Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet ki-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-cecil-j-doyle-de368-pkt-ki-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Cecil J. Doyle (DE-368) (namesake, specifications, builder, service narrative; live NHHC page 404 - verified against Wayback captures 2016-2025 and verbatim losthistory.net/hazegray transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative; canonical NHHC URL 404 live, Wayback captures web.archive.org/web/*/history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cecil-j-doyle.html; mirror https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/escorts/de368.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: John C. Butler-class destroyer escort (dp. 1,350 t.; l. 306'; b. 36'7"; dr. 13'4"; s. 24 k.; cpl. 186; a. 2x5", 3x21" tt., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh), 2 dct.); launched 1 July 1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., sponsored by Mrs. O. P. Doyle; commissioned 16 October 1944, Lt. Comdr. D. S. Crocker, USNR, in command. Namesake 2nd Lt. Cecil John Doyle, USMCR - born 10 August 1920, Marshall, Minn.; enlisted Marine Corps Reserve 26 March 1941; appointed Second Lieutenant 6 April 1942; declared missing in action 7 November 1942; posthumous Navy Cross for heroism with a Marine fighting squadron in the Solomons 18-25 October 1942. Service: first mission while still in shakedown - air-sea rescue station during the flight of Government officials to the Yalta Conference; 30 January 1945 rendezvous with HMS Ranee, escorted the escort carrier through the Panama Canal to San Diego; via Pearl Harbor to Eniwetok (arrived 28 March), Marshalls-Gilbert Patrol and Escort Group; escort duties to Guam and Ulithi; 30 April transferred to Carolines Surface Patrol and Escort Group; 2 May CO became Commander, Screen, Peleliu, protecting the Kossol Roads anchorage; rescued downed aviators; 27 May 1945 bombarded a bypassed Japanese garrison on Koror Island; 2 August ordered to the rescue of men in rafts at 11 deg 30' N., 133 deg 30' E. - first to reach survivors of torpedoed Indianapolis (CA-35), radioed the first report of the cruiser's loss, rescued 93 survivors and gave final rites to 21 found dead, searched until 8 August, last to leave the scene; from 26 August 1945 Buckner Bay, Okinawa, occupation duty - sailed with hospital ships to Wakayama to evacuate released POWs, screened carriers covering occupation landings, courier duty between Japanese ports through 12 November; after drydocking at Yokosuka sailed for San Francisco, arriving 13 January 1946; decommissioned and placed in reserve at San Diego 2 July 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1944; wartime crew (design complement 186 per DANFS)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, service history, and decommissioning - not materials or asbestos content, and (for this entry) no post-1946 disposal detail: the transcription ends at decommissioning, so striking and target-sinking dates are carried from NavSource (ev-02). Live NHHC page returns 404; text verified against the verbatim losthistory.net/hazegray transcription and the existence of 37 Wayback captures of the canonical URL (2016-2025).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Escort Photo Index DE-368, USS Cecil J. Doyle - specifications block, Building and Operational Data, awards bar, commanding-officer roster, namesake biography (compiled from standard Navy references) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-368 page, 'Specifications' + 'Building and Operational Data' blocks; commanding-officer list; namesake caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource building/operational data for this hull: keel laid by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. 12 May 1944; launched/christened 1 July 1944 (sponsor Mrs. O. P. Doyle); commissioned 16 October 1944 at City Docks, Orange, Tex., Lcdr. D. S. Crocker, USNR; decommissioned at San Diego 2 July 1946 after 1 year 8.5 months; struck from the NVR 1 July 1967; sunk as a target off California 2 December 1967. Specifications: class John C. Butler; type WGT (geared-turbine drive, 5-inch guns); 1,350 t light / 1,745 t full; 300' wl / 306' oa; beam 36'10" extreme; draft 11' limit; 2 'D' Express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws; 24 kts; 6,000 nm at 12 kt; complement 14/201; flag hoist NJTY. Awards bar: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; WWII Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal. CO roster: Lcdr. Douglas S. Crocker (comm. CO, to 18 Dec 1944; awarded Legion of Merit for ASW conduct as CO of DE-368); Lcdr. William Graham Claytor, Jr., USNR (18 Dec 1944 - 9 Dec 1945; later Secretary of the Navy 1977); Lcdr. Ralph Childs, USNR (decomm. CO). Namesake biography: VMF-121 'Flying Circus' under Maj. Joe Foss at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal; ace within a week; MIA 7 November 1942 on an interception against a Japanese destroyer flotilla.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1967
