Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet kc-packet.md (4 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Brister
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-brister-de327-pkt-kc-packet-md
-
[2]Jacob v. Plastics Engineering Co. (PLENCO), No. 1:19-cv-00108 (D. Guam), Complaint for Personal Injury with Exhibit A, ECF No. 1 (filed 2019-06-20; docket shows terminated 2020-02-26) - RECAP document; scanned PDF, text recovered by local OCR [court_record]
- Locator
- Complaint para. 6 (ECF No. 1, p. 3) and Exhibit A entry 3 (ECF No. 1, p. 10); docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15808518/jacob-v-plastics-engineering-company-plenco/
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pleading-stage asbestos complaint naming this hull. Complaint paragraph 6 alleges plaintiff Eusebio V. Jacob was employed as a journeyman electrician at the Navy Ship Repair Facility (SRF), Guam, during the approximate years 1962-1985, and 'worked onboard' ships overhauled and/or repaired at Guam SRF 'including: USS Asheville, USS Banner, USS Brister (DER-327), USS Engage (MSO-433), USS Fortify (MSO-446), USS Grasp (ARS-24), USS Haverfield (DER-393), USS Impervious (MSO-449), USS Inflict (MSO-456) and USS Ponchatoula (AO-148)' - alleging defendants sold original-equipment-manufacturer asbestos gaskets and packing to Guam SRF 'which were installed in their respective equipment' on the listed ships; the complaint attributes Jacob's mesothelioma (diagnosis confirmed 2018-08-02 per surgical pathology review) to those exposures. Exhibit A gives the hull's Guam SRF availability window: 'USS Brister DER-327 1/10/1963 - 6/10/1963 moved to SRF from Station 1/10; on local ops 4/28-4/30'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1963 (DER-327 Guam SRF availability per Exhibit A); 2019-2020 (litigation)
- Population
- Eusebio V. Jacob (Guam SRF journeyman electrician, circa 1962-1985; mesothelioma diagnosed 2018); Guam SRF ship-repair workers 1963
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation - it recites but does not adjudicate exposure aboard this hull; the product-specific claim (OEM asbestos gaskets and packing installed in DER-327's equipment at Guam SRF) is alleged, not proven. The case terminated 2020-02-26; no merits ruling, settlement terms, or discovery record located. Does not quantify materials aboard, establish causation, or speak to legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-01
-
[3]Hazelwood v. A.W. Chesterton Co. et al., No. 3:12-cv-01313-MEJ (N.D. Cal.), complaint as filed in the MDL-875 tag-along record, In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), J.P.M.L. ECF No. 8545-3 (filed 2012-03-21) [court_record]
- Locator
- Complaint, jobsite table para. 6 (attachment p. 16 of ECF No. 8545-3); JPML docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/1245688/in-re-asbestos-products-liability-litigation-no-vi/
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pleading-stage asbestos complaint naming this vessel. The complaint's jobsite table alleges plaintiff Moyer Hazelwood (employer: United States Navy, 1960-1964; occupations listed: seaman, engineman, diesel mechanic) was exposed to asbestos at jobsites including 'San Diego Naval Training Center, NTC; USS Prairie; USS Brister; Hunter's Point, San Francisco, CA; Mare Island, Vallejo, CA; Guam; Vietnam.' During the stated 1960-1964 window the only commissioned U.S. Navy vessel named Brister was this hull (DER-327, radar picket escort homeported in the Pacific).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1960-1964 (alleged exposure window); 2012 (litigation)
- Population
- Moyer Hazelwood (USN seaman/engineman/diesel mechanic, 1960-1964)
- Limitations
- Pleading allegation only - 'USS Brister' appears as a jobsite list entry with no hull number, incident, product, or date detail; exposure aboard is alleged, not adjudicated. Hull attribution rests on the 1960-64 period in which DER-327 was the sole USS Brister. Case disposition beyond the 2012 tag-along filing not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-02
-
[4]DANFS, Brister (DE-327) (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division; verbatim hazegray DANFS transcription via losthistory.net mirror - live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture 2024-12-09 of hazegray.org/danfs/escorts/de327.htm confirms identical text) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Brister' - namesake biography, DE-327 spec block, service narrative through 1956 recommissioning
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 24 August 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex.; sponsored by Mrs. Blanche Brister, mother of the namesake; commissioned 30 November 1943, Lt. Cmdr. L. H. Crosby, USNR, in command. Spec block: Edsall class, 1,200 t, 306 ft, 36 ft 7 in beam, 12 ft 3 in draft, 21 kt, complement 186, 3x3in + 3x21in TT. Service: June 1944-June 1945 two trans-Atlantic escort crossings to Italy and five to the United Kingdom; departed New York 8 June 1945 for the Pacific, San Diego 3 July 1945; departed Pearl Harbor August 1945 for the Far East; patrol and escort duties in the East China Sea supporting the occupation of Japan and Korea until April 1946; departed Singapore 8 April 1946, arrived Charleston via Suez and the Mediterranean 30 May; out of commission in reserve at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 4 October 1946. On 1 September 1955 commenced conversion to a radar picket escort vessel at Charleston Naval Shipyard; recommissioned 21 July 1956 as DER-327 and reported to the Atlantic Fleet for duty. Namesake: Ens. Robert Earl Brister, USNR (b. Galveston, Tex., 4 May 1920), reported missing in action 2 May 1942 when Cythera (PY-26) was lost in the Atlantic.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (Orange, Tex., 1943); USN crews 1943-1946 and 1956-1968 (design complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, specifications, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. The published entry ends at the 1956 recommissioning; DER-era operations (Pacific barrier patrols, Vietnam-era service) are documented only by secondary sources (see ev-04). Live NHHC page returns 404 on current and legacy URL patterns; verbatim mirror transcription cited. DANFS does not state a laid-down date - 1943-06-14 comes from NavSource building data (ev-04).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-03
