Evidence
15 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-15).
-
[1]research packet hc-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bordelon-dd881-pkt-hc-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Bordelon (DD-881) entry (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returns 404 - mirrors: hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd881txt.htm via Wayback capture 2021-04-14; Tin Can Sailors carries the April 2016 DANFS update) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Bordelon' DD-881, specifications block + service narrative + 2016 update line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull. Namesake: Marine Staff Sergeant William James Bordelon, killed in action on Tarawa 20 November 1943 and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor (DANFS biographical paragraph). Launched 3 March 1945 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex.; sponsored by Mrs. W. J. Bordelon, mother of Staff Sergeant Bordelon; commissioned 5 June 1945, CDR M. J. Lyosey in command. Specs: dp 2425; l. 390'6"; b. 40'10"; dr. 19'; s. 35 k.; cpl. 355; a. 6 5", 10 21" TT; cl. Gearing. Service: shakedown/training east coast and Caribbean to November 1945; departed Norfolk 7 November, Pearl Harbor 28 November, Kure Japan December; occupation force to March 1946; TF 77 Marianas with cruises to Hong Kong, Manila, Shanghai, Tsingtao, Sasebo, Okinawa; returned December 1946; DesRon 14 east coast January 1947; Plymouth England September 1947 with Northern European Task Force to February 1948; six Sixth Fleet Mediterranean tours and five midshipmen cruises thereafter. Updated DANFS text (April 2016, via Tin Can Sailors) adds: 'Bordelon was struck from the Navy list on 1 February 1977 and transferred to Iran via the Security Assistance Program on 1 July 1977.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1977
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1944-45; crew 1945-1977 (design complement 355)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, sponsors, service chronology and striking/transfer dates - it does not document materials or asbestos content. Laid-down date (9 September 1944) is carried by NavSource/Wikipedia, not in the quoted DANFS text. Mirror transcriptions cited because live NHHC DANFS pages return 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-01
-
[3]Naval Historical Center (NHHC predecessor), 'U.S. Navy Ships and Units Which Received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Participating in the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962' (faq90-3; live page unavailable, Wayback capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHC FAQ faq90-3 ships list, B entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Naval Historical Center AFEM list names this hull on the Cuban Missile Crisis quarantine line: 'Bordelon (DD 881), 24 Oct - 22 Nov 62; 3 - 21 Dec 62.' Two distinct quarantine periods documented for a hull homeported at Charleston, S.C.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1962-10-24 to 1962-12-21
- Population
- Crew aboard DD-881 October-December 1962
- Limitations
- Documents quarantine service and AFEM eligibility windows only - no materials or exposure content. Confirms the hull participated in the naval quarantine; does not specify boardings or interceptions performed by this ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-02
-
[4]USS Passumpsic (AO-107) Command History for calendar year 1968, OPNAV Report 5750-1 (dated 6 March 1969), NHHC command-operation-reports archive (live PDF 404s; Wayback capture of history.navy.mil file) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Passumpsic CY1968 command history, chronological history section, January entries for the 1st, 8th, and 21st
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A primary-source command report names this hull on Yankee Station: the Passumpsic CY1968 chronology (WESTPAC deployment November 1967-June 1968) records underway replenishments of 'USS BORDELON (DD 881)' on 1 January 1968 (with USS Coral Sea and USS McCord), 8 January 1968 (with USS Hoel and USS Mansfield), and 21 January 1968 (with USS Blue, USS Newport News, USS Owen, USS Lewis, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Perkins, USS Pritchett, USS Rogers) - Vietnam combat-zone operations during this hull's October 1967-mid-1968 WestPac deployment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1967-11 to 1968-06; entries January 1968
- Population
- Crew aboard DD-881, Vietnam combat zone January 1968
- Limitations
- OCR of the scanned report renders the hull number as 'DD 081'/'DD 881' - reads DD-881 in context; only one USS Bordelon existed. Documents combat-zone presence, not asbestos or materials. Gunline specifics for this hull (e.g., claimed first shots 20 January 1968, per crew-contributed deployment data) are not corroborated here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-03
-