- Population
- Construction trades 1944; crew 1944-46
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary source - the data block is consistent with DANFS dates and the ship-submitted war history (ev-03). It is the only located source for the keel-laying date (12 May 1944; DANFS and the war history begin at launch), the striking date (1 July 1967), and the disposal (sunk as target off California 2 December 1967). Complement 14/201 conflicts with DANFS 186 and the class-profile BuShips figure (15/207) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-02
-
[4]USS Cecil J. Doyle (DE-368), Ship's History submission (letter file DE368/A12-1, serial 356, to Secretary of the Navy per AlPac 318-45, dated 4 January 1946; received-stamp Office of Public Relations 18 Jan 1946; signed R. Childs, Lt. Commander, USNR, Commanding) - official ship-submitted war history, 4-page scan hosted by NavSource [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-368 page, 'War History' image 06368wh.jpg - cover letter + narrative pp. (1)-(4) + Appendices I (chronology), II (miscellaneous summary incl. air-sea rescue table: Indianapolis 93; RAF C-47 16; Tripoli pilot 1; Peleliu pilot 1), III (operating ships list)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship's own submitted war history (CO-signed, with chronological summary and appendices): commissioned at City Docks, Orange, Texas 16 October 1944 ('a Westinghouse geared turbine destroyer escort'); Bermuda shakedown from 10 November 1944; grounded on a coral reef off Ireland Point, Bermuda, 16 November - both screws damaged; proceeded to Boston Navy Yard for repairs; at Boston Navy Yard 18 December 1944 Lt. Comdr. W. Graham Claytor, Jr., USNR relieved Crocker; returned to Great Sound, Bermuda; patrolled a special air-sea rescue station between Bermuda and Norfolk 20-22 January 1945 during the Yalta Conference flights; reported CinCLant 25 January; intercepted an eastbound troop convoy ~500 miles off New York in a full gale by radar and escorted HMS Ranee to the Panama Canal (crossed 7 February); reported CinCPac at Balboa; San Diego, then Pearl Harbor (28 February) after an unproductive diverted ASW search; March exercises incl. availability alongside USS Alcor (AD-34) and rescue of a USS Tripoli (CVE-64) pilot; departed Pearl Harbor escorting SS Cape Cod to Eniwetok, joined Marshalls-Gilbert Patrol and Escort Group; Guam escort (USS Kaweah); Ulithi radar picket; CortDiv 86 to Carolines Surface Patrol and Escort Group (27 April per war history; DANFS reads 30 April transfer); arrived Peleliu 2 May - CO became Commander, Screen, Peleliu-Angaur; floating mine sunk by rifle fire 21 May; 16 survivors of an RAF C-47 transport crash rescued off Peleliu 23 May; Koror Island shore bombardment 27 May under Marine Corsair air spot (ammunition dump exploded); ten-day availability alongside USS Prairie (AD-15) at Ulithi; CortDiv 86 pennant shifted to Doyle 21 June; Peleliu screen again 3-22 July (Japanese POW recovered off Babelthuap reef 9 July); pennant to USS McGinty 22 July, Doyle to northern air-sea rescue sector; 31 July-2 August JASASA sweep ~253 mi NE of Babelthuap; 2-9 August engaged in rescue of survivors of USS Indianapolis - worked through the night with VPB-253/VPB-23 aircraft and a motor whaleboat, two Dumbo seaplanes having landed survivors (one damaged Dumbo sunk by gunfire at daylight), survivors landed at Peleliu, ship refueled and resumed the search; 93 rescued and 21 bodies buried at sea per DANFS and Appendix II air-sea rescue table; after a further JASASA mission 10-12 August and a 15 August victory celebration interrupted by a pilot rescue, ordered back to Ulithi 19 August with USS Alvin C. Cockrell (DE-366) and USS French (DE-367); all six CortDiv 86 ships to Buckner Bay 22-26 August; sailed 9 September as screen of Underway Evacuation Unit TU 56.4.2 (RAdm P. S. Theiss, USS Montpelier CL-57 OTC) to Wakayama; entered Wakayama Wan behind minesweepers 11 September (floating mine sighted); five days evacuating Allied POWs to hospital ships; typhoon 17-18 September - dragged anchor ~3,000 yards in 90-mph winds; screened USS Santee (CVE-29) flight operations off Kii Suido 24-25 September covering Sixth Army landings (4 floating mines destroyed); two marker-ship sorties toward Bingo Suido for the Hiro Wan occupation fleet, both recalled (floating mines destroyed en route; 10 total in Empire waters); courier runs between occupied Japanese ports from 14 October (Wakayama, Hiro Wan, Yokosuka x2 each; Nagoya; Hakodate 1 November); port screw damaged on a floating log leaving Bingo Suido 7 November; drydock availability at Yokosuka granted 13 November; Lt. Comdr. Ralph Childs relieved Claytor 6 December; departed Yokosuka 20 December for Pearl Harbor/San Diego at 11 knots (port engine secured); arrived San Francisco 13 January 1946 (DANFS).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company 1944-45 (author: CO R. Childs; narrative covers Crocker/Claytor/Childs commands)