-
[5]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Brister (DE-327) page (volunteer archive; lead-level): specifications block, building/operational data, commanding-officers roster, awards ribbons, captioned photographs, hosted scan of the ship's official war history (Wayback capture 2024-05-25 used; live navsource.org unreachable from this host 2026-09-28) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-327 page: 'Brister (DE 327) Building and Operational Data' block, Specifications block, photo captions (Nov 1961 Guam; Oct 1968 Pearl Harbor), awards table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Photo-archive data corroborating and extending DANFS: keel laid 14 June 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex.; decommissioned 4 October 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Fla.; entered Charleston Naval Shipyard 2 September 1955 for DER conversion; reclassified DER-327 on 21 October 1955; decommissioned 21 September 1968; struck from the NVR 23 September 1968; sold for scrapping to Chi Shun Hua Steel Co., Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 3 November 1971. Spec block: Edsall class, FMR type - 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws, 21 kt; complement 8 officers / 201 enlisted. Awards include Vietnam Service Medal with 5 stars, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - corroborating post-1956 Pacific/Vietnam service that the short DANFS entry does not narrate. Photo captions: November 1961 entering Guam and in drydock; October 1968 Pearl Harbor - consistent with Pacific barrier DER operations and with the 1963 Guam SRF availability alleged in Jacob (ev-01).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1971
- Population
- USN crews 1943-1946 and 1956-1968
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained photo archive - lead-level documentation, not an official record; dates, roster, captions, and awards unverified against the underlying USN/NHHC/NARA originals. The '02 July 1956' recommissioning line conflicts with DANFS and a dated museum photograph (21 July 1956) - carried in gaps. The hosted war-history facsimile was not transcribed here. Nothing on materials aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-04
-
[6]Destroyer Escort Historical Museum (USS Slater, DE-766) PastPerfect collection record 2003.48.8 - color photograph of USS Brister recommissioning ceremony, Charleston Naval Shipyard [museum_official]
- Locator
- PastPerfect object record 2003.48.8, 'Recommissioning as a radar picket', label transcription
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Museum catalog record for a photograph of this hull's recommissioning ceremony as a radar picket ship at Charleston Naval Shipyard; the label on the photograph's reverse reads 'July 21, 1956 USS Brister // Recomissioning Ceremony // Charleston Naval Shipyard.' Corroborates the DANFS recommissioning date of 21 July 1956 against the NavSource building-data line reading '02 July 1956.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1956-07-21
- Population
- Recommissioning crew, Charleston Naval Shipyard, 1956
- Limitations
- Artifact-label metadata, not a service record - establishes the ceremony date and conversion yard only; nothing on materials, scope of the DER conversion, or asbestos. Does not resolve the separate DER-327 reclassification-date question (NavSource reads 21 October 1955).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-05
-
[7]Edsall-class FMR design data (NavSource specifications block: 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws) + DANFS spec block (cl. Edsall; 21 kt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-327 specifications block (FMR machinery); DANFS spec block (Edsall class)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a geared-diesel destroyer escort built in Texas in 1943: the Edsall-class FMR machinery plant - four Fairbanks-Morse geared diesel engines driving twin screws, 6,000 shp - has NO propulsion boilers and no steam system, so the heavy steam-ship asbestos categories (boiler lagging, steam-line insulation) do not apply. Plausible period applications concentrate in diesel exhaust/muffler insulation, gaskets and packing in engineering spaces, electrical insulation, deck coverings, accommodation insulation, and friction linings on deck machinery - inside the documented asbestos era of U.S. naval construction. The Jacob complaint (ev-01) independently alleges asbestos gaskets and packing were installed in this hull's equipment at Guam SRF in 1963.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943 (construction); 1955-56 (DER conversion); 1963 (Guam SRF availability)
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943; USN engineering crews; Charleston NSY conversion trades 1955-56; Guam SRF workers 1963
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - not a ship-specific finding; no Edsall-class insulation specification or material schedule was located, and neither source documents materials aboard this hull. The ship-specific asbestos assertions in this record are the pleading allegations in ev-01 and ev-02; this row adds design context, not an independent finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-06
-
