USS Deliver (ARS-23)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet bm-packet.md (5 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (with one date variance noted)

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-deliver-ars23-pkt-bm-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, 'Deliver' (ARS-23) entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (verbatim text via Wayback capture of the hazegray.org DANFS mirror; canonical NHHC URL 404 live on 2026-09-26) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/ars23.htm via Wayback capture 20220910055122; canonical history.navy.mil danfs/d/deliver.html 404

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS spec block: '(ARS-23: dp. 1,441; l 213'6"; b. 39'; dr. 14'8"; s. 15 k.; cpl. 120; a. 2 40 mm.; cl. Diver).' Entry text: launched 25 September 1943 by Basalt Rock Co., Inc., Napa, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. W. W. Anderson, Jr.; commissioned 18 July 1944, LCDR S. M. Holst, USNR, in command. Arrived Pearl Harbor 26 September 1944; assigned Service Squadron 10 early 1945; sailed 23 February for Ulithi (arrived 18 March) for salvage operations supporting the Fifth Fleet; arrived off Okinawa 1 May and, in addition to salvage and repair operations, participated in the occupation of Kume Shima 26 June; served at Saipan 6 July-10 September; Okinawa until 7 December 1945. After San Francisco overhaul arrived Pearl Harbor 15 April 1946; sent to Bikini Atoll 30 May for Operation 'Crossroads' duty - assisted setting up the atomic-test target vessels, then decontaminated the targets and put inspection teams aboard; assisted target-ship transfers Bikini to Kwajalein until 8 September. Pearl Harbor homeport from 9 January 1947 after west coast overhaul; two Far East towing/salvage cruises based at Tsingtao, China (19 June 1947 rifle-fire incident while recovering a beached pontoon barge, Adm. C. M. Cooke, Jr. aboard); March 1950 towed disabled net tender Elder (AN-20) to port. Korea: sailed 22 June 1951 for Sasebo, salvage/repair services at base and in Korean waters to 2 March 1952; further Far East tours 23 April-19 December 1953 and 21 June-2 November 1954. June 1955 sailed for Seattle to join an Arctic resupply mission aiding grounded/ice-damaged ships; second Arctic resupply mission summer 1957; four further Far East tours through 1960. Received one battle star for World War II and three for Korean War service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1943-1960

   Population

   Ship's company and salvage divers (1944-1960 narrative window); Operation Crossroads inspection/decontamination parties (1946)

   Limitations

   Official Navy ship history retrieved via Wayback capture of the hazegray DANFS mirror because the live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot noted since BATCH-01). Entry narrative ends around 1960 - Vietnam-era service, the 1963-64 overhaul, and the 1979 decommissioning/transfer are not covered by this DANFS version. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; establishes no asbestos fact.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-deliver-ars23-01

3. [3]Shipscribe USS Diver (ARS-5) class page - Stephen S. Roberts compilation of official Navy records (register data, BuShips/CNO correspondence, construction and disposition tables, ship notes) [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipscribe.com/usnaux/ARS/ARS05.html - class table row ARS-23; Ship Notes DELIVER entry; Class Notes design history

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official-records compilation documents for ARS-23 DELIVER: ordered 14 March 1942 (the nine additional salvage ships ARS 19-27 authorized by SecNav 16 February 1942); keel laid 2 April 1943; launched 25 September 1943; commissioned 18 July 1944. Disposition row: decommissioned / stricken / disposal all recorded 15 August 1979, fate 'Trf' (transfer). Ship note: 'To South Korea as GUMI 1979, stk. 1998.' Class data: 1,478 light / 1,940 limiting tons; 213.5' oa x 39.0' x 14.1'; complement 96 (1944); 14.8 knots; 3,000 HP, 2 screws, diesel-electric; design derived from Navajo (AT-64)-class tug hull/machinery with flat-bottomed salvage hull form; after stability concerns ARS 21-27 (including Deliver) were fitted with wooden sheathing on the hull sides. Register armament timeline carries ARS-23 at 2-40mm twin (1944-47 group), 1-40mm single (1963-68), none (1975), 2-20mm single (1977).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1942-1998

   Population

   Basalt Rock construction trades (1943-44); ship's company (1944-79)

   Limitations

   Compiled transcription of official Navy records (a secondary compilation layer over primary register data) - internally consistent with DANFS on construction dates and resolves the commissioning date at 18 July 1944. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information. 'stk. 1998' establishes the ROK-list strike year but not a scrap date or yard.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-deliver-ars23-02

4. [4]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Deliver (ARS-23) page - volunteer archive compiling official campaign/award lists, Navy Yard photo captions, spec block, and commanding-officer roster [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/09/37/3723.htm - awards block, campaign tables, spec block, photo captions 09372306-09 and 09372302, CO roster