- Limitations
- Ship-authored primary document (CO-signed submission to SecNav), written as a public-information/morale narrative - contains no asbestos or materials statements. Minor conflicts with DANFS are carried where material (e.g., Carolines transfer 27 vs 30 April; it also confirms the NavSource CO dates). The 4-page scan is partially legible at retrieved resolution; verbatim reliance is limited to clearly readable passages. NavSource hosts the scan; the original is a Navy record (NARA archival lead, file DE368/A12-1 serial 356).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-03
-
[5]USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act, Pub. L. 115-338, 132 Stat. 5033, SEC. 2 findings (approved 20 December 2018; S. 2101), via govinfo COMPS compilation [other_primary]
- Locator
- Pub. L. 115-338, Sec. 2(4) findings; govinfo COMPS-15572
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Federal statute naming this hull: the Congressional findings recite that after the 30 July 1945 torpedoing of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) and the survivors' four days in the water, Lt. Wilbur Gwinn's PV-1 sighted them on 2 August and Lt. Adrian Marks's PBY began rescue before surface vessels arrived - 'The USS Cecil J. Doyle was the first surface ship to arrive on the scene and took considerable risk in using a searchlight as a beacon, which gave hope to survivors in the water and encouraged them to make it through another night.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (events); 2018 (enactment)
- Population
- USS Indianapolis survivors rescued by this vessel; ship's company August 1945
- Limitations
- Statutory finding document - confirms the ship's role as first surface ship on scene and the searchlight-beacon detail; it does not enumerate the rescue count (93 per DANFS / ship's war history) and contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-04
-
[6]DANFS specifications block (John C. Butler class; WGT plant) + NavSource specifications ('D' Express boilers, 12,000 shp geared turbines) + John C. Butler class profile (BuShips design group 6; Combustion Engineering boilers per navypedia block map for DE339-372, which includes DE-368; Navy insulation-spec suite identified via Jack v. Borg-Warner exhibit list) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; NavSource specifications block; john-c-butler-class.class.json (class profile, batch class-F, 2026-09-16)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort built in 1944 with a WGT geared-turbine steam plant (2 'D' express boilers - Combustion Engineering per the class block map for hulls DE339-372, which includes DE-368; 2 Westinghouse geared turbines; 12,000 shp) would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing. The class profile documents the era's controlling Navy insulation specifications as unretrieved archival leads (BuShips Manual ch. 39, Thermal Insulation, NAVSHIPS 250-000(39), 24 Aug 1945; Navy Dept spec 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos,' 15 Oct 1945) identified via the Jack v. Borg-Warner (DE-446 Brannon) exhibit list. Builder Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas is not in the Atlas shipyards dataset - no yard-level asbestos record exists to contextualize the build.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1944; crew 1944-46; Boston Navy Yard repair workers Nov-Dec 1944
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The boiler-manufacturer attribution is navypedia's secondary block map, unverified against contract documents. No ship-specific material schedule, survey, or allegation was located for DE-368. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-05
-
[7]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - pretrial order materials and exhibit list, ECF 738 att. 1 (verified in class-profile record john-c-butler-class, 2026-09-16) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF 738.1 pp. 12, 26-27 + exhibit list
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Class-level litigation context: pretrial materials in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC (W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537) name USS Brannon (DE-446), a John C. Butler-class sister of this hull, and recite the plaintiff's theory that a Griscom-Russell evaporator was supplied to Navy specification 'without insulation' and that asbestos was 'a critical material' when the Navy insulated it aboard - while the same materials concede the insulation 'could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' The exhibit list identifies the era's controlling Navy insulation documents as evidence in that case.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- WWII/postwar service era; litigation 2017-2019