[8]U.S. General Accounting Office, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (published 18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page description + report PDF https://www.gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf (Navy response attachment, shipboard-asbestos paragraph; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level documentation that asbestos use was pervasive in Navy ships: the GAO's 1979 report on Navy asbestos protection conveys the Navy's statement that 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' aboard ships and that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos.' Context for the Navy-wide shipboard asbestos practice that this hull's construction era (1943) and DER conversion era (1955-56) belonged to.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (report); practices described span earlier decades
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and ship crews (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level finding about the modern (1970s) fleet, not about this hull - the quoted language describes in-service practice at report date, after DE/DER-327 had already been stricken and sold. Establishes nothing about materials aboard this vessel. Included only as Navy-wide era context consistent with Batch-01 and later-batch usage; gao.gov blocks automated fetches (403), so the product-page description and prior-batch verification are relied on.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweep (opinion index type=o and RECAP docket index type=r) for exact name 'USS Brister', hull numbers 'DE-327'/'DER-327', and bare 'Brister' via cl-auth-search.py (authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-brister-de327-04, -05, -06, -07, -08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep results: exact-name '"USS Brister"' (type=o) = 0 opinions; '"DER-327"' (type=o) = 0; '"DE-327"' (type=o) = 10 hits, all string collisions on manual review (docket-entry references '[DE 329]', reporter page stars '*327', unrelated numerals) - none references a vessel, naval service, or asbestos; bare 'Brister' (type=o) = 4,157 hits, sampled top results all surname collisions (criminal, family, civil cases) - no vessel reference located. RECAP-docket query '"USS Brister" OR "U.S.S. Brister" OR "aboard Brister"' (type=r) = 2 hits, both qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull: Jacob v. Plastics Engineering (PLENCO), D. Guam 1:19-cv-00108 (ev-01), and In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation MDL-875 attachment containing the Hazelwood v. A.W. Chesterton complaint, N.D. Cal. 3:12-cv-01313 (ev-02).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener's opinion and RECAP docket indexes only - it does not cover state-court filings without RECAP presence, trust claims, or non-U.S. jurisdictions. Both qualifying hits are complaints (pleading stage); no published opinion naming this hull exists in the index. 'Brister' is a common surname - the bare-name index is unusable except by sampled review.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-08
-
[10]Batch-4229 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + hazegray/losthistory mirrors + Wayback, NVR, NavSource, Destroyer Escort Historical Museum PastPerfect, Atlas shipyard dataset, CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-brister-de327-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-level asbestos documentation located beyond the two pleading-stage complaints (ev-01, ev-02): no ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material-condition report, insulation schedule, or adjudicated finding naming this hull was found in the public sources searched. No preservation-era documentation can exist - the hull was sold to Chi Shun Hua Steel Co., Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 3 November 1971 and scrapped; it was never a museum, memorial, or reserve-fleet asset after 1968.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard, and the pleading allegations do not adjudicate it. The hull no longer exists, so no present-day survey is possible. Taiwan scrapping-yard practices of 1971-72 are outside U.S. record coverage - dismantlement-exposure documentation is a dead record class for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-09
-
[11]NARA RG 19 (BuShips contract specifications / General Information Books) and RG 24 deck logs for DE-327/DER-327; Charleston Naval Shipyard DER-conversion work packages (1955-56); Guam Naval Ship Repair Facility job records for the January-June 1963 availability alleged in Jacob Exhibit A; the ship-submitted official war history (scan hosted by NavSource; original an official record) - all undigitized or not located online [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 19/RG 24 entry series (undigitized); Charleston NSY and Guam SRF job records; NavSource-hosted war-history facsimile (original location unstated)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material documentation not yet retrieved: (1) NARA RG 19 holds BuShips per-vessel specifications and ships-data books covering DE-327's construction at Consolidated Steel, Orange, Tex.; (2) RG 24 deck logs cover 1943-46 and the DER era including the January-June 1963 Guam SRF availability - the direct test of Jacob Exhibit A's shipyard window; (3) Charleston Naval Shipyard 1955-56 DER-conversion work packages would document any insulation removal/installation during conversion; (4) Guam SRF job-order records for the 1963 availability would name the equipment opened and materials used; (5) the ship's official war history exists as a NavSource-hosted scan whose original is in official custody.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1971 (records); 2026 (lead status)
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these holdings were pulled or digitized; contents unknown. They establish nothing about materials aboard. NARA catalog returns an SPA shell to programmatic fetches (standing limitation shared with prior batches).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brister-de327-10