Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet lc-packet.md (4 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-earle-b-hall-de597-pkt-lc-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Earle B. Hall (DE-597/APD-107) (namesake, launch, reclassification, commissioning, service narrative through 1957; verbatim 2014-10-20 Wayback capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/e1/earle_b_hall.htm - live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Earle B. Hall' (danfs/e1/earle_b_hall.htm), namesake paragraph + specifications line + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Aviation Machinist's Mate Earle Boitnott Hall (b. 25 Dec 1919, Dawson Springs, Ky.; enlisted 1938; KIA 27 Dec 1941 patrol mission against Japanese forces at Jolo, Philippines; posthumous Air Medal). DE-597 launched 1 March 1944 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Mass.; sponsored by Mrs. William Thomas Hall (namesake's mother); reclassified APD-107 on 17 July 1944; commissioned 15 May 1945, LCDR E. J. Haddon USNR. Specs: dp. 1,390; 306' x 37' x 12'7"; 24 k.; cpl. 204; 1 5"; cl. Crosley. Service: San Diego 17 Aug 1945; Pearl Harbor passenger run 12 Sep; Okinawa 28 Sep; minesweeping logistics Buckner Bay-Sasebo-Bungo Suido; Wakanoura Bay below Osaka 14 Dec; Inland Sea magnetic-mine sweeping support incl. Kobe; departed 25 Feb 1946 via Eniwetok, Pearl Harbor, San Francisco to Boston arriving 9 Apr; out of commission in reserve Mayport 27 Sep 1946. Recommissioned 7 Dec 1950; northern cruise supplying outposts incl. Grondal, Greenland; Marine amphibious training Onslow Beach and Caribbean; Mediterranean 6th Fleet 22 Apr-26 Oct 1953; Key West/Havana cruises; midshipman cruise Azores/Lisbon/Cadiz 17 Jun-15 Jul 1955; out of commission in reserve 13 Sep 1957.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1957
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades 1944-45; commissioned crews (design complement 204) 1945-46, 1950-57
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The entry was written before the third commission (1961-1965) and carries no laid-down date; live NHHC page returns 404 so the 2014 Wayback capture of the official page is cited. DANFS 'Grondal, Greenland' is the verbatim spelling (Grønnedal/Kangilinnguit in modern usage).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-earle-b-hall-de597-01
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[3]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Earle B. Hall (APD-107) page - ship data compilation (laid down 9 Jan 1944; commanding officers; stricken 1 Feb 1965; sold for scrapping 28 Jan 1966) + APD specifications block [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource APD-107 page, 'Rudderow Class Destroyer Escort - Crosley Class High-speed Transport' chronology + 'APD Specifications' block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compilation for this hull: laid down 9 January 1944 as Rudderow-class destroyer escort DE-597 at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard Co., Hingham MA; launched 1 Mar 1944; redesignated Crosley-class high-speed transport 17 Jul 1944; commissioned APD-107 15 May 1945 LCDR Edward J. Haddon USNR; Asiatic-Pacific Theater WWII; occupation service Far East 26 Sep 1945-28 Feb 1946; decommissioned Mayport FL 27 Sep 1946, laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet Green Cove Springs; recommissioned Jacksonville 7 Dec 1950 CDR William H. Mack USN; European-area occupation service 4 May-17 Oct 1953; decommissioned 13 Sep 1957; recommissioned 29 Nov 1961 at Brooklyn Navy Yard LCDR Clarence Boger USN; decommissioned 15 Jan 1965; struck from Naval Register 1 Feb 1965; sold for scrapping 28 Jan 1966. APD spec block: 1,630 lt/2,130 fl tons; 306' x 37' x 12'7"; 23.6 kts trial; 6,000 nm at 12 kts; complement 12 officers + 192 enlisted; troop accommodations 12 officers + 150 enlisted; 4 LCVP; 1x5"/38 DP, 3 twin 40mm, 6 single 20mm, 2 depth charge tracks; propulsion 2 Babcock & Wilcox 'D' Express boilers 435 psi 750F, 2 General Electric turbines (turbo-electric drive), 2 shafts, 12,000 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1966
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades; commissioned crews 1945-65 incl. embarked Marines/troops (162 berths)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled naval-history archive, not a government publication; dates cross-checked against DANFS where overlapping (all agree). The laid-down date (9 Jan 1944), full propulsion spec, 1961 recommissioning at Brooklyn Navy Yard, and 1966 sale date appear only in this compilation - DANFS does not state them; conflicts with the reunion-site history (Little Creek recommissioning; 2 Feb stricken) are carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-earle-b-hall-de597-02
-
[4]USS Earle B. Hall reunion-association site (earlebhall.com), ship history page (2016-03-04 Wayback capture) [museum_official]
- Locator
