Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 697-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-coconino-county-lst603-pkt-697-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-603 (builder, sponsor, commissioning, WWII and postwar service, renaming, Vietnam service, transfer; archived Wayback capture of the official Naval Historical Center page - live NHHC DANFS URLs returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text (archived l21/lst-603.htm), full entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 5 November 1943 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 14 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Etla N. Hobart; commissioned 5 April 1944, Ens. William B. Sweet in command. WWII: assigned to the European theater, participated in the invasion of southern France August-September 1944. Postwar: Amphibious Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, incl. one Mediterranean deployment in 1950. Decommissioned 12 May 1955; redesignated Coconino County (LST-603) on 1 July 1955 after a county in Arizona; recommissioned 8 June 1966; operated in the Vietnam theater from 1966 until transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Navy on 4 April 1969, serving as Vung Tau (HQ-503).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1969 (entry coverage)
- Population
- Chicago Bridge & Iron construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-55, 1966-69)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. Entry predates modern record-keeping on disposal: striking date and post-transfer fate are not recorded. DANFS gives 'six battle stars' for Vietnam while NavSource's campaign enumeration and ribbon display give seven - discrepancy carried in gaps. Citation is a 2004 Wayback capture of the official page, labeled archived; current NHHC DANFS URLs for this hull 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Coconino County (LST-603) ex USS LST-603 - milestone timeline, campaign list, ribbon display, specifications, commanding-officer list, NARA-captioned photography [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160603.htm header block, campaign table, ribbon array, specifications block, commanding-officer list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 5 November 1943, Chicago Bridge and Iron Works, Seneca IL; launched 14 March 1944; commissioned USS LST-603 5 April 1944 at New Orleans, LT. William B. Sweet USN in command; WWII Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign: Invasion of southern France, 15 August - 23 September 1944; postwar Amphibious Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet incl. 1950 Mediterranean deployment earning Navy Occupation Service Medal (Europe clasp) 20 May - 16 August 1950; decommissioned 12 May 1955 and laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; renamed USS Coconino County (LST-603) 1 July 1955; recommissioned 8 June 1966 'at New York Ship Building, Camden, N.J.'; Vietnam service in-country and contiguous waters late 1966 - early 1969 across seven enumerated campaigns (Counteroffensive Phases II-VI, Tet Counteroffensive, Tet/69); decommissioned and transferred to South Vietnam 4 April 1969 at Guam as RVNS Vung Tau (HQ-503); struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted + 16 officers/147 enlisted troops; 2 LCVP; propulsion 2 x GM 12-567A diesels (900 hp), single Falk main reduction gear, 3 x 100 kW diesel-driven generators, 2 propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-55, 1966-69); embarked troops
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones track DANFS where they overlap, and its campaign list is the more granular award accounting (7 campaigns vs DANFS's 'six battle stars' - carried in gaps). Its compressed 'recommissioned at New York Ship Building' conflicts with the more detailed MRFA narrative and scanned CO biography placing the recommissioning ceremony at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard after a ~5-month Camden reactivation - carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-02
-
[4]Era inference built on: BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 2 official LST design table (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, no boilers; shipscribe.com scan) + NavSource spec block for this hull + Atlas class profile lst-1-class (class-f worktree) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips SDB-1945 v2 LST design table (https://shipscribe.com/styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf); NavSource spec block; lst-1-class class profile ev-lst-1-class-01/-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-542-class hull built 1943-44 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, but its machinery plant removes the largest single pathway: with two GM diesels and no boilers, there was no boiler or steam-turbine lagging aboard. Era-standard asbestos applications for an amphibious hull of this type and period were diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, valve and flange packing, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-55, 1966-69); yard and repair trades at documented availabilities
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-603. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no present-day presence established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-03
-
[5]Ship-history narrative for USS Coconino County (LST-603) reproduced by the Mobile Riverine Force Association (veterans' association republication of the ship's official-history style narrative), corroborated by NavSource timeline and a scanned commanding-officer biography hosted on NavSource (160603a.pdf) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MRFA Coconino County (603) history page; NavSource 10/16/160603.htm timeline; NavSource-hosted CO biography scan 160603a.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented yard and lay-up contacts for this hull: arrived New York Navy Yard (Brooklyn) 14 July 1945 for overhaul and refresher training through the end of 1945; decommissioned 12 May 1955 and laid up with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (1955-1966); underwent a yard overhaul/reactivation of approximately five months at Camden, New Jersey (New York Shipbuilding) and was recommissioned 8 June 1966 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; then trained at Little Creek, Virginia, and joined Landing Ship Squadron Three, Amphibious Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, homeported at Guam.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945; 1955-1966