[5]NARA NAID 24745235 - U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo 19-NN-DD-881 'Borderlon' (sic) 410-20, December 1963: 'Bordelon completed her FRAM I-modernization at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, South Carolina (USA), in December 1963'; NavSource DD-881 operational data likewise records 'Completed FRAM upgrade December 1963' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA still-picture catalog NAID 24745235; navsource.org/archives/05/881.htm operational/building data block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips photograph caption and NavSource building data document a FRAM I modernization yard period for this hull at Charleston Naval Shipyard, completed December 1963 - the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization rebuild that added ASROC, DASH facilities, and updated sensors to the ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1963
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard trades during the 1963 FRAM availability; crew
- Limitations
- Documents the yard period, yard, and completion date. Any asbestos scope (insulation disturbance, removal, replacement) during FRAM is era inference, not documented by this source. The photo caption is descriptive metadata, not a work package.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-04
-
[6]U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, August 1976: 'Proceed to Assist ... The Belknap Ablaze' - first-person account by the commanding officer of primary-rescue ship USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Proceedings Aug 1976 article text (C.V. Ricketts CO narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Professional naval journal account of the 22 November 1975 Belknap/John F. Kennedy collision rescue: 'The USS Bordelon (DD-881), Commander G. E. Pierce commanding, was assigned as a back-up firefighting unit and to make preparations to take the Belknap under tow.' Per the account, Commodore Schultz (COMDESRON) directed Bordelon to stand by to approach Belknap's port side once flames were under control, and Bordelon took in the port side and extinguished several stubborn fires.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-11-22
- Population
- Crew aboard DD-881 during the rescue, 22-23 November 1975
- Limitations
- Operational/firefighting narrative only - documents the hull's damage-control role in the rescue, not materials or asbestos. USNI Proceedings is a professional journal carrying a participant's first-person report, not an official investigation; the Navy's formal JAG/MAB report was not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-05
-
[7]Naval History and Heritage Command 'This Day in Naval History - Sept. 14' entry (syndicated via marinelink.com); NHHC official social-media album 'Sept. 14, 1976: USS Bordelon and USS John F. Kennedy collide'; NavSource damage photo captions (aboard USS Brumby FF-1044, fall 1976) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC This Day in Naval History, September 14 (1976 entry); NavSource 05/881.htm photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- On 14 September 1976, while conducting nighttime underway replenishment off Scotland (about 100 miles north of Scotland / northwest of Scapa Flow), USS Bordelon (DD-881) lost steerage and collided with aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). Bordelon's port bow and superstructure were damaged and the main mast fell on the signal shack, injuring six crewmen; she continued under her own power. Ammunition ship USS Mount Baker escorted her to an ammunition depot and offloaded her ammunition cargo.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1976-09-14
- Population
- Crew aboard DD-881; six injured in the signal-shack area
- Limitations
- NHHC-published day-in-history content reached via syndication (marinelink; NHHC Facebook album) - the canonical NHHC web page was not located (standing NHHC link rot). Collision details consistent across NHHC, NavSource photo captions, and secondary sources. No asbestos or material consequence documented - though superstructure/mast damage repair work in the yard would disturb insulation under era practice (inference).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-06
-
[8]NavSource Naval History photo index DD-881/DDR-881 - operational and building data; designations DD-881 / DDR-881; machinery 60,000 SHP General Electric geared turbines, 2 screws; decommissioned and stricken 1 February 1977; 'To Iran July 1977 and cannibalized for spare parts' [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/881.htm - Operational and Building Data + Fate lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposal record for this hull: decommissioned and stricken 1 February 1977 after the 14 September 1976 collision damage plus hull age/condition; transferred to Iran July 1977 (DANFS update gives 1 July 1977 via Security Assistance Program) and cannibalized for spare parts - never commissioned in Iranian service. NavSource also carries the DDR-881 radar-picket designation (1949-1962) and the 60,000-shp GE geared-turbine machinery line; photo captions on the index place the ship in the Gulf of Tonkin in company with USS Oriskany (CVA-34), 23-25 February 1973, consistent with a second Vietnam-era deployment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1976-1977