- earlebhall.com history.html narrative (1961-1965 section)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Reunion-association history for this hull's third commission (1961-1965, postdating the DANFS entry): commissioned 29 Nov 1961 at Little Creek, VA (conflicts with NavSource 'Brooklyn Navy Yard'); observed by President Kennedy during a two-day Norfolk visit 13-14 Apr 1962; three-week joint Navy-Marine Corps maneuver at Vieques, P.R., involving some 83 Atlantic Fleet ships; Cuban quarantine service 10 Oct-7 Dec 1962; fall 1964 major engineering casualty - lost all power steaming on the No. 1 boiler; USS Kirwin (APD-90) towed alongside at Little Creek 30 Nov 1964 and reactivated by Hall's crew; Hall decommissioned as Kirwin commissioned 15 Jan 1965; stricken 'February 2, 1965' per this source.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1961-1966
- Population
- Crew 1961-65; Kirwin (APD-90) reactivation work party (same crew) 1964-65
- Limitations
- Veterans' reunion-association compilation - not a government record; third-commission detail rests on this source alone and is corroborated only in outline by NavSource. Recommissioning location (Little Creek vs. Brooklyn Navy Yard) and stricken date (2 Feb vs. 1 Feb 1965) conflicts are carried in gaps rather than resolved. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-earle-b-hall-de597-03
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[5]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P, 'A Health Survey of Pipe Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946 Jan;28:9-16 (PMID 21016030) - USPHS survey conducted with U.S. Navy permission [other_primary]
- Locator
- J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946;28:9-16, introduction (amosite as Navy pipe-covering ingredient); PubMed record PMID 21016030
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era documentation of the material regime under which this hull was built and converted (1944-45): the USPHS/Navy-sanctioned survey of pipe-covering operations in four Navy-connected shipyards states that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' (a South African amphibole asbestos) and documents shipyard pipe-coverer exposure conditions during naval-vessel construction. A turbo-electric Crosley-class transport (two B&W boilers, GE turbine-generators) built at a Bethlehem wartime contract yard would have carried period-standard asbestos applications: boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, bulkhead insulation, deck coverings, brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Navy-contract-yard pipe coverers and construction trades, WWII era (class context)
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The study anonymized its four surveyed yards (A-D); Bethlehem-Hingham cannot be identified as a survey site from the published paper. Does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, in what quantity, or that any individual aboard was exposed. The study's exposure conclusions are disputed in modern literature (see Kelly 2026, PMID 42307414) - it is cited here only for the material fact of amosite use on Navy vessels of the era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-earle-b-hall-de597-04
-
[6]Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard history (Hingham Historical Commission 2020 winning essay, hingham-ma.gov; corroborating Wikipedia compilation): purpose-built Navy contract yard, Hewitts Cove/Weymouth Back River, Hingham MA; operated 1941-1945 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding via Fore River; ship production 227 (Hingham essay) to 277 (Wikipedia) incl. a DE built in 23 days; peak workforce ~15,000-23,000 incl. ~2,500 women; yard closed 1945 (last delivery LST-1080, 29 May 1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem_Hingham_Shipyard; hingham-ma.gov Historical Commission 2020 essay
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: Bethlehem-Hingham was a 1941-45 purpose-built emergency yard where this hull's construction (Jan-Mar 1944) and APD conversion (reclassified Jul 1944, commissioned May 1945) took place; the yard's production life brackets the ship's entire build period, and its closure (last delivery 29 May 1945) two weeks after APD-107's commissioning is consistent with conversion while building at Hingham - though the conversion site is not stated in the sources consulted.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham workforce, peak ~23,000 (1941-45)
- Limitations
- Secondary/local-history compilation - used for yard context only. Source production counts differ (277 ships Wikipedia vs. 227 in the Hingham Historical Commission essay) - carried as documented range; neither is asserted in the record. Ship production type mix at Hingham (Buckley, Rudderow classes, LSTs) per NavSource index. No asbestos content information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-earle-b-hall-de597-05