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Compiles official award and campaign data for this hull: Combat Action Ribbon (27-28 February 1968); Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2); China Service Medal (extended); Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star - Okinawa Gunto, 20 April-30 June 1945); Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) and China Service extended periods 1945-48; Korean Service Medal (3 stars - UN Summer-Fall Offensive 1951, Second Korean Winter 1951-52, Korea Summer-Fall 1953); Vietnam Service Medal (9 stars - Vietnamese Counteroffensive Phases II, III, IV, VII; Tet Counteroffensive; Summer-Fall 1969; Sanctuary Counteroffensive; Consolidation I and II, 1966-1972); Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Humanitarian Service Medal (Operation Frequent Wind, 1975); RVN Gallantry Cross unit citation (3); ROK War Service Medal (retroactive). Navy Yard Mare Island photo captions document overhaul 28 February-8 April 1946 and repair period 9 October 1946-2 January 1947. Spec block: 1,530 lt / 1,900 fl tons; 213'5" x 39' x 14'4" lim; 12 kts; two 6-cylinder Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel-electric engines, Fairbanks-Morse reduction gear, twin propellers, 3,000 shp; armament reduced to a single 40mm during 1963-64 overhaul; complement 7 officers + 113 enlisted. Commanding-officer roster lists 25 COs, last being LT Garry Holmstrom, USN, 22 June 1979 - 15 August 1979. Prints 'Decommissioned, struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1979, at Pearl Harbor, HI' and 'Transferred (sold) to South Korea under the Security Assistance Program, 15 August 1979'; 'Current Disposition, active in South Korean Navy.'

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1979

   Population

   Ship's company across service eras; Mare Island yard workers (1946)

   Limitations

   Volunteer-maintained secondary archive: campaign/award tables derive from official SECNAV/OPNAVNOTE lists and the yard dates from official Navy Yard Mare Island photo numbers, but the page is a compiled transcription, not the award documents themselves. Its '1 August 1979' decommission/strike date conflicts with the register-based 15 August 1979, and its 'active in South Korean Navy' disposition line is stale (see correction row). No asbestos, insulation, or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-deliver-ars23-03

5. [5]NPR, 'At War's End, U.S. Ship Rescued South Vietnam's Navy' (1 September 2010) - account of Operation Frequent Wind and the VNN flotilla escort [reputable_press]

   Locator

   npr.org 2010-09-01 story, flotilla-escort passage

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NPR's account of Operation Frequent Wind names USS Deliver among the U.S. Navy ships that joined USS Kirk in escorting the South Vietnamese Navy flotilla - about 30 vessels carrying as many as 30,000 evacuees - from Con Son Island to Subic Bay in early May 1975, consistent with the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Operation Frequent Wind) and Humanitarian Service Medal awards compiled in ev-03.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1975

   Population

   Evacuation-task-force crews and ~30,000 VNN evacuees (1975)

   Limitations

   Press account based on interviews with Kirk veterans; corroborates Deliver's documented Frequent Wind awards. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-deliver-ars23-04

6. [6]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 World War II - the era and program under which this 1943-built naval auxiliary was constructed (Basalt Rock Co., Napa) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipyards.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1940s era documented; article 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; 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-deliver-ars23-05

7. [7]HAER CA-355, USS Bolster (ARS-38), and HAER VA-134, USS Hoist (ARS-40) - Historic American Engineering Record written histories for the Bolster class, built from the NARA RG 19 Booklet of General Plans [haer]

   Locator

   vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/documents/Bolster_HAER_Report.pdf (Description section, pp. 5-6 of text); Hoist_HAER_Report.pdf (Significance/Description)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   HAER written histories document the Bolster class - which the HAER states the Navy modeled on the Diver salvage-ship design, the classes being identical apart from the Bolsters' 5-foot wider beam - including the Basalt Rock construction program ('sixteen Diver-class vessels' plus six Bolster-class at the Napa yard), the diesel-electric machinery suite (Cooper-Bessemer diesels, Westinghouse generators/motors, twin screws), the Almon-Johnson towing winch, salvage and diving equipment, and 120-man accommodations, drawn from the Diver/Bolster-class Booklet of General Plans in NARA RG 19. The HAER written histories contain no insulation-material or asbestos statements - the standard detailed design documentation for this class is silent on fiber content.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1942-1945 (design); HAER written 2009-2011