- Population
- Machinist's mate aboard USS Brannon (DE-446)
- Limitations
- Names sister hull DE-446, NOT this hull - included to document the class's known litigation posture and the insulation-spec theory; it is a pleading/exhibit-list-level recital, not an adjudicated finding, and transfers nothing ship-specific to DE-368.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-06
-
[8]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
- Program-level context only: the GAO's 1979 report describes a Navy asbestos-control program under which standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or needed for repairs, and fleet-wide substitution effort did not begin until the early 1970s - i.e., DE-368's entire service life (1944-46), reserve-fleet lay-up (1946-67), and sinking as a target (1967) all preceded the Navy's unrestricted-asbestos-substitution era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979 (report); applies to era 1944-1967
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; fleet asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level record; contains no hull-specific data. Full text unreachable (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); summary characterization rests on the GAO product description and the same treatment in batch-01 and sibling DE records. Does not establish asbestos presence aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-07
-
[9]Batch-4273 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (Wayback + hazegray-lineage mirror); ship-submitted war history via NavSource; NavSource building/operational data; Pub. L. 115-338 findings; NVR ship-details endpoint; NARA catalog; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number queries; general web asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-01 through sl-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-368: no hull ACM survey, no abatement or hazmat disclosure (the hull was sunk as a target in 1967 - no museum or ship-recycling phase exists, and the sinking predates modern disposal-hazmat documentation), no published government survey naming this hull, and web-indexed asbestos mentions exist only on law-firm marketing pages (shepardlawfirm.com, asbestos-ships.com - excluded by batch rules; the latter also misdates the decommissioning as 1967 and is unreliable even as a lead). The Naval Vessel Register holds no record (pre-1987 disposal is outside NVR coverage).
- 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 - era practice makes ACM likely at class level, but nothing ship-specific documents it. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search, 2026-09-28 (authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py): "USS Cecil J. Doyle" type=o 0 hits; "Cecil J. Doyle" type=o 0 hits; "USS Cecil J. Doyle" type=r 0 hits; "DE-368" type=o 8 hits, all identifier collisions; "Cecil J. Doyle" type=r and "DE-368" type=r blocked by fleet pacer [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger row sl-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-13; CourtListener API v4 search endpoint
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep for this hull (authenticated API v4 via fleet helper cl-auth-search.py): '"USS Cecil J. Doyle"' opinions (type=o) = 0 hits. '"Cecil J. Doyle"' opinions (type=o) = 0 hits. '"USS Cecil J. Doyle"' RECAP dockets (type=r) = 0 hits. '"DE-368"' opinions (type=o) = 8 hits, all string collisions - the substring appears as docket-entry/reporter text in unrelated cases (United States v. Taylor, 302 F. Supp. 2d 909 N.D. Ind.; Veolia Water Solutions v. Siemens Industry, 63 F. Supp. 3d 558 E.D.N.C.; United States v. Schultz, 698 F.2d 365 8th Cir.; United States v. Youngblood, 379 F.2d 365 2d Cir.; Sierra Club v. Costle, 657 F.2d 298 D.C. Cir.; and three Puerto Rico decisions) - none references the vessel and none is asbestos litigation. '"Cecil J. Doyle"' and '"DE-368"' RECAP docket queries = blocked by fleet pacer across ~35 spaced helper invocations over ~3 hours. No opinion or located docket names the vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Substantially complete but not exhaustive: the two lowest-signal RECAP docket-name queries did not run (fleet pacer saturated by concurrent batch sessions; logged as blocked, not as a completed negative, per batch-4262 precedent). PACER-only dockets, state-court records, and unindexed complaint text are outside coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cecil-j-doyle-de368-09