- Population
- Brooklyn Navy Yard trades (Jul-Dec 1945); New York Shipbuilding Camden trades (early-mid 1966); Philadelphia Naval Shipyard reserve-fleet and recommissioning trades (1955-66); prospective commissioning crew
- Limitations
- Establishes documented presence at three asbestos-documented yards - it does NOT establish the scope of work performed, the materials installed or removed, or any asbestos handling aboard this specific hull. The narrative rests on a veterans'-association republication (secondary sourcing); NavSource corroborates the milestones but compresses the recommissioning venue to 'New York Ship Building, Camden' while the fuller narrative and a scanned CO biography give the ceremony at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-04
-
[6]Yard-level asbestos documentation for the three yards that touched this hull: In re Brooklyn Navy Yard Asbestos Litigation, 971 F.2d 831 (2d Cir. 1992) (Kaylo pipe insulation at Brooklyn Navy Yard); Taylor v. Celotex Corp., 393 Pa. Super. 566 (1990), Junge v. Garlock, Inc., 427 Pa. Super. 592 (1993), Gross v. Johns-Manville Corp., 410 Pa. Super. 486 (1991) (named asbestos products at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, incl. Kaylo, Unibestos, Eagle-Picher, Johns-Manville); New York Shipbuilding documented product list in the Atlas shipyards dataset (Pabco Six-Ply Super Caltemp block, Ehret 85% magnesia, Transite panels, asbestos gaskets/packing, welding rods) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 971 F.2d 831 (2d Cir. 1992) via Justia (live; blocks plain bots, fetched via firecrawl); Pa. Super. cases via Justia; shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json entries new-york-shipbuilding, philadelphia-naval-shipyard, brooklyn-navy-yard
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The three yards with documented contact with this hull all have litigation- or study-documented asbestos product use: Kaylo pipe insulation at Brooklyn Navy Yard (971 F.2d 831); named products at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard via Pennsylvania Superior Court asbestos opinions (Taylor, Junge, Gross); and a documented asbestos product list at New York Shipbuilding, Camden. This hull spent July-December 1945 at Brooklyn, 1955-1966 laid up at Philadelphia NSY with a June 1966 recommissioning there, and approximately five months in reactivation at New York Shipbuilding in early-mid 1966.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1966 (contact periods); 1990-1993 (litigation era)
- Population
- Yard trades at each documented contact period (1945 Brooklyn; 1955-66 Philadelphia; 1966 Camden/Philadelphia)
- Limitations
- Yard-level records, not hull records: they establish that asbestos products were in use at these yards, not that asbestos was installed in or removed from LST-603 during her documented periods there. The Camden reactivation of a 1943-era hull in 1965-66 and the 1945 Brooklyn overhaul are the plausible disturbance events, but no hull-specific work package or material record was located. No ship-specific finding is made.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-05
-
[7]Phoenix Magazine, 'These Are the Voyages' (Tom Marcinko, Dec 1, 2016) - crew interviews (XO/navigator Daniel Garrett; crewman Chuck Sumstine) and quoted declassified command reports; corroborated by MRFA 'LSTs in Vietnam' and NARA-sourced film footage (CriticalPast 65675023893, July 1967, Da Nang, hull damage with AFDL-23 alongside) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Phoenix Magazine feature (crew quotes; declassified-report excerpts); MRFA 'LSTs in Vietnam (Gator Navy)'; CriticalPast clip 65675023893 (NARA-sourced footage, July 1, 1967, Da Nang)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented combat damage and repair for this hull: in June 1967 at Cua Viet a sapper unit attached mines to the hull; the explosion 'blew a hole' in the ship, which then proceeded to Guam for repairs (XO Garrett and crewman Sumstine accounts; MRFA records 'mined in 1967'; contemporaneous film shows the deck hole at Da Nang with the floating dry dock AFDL-23 alongside, dated July 1967). On 3 September 1968, beached at Cua Viet, she was fired on by enemy artillery, retracted, and returned the next day to complete offload; on 4 September she rode out Typhoon Bess and rescued stranded utility craft YFU-54. Declassified-report figures for 1968: 163 days in the combat zone, 48 beachings, 19,187 miles, 8,026 short tons of cargo, 197 vehicles, 514 personnel, 1,259,960 gallons of fuel.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1967-1968
- Population
- Crew during 1967-69 combat operations; repair trades at Guam (mid-1967); AFDL-23 alongside personnel (Da Nang, Jul 1967)
- Limitations
- Crew accounts and press reporting, not official damage reports - consistent across the magazine, MRFA, and contemporaneous footage but not confirmed against the ship's official command history or deck logs (archival lead). Establishes a damage-repair-disturbance event of the kind that intersects insulation systems; its asbestos scope aboard this hull is unestablished. Makes no exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-06
-
[8]Department of Veterans Affairs, 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' (2021 ed., VFW-hosted mirror of the official VA list) - Category I includes 'All vessels with the designation LST [Landing Ship, Tank]'; ProPublica ship database (compiled from VA + Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association data) names 'U.S.S. Coconino County (LST-603) [Landing Ship, Tank] - Ship operated primarily or exclusively on Vietnam's inland waterways' [federal_register]
- Locator
- VA ships list 2021 ed. (VFW mirror PDF), Category I designation block; ProPublica 'Help ProPublica Research More Than 700 Navy Ships' (Feb 26, 2016), Coconino County entry; Phoenix Magazine Garrett account