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-run naval photo archive, not an official register; the DANFS-derived dates (stricken 1977-02-01, transfer 1977-07-01) corroborate it. The Naval Vessel Register has no record for this hull because ships disposed of before 1987 are not yet loaded - the stricken/transfer dates themselves come from DANFS. No material detail in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-07
-
[9]John Crane, Inc. v. Hardick, Record No. 101909 (Va. Sup. Ct., March 2, 2012) - published opinion (official PDF: courts.state.va.us/opinions/opnscvwp/1101909.pdf) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion sections I (facts) and III (conclusion); 'USS Bordelon' recitals at pp. 4-5 of the slip opinion
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published appellate opinion in an asbestos wrongful-death action records trial evidence naming this hull: Robert Eugene Hardick (USN 1957-1976) worked as a machinery repairman aboard USS Everglades, USS Bordelon, and USS Detroit from 1963 to 1971; 'during his tenure on the USS Bordelon, Hardick repaired an entire diesel generator while the vessel was at sea,' and his tasks primarily involved repairing valves plus occasional work on the vessels' piping systems, with gaskets/packing by John Crane and Garlock among the products at issue. Hardick was diagnosed with mesothelioma February 2007 and died March 2009; the jury returned a $5,977,482 verdict apportioning 50 percent fault to John Crane and 50 percent to Garlock. The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed in part and reversed in part: Hardick was a 'seaman' under Wilander/Chandris, so the nonpecuniary awards ($2M pain and suffering, $1.15M loss of society) were vacated; exposure evidence and liability were undisturbed; remanded for a consistent order.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- Service 1963-1971; trial verdict ~2010; opinion 2012-03-02
- Population
- Machinery repairman aboard DD-881 1963-1971; mesothelioma decedent
- Limitations
- The opinion's verdict is cumulative across six vessels - it does not isolate which products aboard USS Bordelon contained asbestos or that Bordelon exposure alone caused disease. The appellate reversal concerned damages law (seaman/nonpecuniary), not the exposure findings. Asbestos content aboard is evidenced by the work recitals (valves, gaskets, piping, generator repair) and the jury's product allocations, not by any hull-level material identification.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-08
-
[10]Contois v. Able Industries Inc., 523 F. Supp. 2d 155 (D. Conn. 2007) (Judge Thompson) - ruling on motion to remand [court_record]
- Locator
- 523 F. Supp. 2d at 158-159 (timeliness analysis quoting interrogatory and Woodruff report)
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- Published federal opinion recites discovery-record identifications tied to this hull: plaintiff's interrogatory response that decedent Hugo Mortenson 'worked as a seaman in the U.S. Navy on the USS Bordelon from 1951 to 1955'; and plaintiff's expert report by R. Bruce Woodruff, Capt. USN (Ret.), opining Mortenson 'may have been exposed to asbestos aboard the USS Bordelon (DDR 881) on which he was stationed from 1951-1955 - possibly in significant quantities,' identifying 'main steam turbines manufactured by GE and pumps manufactured by Buffalo Pumps' as asbestos-containing products aboard. The parenthetical '(DDR 881)' correctly matches the hull's 1949-1962 radar-picket designation for the alleged 1951-55 service window. The opinion itself decides only federal-officer removal: motion to remand DENIED (Buffalo Pumps and GE removal upheld on military-contractor defense).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- Service 1951-1955; opinion 2007-11-13
- Population
- Navy seaman aboard DD-881 1951-1955; mesothelioma decedent
- Limitations
- Discovery-stage recitals (interrogatory answer + plaintiff expert report) quoted inside a jurisdictional opinion - the exposure and product identifications are allegations/expert opinion, never adjudicated on the merits in this ruling. Removal posture is a jurisdictional holding, not a finding about asbestos aboard. The Woodruff report itself was not independently retrieved (it is Ex. 2 to the removal notice).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-09
-
[11]Class/era context: Gearing-class design (destroyerhistory.org class study) + NavSource machinery line (60,000 shp GE geared turbines) + class-wide radar-picket conversion note [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org Gearing class page (DDR conversion paragraph); NavSource 05/881.htm machinery line