   Population

   Basalt Rock construction trades (1942-45); class crews

   Limitations

   Documents the sister Bolster-class design (5' wider beam; 'otherwise identical' per the HAER text) as a proxy for Diver-class arrangement - class-level context, not a hull record for ARS-23. The absence of any insulation-material statement in the HAER text is itself reported as a finding limitation: it does not prove or disprove asbestos aboard this hull. The RG 19 general plans it cites are the next-level archival lead for insulation details if they exist.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-deliver-ars23-06

8. [8]NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' index - Deliver (ARS-23) listed, commission July 1944 / decommission July 1979, monthly logs 1956-1970 digitized; plus RG-level guidance for deck logs (RG 24) and BuShips records (RG 19) [other_primary]

   Locator

   archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (Deliver ARS-23 entry, years 1956-1970); archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy (RG 24); archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html (RG 19)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival leads (not retrieved - requires reproduction order or research-room visit; no spend authorized): NARA's digitized-deck-log index lists Deliver (ARS-23) with monthly deck-log images online for 1956-1970 (index entry prints commission July 1944, decommission July 1979). WWII and Korean-War-era logs and any post-1970 logs are RG 24 'U.S. Navy Ship Deck Logs' holdings retrievable by reproduction order (deck logs after ~1979 may remain at NHHC per NARA guidance). RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds the Diver-class Booklet of General Plans used by the HAER historians (ev-06) and the Basalt Rock construction-contract records - the likeliest locations for insulation schedules and yard work packages. Vietnam-era logs were digitized under the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 program.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1979 records

   Limitations

   Record-group and index-level mapping only - no box-level or image-level retrieval performed; nothing in this row is an asbestos finding. Existence of asbestos-specific documents in these series is unknown until surveyed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-deliver-ars23-07

9. [9]Batch-2659 search ledger (this record): DANFS (hazegray/Wayback mirror); shipscribe official-records compilation; NavSource photo archive; NPR; NVR coverage check; NARA deck-log index; MARAD vessel-history check; CourtListener name + hull + qualifier searches [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-deliver-ars23-01 through sl-uss-deliver-ars23-14

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, occupational-medicine or exposure record, or asbestos-litigation document naming Deliver (ARS-23), ROKS Gumi, or the Basalt Rock build contract was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener: 'USS Deliver' exact-name opinion search returned 0; 'ARS-23' opinion search returned 2 statutory-citation collisions with no vessel reference; qualified queries returned 0 or generic-verb collisions on 'deliver'. The docket-level 'USS Deliver' search returned 2 matches, both resolved to non-qualifying results: (a) MDL-875 JPML docket doc 3405 (Lee v. Owens-Illinois motion to vacate CTO) - a certificate-of-service 'HAND DELIVER / U.S. MAIL' boilerplate tokenization collision, not a vessel mention; the underlying case is a Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard asbestos action that names no vessel; (b) Staples v. BAE Systems Hawaii Shipyards Inc. (D. Haw.) - an employment/civil-rights action, not asbestos litigation; its exhibits happen to be authentic Navy records about this hull, used as ship-history evidence at ev-10. The class-level design documentation that does exist (HAER Bolster/Hoist written histories from the RG 19 general plans) contains no insulation-material statements at all.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   2026-09-26

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943-built WWII-program auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. The hull was sold abroad (1979) and reportedly scrapped (1998) outside U.S. jurisdiction, foreclosing the most common late-life asbestos documentation routes (domestic abatement contracts, NDRF disposal records, museum hazmat disclosure).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-deliver-ars23-08

10. [10]Cross-source discrepancy resolution: DANFS + shipscribe register table + NavSource + NARA index + Wikipedia table, checked line by line [other_primary]

    Locator

    hazegray ars23.htm (DANFS); shipscribe ARS05.html construction/disposition/ship notes + armament timeline; navsource 3723.htm header/photos/roster; archives.gov navy-online index; en.wikipedia.org Diver-class table

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    Source discrepancies resolved or carried: (a) Commissioning - DANFS text, shipscribe register table, and the commanding-officer roster all give 18 July 1944; NavSource's header and Wikipedia's infobox/class table print 14 July 1944; the record carries 18 July as better-attested. (b) End of service - NavSource prints 'decommissioned, struck ... 1 August 1979' with transfer 15 August; the register-based compilation gives decommission/strike/disposal all on 15 August 1979; NARA's deck-log index gives 'Decommission: July 1979'; the last CO's tenure ends 15 August 1979; a first-person Wikipedia edit describes a July 1979 ceremony at Bravo piers - a late-July ceremony with register action completed 15 August reconciles most accounts but is not asserted as settled. (c) Disposition - NavSource's 'active in South Korean Navy' is stale: shipscribe records her struck from the Korean list in 1998 and a secondary class table reports 'sold for scrap, 28 February 1998' (scrap date unverified by a primary source - carried in gaps). (d) Armament - DANFS spec block 'a. 2 40 mm.' reflects original fit; NavSource's 'three twin 40mm' phrasing conflicts with the register timeline (2-40mmT wartime fit, reduced to 1-40mmS in the 1963-64 overhaul - consistent with the 1963 photo caption showing a single centerline 40mm). (e) Complement - 96 as built (1944 class table) vs 120 (DANFS / NavSource 7+113) - wartime growth, both carried. (f) Displacement - 1,441 (DANFS) vs 1,530/1,900 (NavSource) vs 1,478/1,940 (shipscribe) - measurement-condition variance across sources, none asserted as definitive.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-26

