-apa17-04
-
[6]DANFS revised and earlier texts (ibiblio/hazegray transcriptions); MARAD ShipHistory 209/12682; NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive APA-17; New York Shipbuilding hull list (yorkship.org) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entries; NavSource 10/03/03017; MARAD Detail 209/12682; yorkship.org/HTML/liners.htm hull 242
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies documented: (a) laid-down date - DANFS gives 10 January 1919; the New York Shipbuilding hull list (yorkship.org) and NavSource give 21 January 1919. (b) Pre-launch name - the NYSB hull list reads 'laid down as Koda, building as Gopher State,' while MARAD ShipHistory and NavSource attach 'Badger State'; christened/launched 11 October 1919 as American Legion (the USSB state-name assignment of 25 November 1919 postdates launch). (c) Decommission date - revised DANFS gives 28 March 1946 at Olympia with same-day striking; NavSource and the earlier DANFS text give decommissioning 20 March 1946 (13th Naval District) with striking on 28 March. (d) Class name - NavSource/standard references 'Harris class'; DANFS stat line 'cl. American Legion'; earlier DANFS text 'Class Wharton.' (e) Displacement - DANFS stat line 13,729; NavSource and MARAD lightweight figure 13,529.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1919-1948
- Limitations
- Documents publication-level discrepancies without resolving the underlying primary record (NVR strike date vs DANFS text, USSB naming records vs yard list); does not affect identity, service record, or disposal pathway materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-apa17-05
-
[7]Oregon DEQ, Zidell Waterfront Property Cleanup materials (site history and contaminants incl. asbestos; ROD/consent-decree remedy summary); USCG Regulated Navigation Area, 77 Fed. Reg. 19544 (2012), documenting DEQ-required remedial cap; Portland Efiles cleanup-status letter (2023, ECSI 689) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DEQ Zidell CAG presentation (site history: 'Purchased by Zidell in 1946: 336 ships dismantled over 30 years... Asbestos' among site contaminants); 77 FR 19544; efiles.portlandoregon.gov/record/16337533
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Oregon DEQ documents the Zidell Waterfront Property (3121 SW Moody Ave, Portland; ECSI No. 689) - purchased by Zidell in 1946 and used for dismantling 336 ships over about 30 years with dismantling waste used as site fill - as contaminated with asbestos among metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, PAHs, PCBs, and butyltins; the remedy (2005 ROD, 2006 consent decree, certification of completion 2018) included a certified asbestos-abatement project, hot-spot soil removal, and engineered capping of soils and Willamette River sediments. DANFS and MARAD record that this hull was sold to Zidell Ship Dismantling Co. of Portland for scrap in early 1948 - i.e., the hull was dismantled within this documented contaminated operation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1946-2018 (site operation and cleanup); this hull scrapped 1948
- Population
- Zidell ship-dismantling workers, Portland OR (site population, 1946-1976 era)
- Limitations
- Site-level environmental record - DEQ documents contamination from decades of dismantling at the site, not the asbestos content of any individual hull. Establishes that the shipbreaking environment this documented hull entered in 1948 produced asbestos waste; does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, its quantity, or worker exposure to it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-apa17-06
-
[8]Batch-2243 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcriptions; MARAD ShipHistory 209/12682; NavSource APA-17; NARA Special List 44; CourtListener opinion/docket name and hull-number queries; NVR; Oregon DEQ Zidell file [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-american-legion-apa17-01 through -09
- 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 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated API v4): exact 'USS American Legion' returned zero opinions; hull-number and name+asbestos queries returned only name collisions - 'American Legion' overwhelmingly denotes the veterans' organization (premises cases, Agent Orange amicus filings), and 'AP-35' collides with unrelated docket numbers (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1919-1921 steamship with a 1941 Navy conversion is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-apa17-07
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[9]NARA, 'Special List 44 - Named Vessels' (logbooks of U.S. Navy ships available online); MARAD ShipHistory Detail 209 status-card scans [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44 table entry: 'American Legion (AP-35, APA-17) 8/26/1941 - 6/30/1945'; MARAD Detail 209 status cards
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (existence verified, contents not surveyed): NARA Special List 44 lists American Legion (AP-35, APA-17) among Navy logbooks available online through the National Archives Catalog, covering 26 August 1941 to 30 June 1945 - deck logs would document refit, repair, and ship's-force maintenance events; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 209 carries digitized status-card scans; Bureau of Ships plans for EFC Design 1029 (shipscribe.org USSB register sheets) may document construction materials.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1941-1945 records
- Limitations
- Catalog-level confirmation of record existence only; contents unexamined and no asbestos-specific statement located or expected a priori. Log coverage ends 30 June 1945 - postwar disposal-period logs are not in this digitized set. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-american-legion-apa17-08