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a Gearing-class destroyer built 1944-45 at Consolidated Steel, Orange, Tex., with a four-boiler, 60,000-shp geared steam plant falls in the peak Navy asbestos era - boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings were period-standard applications. This hull also underwent a 1945 radar-picket conversion (second Gearing group, DDs 830-835 and 878-883, converted at Boston and Norfolk Navy Yards) and a FRAM I rebuild at Charleston Naval Shipyard in 1963 - yard availabilities that disturbed machinery-space insulation under era practice.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1977
- Population
- Consolidated Steel trades 1944-45; conversion-yard workers 1945 and 1963; crew 1945-1977
- Limitations
- Class/era and program-level inference only - no hull-level material schedule, work package, or survey was located for DD-881; the specific yard for this hull's 1945 radar-picket conversion is unverified (Boston vs Norfolk not documented per hull in the class study). Does not establish quantity, condition, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-10
-
[12]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program at the end of this hull's service life: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period (e.g., this hull's 1963 FRAM) disturbed it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull- or class-specific - supports era context only. Full text blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403); content via GAO product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-11
-
[13]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bordelon-dd881-07 through -10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search on 'Bordelon' returned two qualifying asbestos opinions naming this hull - John Crane v. Hardick (Va. 2012; ev-08, trial-level evidence, verdict partially reversed on damages law) and Contois v. Able Industries (D. Conn. 2007; ev-09, discovery recitals inside a removal ruling). No other qualifying asbestos litigation naming the hull was located in the opinion corpus. Non-qualifying collisions (person/entity name 'Bordelon' - e.g., Asbestos v. Bordelon Inc., Bordelon Marine, Avondale-superintendent testimony) excluded as name collisions, not hull references. Hull-number ('DD-881'/'DDR-881') and RECAP docket-type sweeps were attempted repeatedly but the shared fleet pacing budget was exhausted mid-session (HTTP pacing exit 2) - those sweeps are flagged incomplete, not negative.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Opinion-level 'Bordelon' sweep complete with two qualifying hits; RECAP docket-text and hull-number sweeps incomplete due to fleet pacing - additional complaint/exhibit-level mentions may exist. A name match is not proof of exposure-site status; each hit was classified by reading the opinion text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-12
-
[14]NARA, 'Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978' (series NAID 594258; Vietnam-era deck logs digitized under the VA Blue Water Navy scanning project) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA series NAID 594258; still-picture NAIDs 24745235 / 19-N-86654; Contois docket 3:07-cv-01328
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level records: (a) DD-881 deck logs for the 1945-1977 service span sit in NARA series NAID 594258 (Vietnam-era months digitized in batches - availability for this hull not confirmed item-by-item); (b) NARA still pictures include BuShips photo 19-N-86654 (Orange, Tex., 10 June 1945) and NAID 24745235 (post-FRAM, December 1963); (c) the Woodruff expert report recited in Contois (removal-notice Ex. 2) names GE turbines and Buffalo Pumps aboard DDR-881 - the report itself is a retrieval lead in the D. Conn. docket file (3:07-cv-01328).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1977
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Identifies repositories and documents worth pulling; none was retrieved item-level, and none is itself evidence of asbestos content. Deck logs would document work events (availabilities, casualties) rather than material composition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-13
-
[15]This record's search ledger (DANFS mirrors; NHC AFEM list; NHHC command-report archives; NARA; NavSource; USNI; CourtListener; govinfo/GAO surfaces) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bordelon-dd881-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-specific asbestos inventory, survey, abatement contract, industrial-hygiene report, or material-sampling record naming DD-881/DDR-881 was located in the sources searched. The strongest ship-specific asbestos documentation is litigation-level: a jury-tried wrongful-death case (Hardick) and a discovery recital with a named expert report (Contois). There is no museum custody (hull went to Iran as a parts hulk) and no MARAD reserve-fleet history, so the museum/survey channel that produced hull records for sister ships (e.g., Laffey, JPK) is absent here.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record does not prove absence - BuShips contract files, FRAM work packages, and deck logs likely sit in undigitized NARA series. Litigation recitals are not material certifications.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bordelon-dd881-14