    Study period

    1943-1998

    Limitations

    Resolves publication-level discrepancies between official, register-based, and secondary sources; none affects identity, class, or the essential service history. No asbestos content in any cited source.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-deliver-ars23-09

11. [11]Staples v. BAE Systems Hawaii Shipyards Inc., No. 1:18-cv-00407-SOM-RLP (D. Haw., filed 24 October 2018), ECF No. 1-2 (notice-of-removal exhibit, state-court complaint file, 207 pp.) - filed exhibits include authentic Department of the Navy records on USS Deliver letterhead; PDF retrieved from the free-law RECAP mirror at archive.org (gov.uscourts.hid.141914.1.2) [court_record]

    Locator

    ECF No. 1-2 PDF pp. 110-115 of 207 (court pagination 110-113): CO letter re MUC; SecNav MUC citation TU 73.4.1; CO letter of appreciation; NAVPERS enlisted service-record duty page; DD-214. Retrieved via archive.org RECAP mirror, not PACER.

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    Court-filed Navy records document this hull's final-combat-era operations and a named crew member: (a) letter, Commanding Officer USS Deliver (ARS-23) to HT3 Chester A. Staples, USN (via CO USS Richard S. Edwards (DD-950)), forwarding the Secretary of the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation awarded to Task Unit 73.4.1; (b) the MUC citation - TU 73.4.1, comprising Deliver (ARS-23), USS Quapaw (ATF-110), a further U.S. Navy vessel (name illegible in the scan), divers from USS Prairie (AD-15), Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group One Detachment Subic Bay, an EOD detachment (AE-29 unit), and the Seventh Fleet Salvage Office - for 'meritorious service from 13 April to 27 April [1975]... conducting C-5A aircraft wreckage search and recovery' off Vung Tau, Republic of Vietnam, culminating in recovery of the C-5A's cargo door and pressure door for the USAF accident-investigation board; (c) CO Deliver letter of appreciation to FN Staples stating that 'during the period 11-27 April 1975, the USS DELIVER (ARS-23) [was] involved in salvage operations recovering the cargo door and ramp from a U.S. Air Force C-5A transport aircraft off the coast of Vung Tau' and that 'during the period 28 April to 4 May 1975 the USS DELIVER (ARS-23) was involved in... refugee evacuation support operations in the South China Sea' (Operation Frequent Wind timeframe), Staples serving 'as a member of USS DELIVER's Engineering Department' maintaining engineering equipment; (d) Staples' enlisted service-record page carries a RECDUT (received-for-duty) line at USS DELIVER (ARS-23), Pearl Harbor, rate FN to HTFN (~1973-75), and his DD-214 shows separation as HT3 (Hull Maintenance Technician) at Naval Station Pearl Harbor 16 September 1975 with last command USS Richard S. Edwards (DD-950), foreign/sea service 3 years 7 months 11 days, with basic shipboard firefighting and damage-control-team training.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    supporting

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-26

    Study period

    1973-1975 (documents); filed 2018

    Population

    FN/HT3 Chester A. Staples, USN (Engineering Department, aboard during April-May 1975 operations); Task Unit 73.4.1 ship's company and embarked divers (April 1975)

    Limitations

    Documents surfaced as exhibits in an employment-discrimination action (nature of suit 442 Civil Rights: Jobs; terminated by remand January 2019) - the litigation is classified 'other litigation', not asbestos litigation, and is not itself evidence of exposure. The letters are authentic Navy records (ship letterhead, by-direction signature, SecNav citation text) filed under a federal docket; they establish operations and one named Engineering Department crew member aboard in 1973-75, but contain no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and establish no exposure. A hull technician (HT) is a high repair-exposure-proximity rating, but no claim of exposure by or for Staples is asserted or implied here. Third task-unit vessel name illegible in the scan; the two April date ranges (11-27 vs 13-27 April 1975) differ between the CO letter and the citation - both carried.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-deliver-ars23-10