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The VA's official Agent Orange ships list categorically covers all LST-designation vessels under Category I (ships operating primarily or exclusively on Vietnam's inland waterways), and the VA-informed ProPublica database names this hull specifically in that category. Combined with the verified fact that this ship served in-country 1966-1969, crew service aboard during her Vietnam operations falls within the designation-level coverage VA uses for herbicide-exposure presumption - the ship is on a government exposure list, though for Agent Orange, not asbestos. Former XO Daniel Garrett documented the ship's in-river movements in 2007 specifically to support crew claims after the Navy/VA initially treated the crew as not 'in-country' (Phoenix Magazine).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1966-1969 (operations); 2016-2021 (listings)
- Population
- Crew serving aboard during 1966-1969 Vietnam operations
- Limitations
- This is a HERBICIDE-exposure regulatory finding, not asbestos documentation - it does not raise the asbestos evidence tier. The VA list covers the LST designation categorically rather than naming LST-603; the named listing comes via ProPublica's journalism database, not an official determination for this individual hull. Presumption establishes benefits eligibility, not proof of any individual's exposure. 38 CFR 3.307(a)(6)(iii) governs; individual claims remain case-by-case.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-07
-
[9]NARA-captioned photography via NavSource (USN 1142211; K-35611; K-35546; 1142237; NARA 192699) + declassified command-report excerpts quoted in Phoenix Magazine + NavSource-hosted scans (recommissioning program 160603b.pdf; change-of-command program / CO biography 160603a.pdf) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160603.htm photo caption block; navsource.net/archives/10/16/pdf/160603a.pdf and 160603b.pdf
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-specific records: NARA still photography places LST-603 loading 3rd Infantry Division troops at Bagnoli, Italy, 31 July 1944 (NARA 192699), in the Bay of Naples 10 August 1944, and documents Operation Deckhouse V in the Mekong Delta January 1967 (USN photo numbers K-35611, K-35546, 1142237, USN 1142211). Declassified annual command reports quoted in press establish 1968 operating statistics; NavSource hosts scans of the 1966 recommissioning program and a commanding-officer biography. Deck logs and command histories for LST-603 (1944-55, 1966-69) are NARA RG 24-era holdings - the richest untapped hull records, including the 1966 reactivation scope and the 1967 damage reports.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Crew and embarked personnel, 1944-69
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: photographs and program scans establish presence and events, not materials. NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be independently fetched this session; photo numbers transcribed from NavSource captions. No deck log, command history, reactivation work package, or damage report has been reviewed - the asbestos-relevant scope inside those records is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-08
-
[10]Phoenix Magazine, 'These Are the Voyages' (Dec 1, 2016) - former XO Daniel Garrett's location of the extant hull in Vietnamese service via imagery and photographs; corroborated by Wikipedia's post-1975 summary (unsourced there) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Phoenix Magazine feature; NavSource disposition line; DANFS transfer sentence
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposition after transfer: decommissioned and transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Navy at Guam 4 April 1969 as RVNS Vung Tau (HQ-503) (DANFS/NavSource); captured by North Vietnamese forces around the fall of Saigon in 1975 and placed in Vietnam People's Navy service; reported still extant as a VPN training vessel when former crew located her in 2015-16 imagery - berthed alongside sister ex-USS Maricopa County (LST-938), by then VPN Tran Khanh Du - including a photograph of schoolchildren touring the deck.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1969-2016
- Population
- RVN Navy crew (1969-75); Vietnam People's Navy crew and trainees (1975-present, per press)
- Limitations
- The 1975 capture and continuing VPN service rest on press reporting and secondary summaries, not an official register - NavSource records 'final disposition, fate unknown' and 'struck from the Naval Register, date unknown.' A hull extant in 2016 carries whatever original and 1966-era materials remain aboard - never subject to a documented U.S. survey or abatement program - but no material inspection was located. Present status (2026) unconfirmed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-09
-
[11]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's construction (1943-44), first commission (1944-55), and entire second commission (1966-69), including the 1965-66 reactivation inside the asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, per the standing Batch-01 finding) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-10
-
[12]Batch-7121 search ledger (this record): archived DANFS; NavSource live page and hosted document scans; MRFA ship-history narrative and 'LSTs in Vietnam'; Phoenix Magazine feature; VA ships list 2021 (VFW mirror); ProPublica Agent Orange ships database; CourtListener API v4; VA BVA sweep; yard dataset cross-check; class profile lst-1-class [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-coconino-county-lst603-01 through sl-uss-coconino-county-lst603-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS Coconino County / USS LST-603 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener: 'LST-603' returned 0 results on both the opinion index (type=o) and the RECAP docket index (type=r); 'Coconino County' returned 677 opinion results that are ALL litigation of/about Coconino County, Arizona - a name collision, not ship cases. A VA BVA decision sweep surfaced no decision naming this ship. The only 'asbestos aboard' material found is law-firm marketing listicle content asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a WWII-era hull reactivated for 2.5 more years of service and never scrapped or surveyed in U.S. custody is exactly the profile for retained era materials. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coconino-county-lst603-11