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[7]Batch-4410 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (via 2014 Wayback capture); NavSource compilation; NVR (excluded - pre-1987 disposal); NARA deck-log catalog; reunion-association history; PubMed; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-earle-b-hall-de597-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-597/APD-107: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no museum or custodian hazmat disclosure (ship scrapped 1966), and no published opinion names the vessel (exact-name opinion search returned zero hits). The sole docket-level name match (Morgan v. Bill Vann Co., S.D. Ala. asbestos PI/wrongful-death docket; published orders document the decedent's 1950-54 Navy machinist service aboard three unnamed vessels with asbestos-covered machinery but do not name them) is carried as an unresolved archival lead at ev-07 - probable but unverified vessel attribution.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-45 steam-driven naval vessel was built in the peak asbestos-shipbuilding era, but whether ACM was installed aboard this hull is not ship-proven. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-earle-b-hall-de597-06
-
[8]Morgan v. Bill Vann Co., Inc., No. 2:11-cv-00535-WS-B (S.D. Ala.), Orders on summary judgment: General Electric (ECF Doc. 414), Crown Cork & Seal/Mundet (ECF Doc. 416), John Crane (ECF Doc. 415), all filed 2013-08-30; Flowserve order published at 969 F. Supp. 2d 1358 (S.D. Ala. 2013); CourtListener RECAP docket index [court_record]
- Locator
- Morgan v. Bill Vann Co., ECF Doc. 416 (govinfo USCOURTS-alsd-2_11-cv-00535-5) 'Record facts' at p.2-3 (three Navy vessels; asbestos-covered steam lines/turbines; Mundet 'form pipe covering') and 'accrual' analysis; ECF Doc. 414 (pkg -3) 'accrued in 1954'; RECAP docket index for 2:11-cv-00535-WS-B
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos litigation surface for this hull: 'Earle B. Hall' matches RECAP-indexed docket text in Morgan v. Bill Vann Co. (S.D. Ala. 2:11-cv-00535, 'P.I.: Asbestos'), the mesothelioma wrongful-death action of decedent Rueben Morgan (1933-2012). Published orders recite Morgan's testimony as record facts for SJ: he 'was in the United States Navy from 1950 to 1954, during which time he worked as a machinist aboard three different vessels' in boiler rooms with 'steam lines covered with asbestos insulation' and engine rooms with 'turbines and steam lines covered with asbestos insulation,' with insulation 'torn off the piping, causing considerable dust'; he identified Mundet 'form pipe covering' among the materials. The published orders name only his later Coast Guard vessels (USCGC Mendota, USCGC Mistletoe, 1959-64) - never the three Navy vessels. APD-107 was homeported at Norfolk and operating in the Atlantic/Caribbean throughout Morgan's 1950-54 Navy window, so the docket's 'Earle B. Hall' string is consistent with a deposition or pleading ship list naming this hull - probable but unverified; the matching document was not retrieved before the fleet CourtListener window closed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1950-1954 (Navy exposure window); 2011-2013 (litigation)
- Population
- Rueben Morgan (USN machinist 1950-54 aboard three unnamed vessels; Alabama River Pulp mill 1978-92; mesothelioma, d. 2012)
- Limitations
- Classified down to archival_lead: the vessel name's document context (deposition exhibit, complaint attachment, or other filing) was not located in the published orders (which name no Navy vessels) and RECAP full text was not retrieved under fleet throttle. Even if confirmed as a ship-list or deposition reference it is a discovery-record/pleading-stage citation, not an adjudicated exposure finding. The armed-forces-era claims in Morgan were resolved AGAINST the plaintiff as time-barred under Alabama law (last Navy exposure 1954; Coast Guard 1964) - defense summary-judgment wins on limitations grounds, not exposure adjudications, and not evidence of asbestos conditions aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-earle-b-hall-de597-07
-
[9]CourtListener sweep for 'DE-597' and 'APD-107' hull-number queries [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search, type=o queries 'Earle B. Hall' / 'DE-597'
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Hull-number litigation sweep: 'Earle B. Hall' opinion search returned zero hits; 'APD-107' opinion search returned zero hits. 'DE-597' opinion hits observed are identifier collisions in unrelated matters (e.g., a Second Circuit criminal appeal on speedy-disposition grounds). 'APD-107' docket hits (2) are identifier collisions - 'APD' = Albuquerque Police Department compliance-report sections (United States v. City of Albuquerque, D.N.M.) and an exhibit identifier (Sims v. Wingate Management, N.D. Ga.). 'DE-597' docket hits (83 total, 20 sampled) are document/entry-number collisions across unrelated bankruptcy, criminal, securities, ERISA, and RICO dockets - zero asbestos-nature suits, zero vessel references (matching tokens are law-firm names such as 'Shipley' and entry numbers). 'Earl B. Hall' misspelling-variant queries not yet run under fleet throttle; carried in gaps.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Substantially enumerated: exact-name opinion and docket sweeps are complete for both designations; 'DE-597' docket results were sampled (20 of 83) and all collisions - residual risk that an unsampled hit is vessel-related is logged in gaps rather than guessed. Hull-number strings in dockets typically match entry/document numbers, not vessels.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-earle-b-hall-de597-08