Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]DANFS, Fred T. Berry (DD-858) (specifications, launch, commissioning, DDE-858 reclassification, service narrative through 1963, two Korean battle stars; verbatim transcription via hazegray.org Wayback capture 2024-12-05 - live NHHC page serves 404; identical July 2015 DANFS text mirrored at destroyers.org) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Fred T. Berry' (DD-858), specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 28 January 1945 by Bethlehem Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif., sponsored by Mrs. Fred T. Berry (widow of Commander Berry); commissioned 12 May 1945, Comdr. N. J. Frank, Jr., in command; reclassified DDE-858 on 4 March 1950. Sailed from San Francisco 29 August 1945; carrier training in Hawaiian waters; Far East occupation duty; home port San Diego (returned 21 February 1947); second Far Eastern cruise 2 December - 7 August 1948; 1949 modernization overhaul augmenting antisubmarine warfare capabilities (yard not named); new home port Newport, R.I. from 11 September 1949; Atlantic Fleet exercises Greenland to Guantanamo; sailed for the Mediterranean 5 July 1950 at the opening of the Korean War, transited Suez to the 7th Fleet; screened fast carriers on North Korea strikes; escorted battleship Missouri (BB-63) to bombardment duty at Hungnam; detached TF 77 early February 1951 and completed a circumnavigation, reaching Newport 14 March 1951; 6th Fleet Mediterranean tours each of the next three years and again in 1957 and 1960; NATO Operation 'Mainbrace' 1952; 1956 midshipman cruise (Barcelona, Greenock); antisubmarine warfare development 1954-1963 in the western Atlantic with experimental hunter-killer groups; two battle stars for Korean service. Specs: dp 2,425; l 390'6"; b 41'1"; dr 18'6"; s 35 k.; cpl 367; a 6 5", 5 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1963
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel San Pedro construction trades 1944-45; crew 1945-1970 (design complement 367)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The entry text ends at the 1963-era program narrative and does not record the 1970 strike or 1972 scuttling. Live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim hazegray transcription (Wayback capture 2024-12-05) cited, cross-checked against the destroyers.org DANFS reproduction (July 2015) - the two transcriptions differ on the TF 77 detachment date (5 vs 6 February 1951), carried in gaps. Laid-down date is absent from the DANFS text (16 July 1944 rests on secondary compilations - see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-01
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[2]Board of Veterans' Appeals decision, Citation Nr 23019150, Docket No. 20-01 608 (decided March 28, 2023; VLJ Cory M. Picton) - service connection for a lung disability (COPD, asbestosis, pleurisy) due to asbestos exposure GRANTED [other_primary]
- Locator
- BVA decision text: ORDER; FINDING OF FACT; 'REASONS AND BASES' paras on MOS, pipe insulation, and the March 2018 concession
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Ship-specific adjudicated asbestos finding: a veteran's military personnel records confirmed service as a Storekeeper (SK) aboard USS Fred T. Berry (DD-858) 1964-1967 (active duty December 1963 - October 1967); the veteran reported asbestos exposure 'working and sleeping near pipes that were wrapped with insulation containing asbestos' and 'working in the supply rooms in the lower deck of the ship.' The decision records that 'VA has conceded minimal asbestos exposure aboard the USS Fred T Berry DD858 and in the Veteran's MOS' (March 2018 Rating Decision Narrative; VA Asbestos MOS Handout). On the merits the Board granted service connection for a lung disability - COPD diagnosed July 2017, pleurisy/pleural effusion December 2016, asbestosis diagnosed March 2023 by private examiner - resolving all reasonable doubt for the veteran after weighing a negative January 2023 VA contract examination against a favorable private opinion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- Service/exposure 1964-1967; adjudication 2018-2023
- Population
- U.S. Navy Storekeeper aboard DD-858 1964-1967; lung-disability claim
- Limitations
- Non-precedential single-case administrative adjudication (38 C.F.R. 20.1303): it adjudicates this one veteran's in-service exposure and nexus under the benefit-of-the-doubt standard - it does not quantify asbestos aboard, identify product manufacturers, establish exposure for any other crew member, or constitute a court finding. The VA's 'minimal exposure' concession is MOS-specific (Storekeeper, lower-deck supply/berthing spaces), not a hull-wide material determination. The grant covers COPD/asbestosis/pleurisy as a combined lung disability; the VA examiner's COPD-specific asbestos nexus was negative.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-02
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[3]NavSource FRAM conversion index (USS Fred T. Berry entry: 'Boston', completion 10/61) + U.S. Navy photograph caption 'USS Fred T. Berry (DDE-858) sits in Dry Dock 1 at the Boston Naval Shipyard in May 1961 during her FRAM II conversion' (Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-15937); Tin Can Sailors ship history (destroyers.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/fram.htm FRAM table row (858 | Fred T. Berry | Boston | 10/61) + photo caption NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-15937; destroyers.org/ships/dd-858 TCS history; gyrodynehelicopters.com Carpenter-class technical summary
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- This hull underwent a FRAM II modernization at the Boston Naval Shipyard: a seven-month overhaul beginning March 1961 (Tin Can Sailors ship history), with a contemporaneous official U.S. Navy photograph placing DDE-858 in Dry Dock 1 at Boston NSY in May 1961 (NPS catalog BOSTS-15937), and NavSource's FRAM index recording completion October 1961. Per the Carpenter-class technical summary, Fred T. Berry was one of five Gearing-class DDE/DDK-configured hulls (with Keppler, Lloyd Thomas, McCaffery, Norris) receiving the FRAM II variant that retained the aft 5-inch mount and did not receive ASROC - a group totaling $22,500,000 in FY 1962.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1961
- Population
- Boston Naval Shipyard trades and ship's force, March-October 1961
- Limitations
- Documents a major ship-specific yard period at a Naval shipyard in the peak asbestos era. Under era practice a FRAM modernization disturbed machinery-space and piping insulation, but no asbestos work package, abatement record, or material manifest for DD-858's 1961 availability is public - the insulation-disturbance element is era inference, not a documented hull finding. NPS catalog record itself not directly retrieved (caption reproduced via NavSource).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-03
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[4]Naval Vessel Register, 'Ships, Both Coasts, Disposed' index (nvr.navy.mil, Wayback capture 2000-12-02): 'DD 858 FRED T. BERRY 52158' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR 'Ships, Both Coasts, Disposed' S_B_10 index, DD block; TCS disposition line; NYT 1973-06-19
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Naval Vessel Register disposed-ships index lists 'DD 858 FRED T. BERRY' with UIC 52158 - confirming the hull's disposal out of Navy custody. Decommissioned and stricken 15 September 1970 (Tin Can Sailors history and NavSource agree; NavalCoverMuseum records 'Struck from Naval Register 15 September 1970'). Scuttled off Key West, Florida, 14 May 1972 after underwater explosive testing (TCS; NYT 19 June 1973 describes the ship as 'scuttled 13 months ago by the Navy in an experiment with explosives').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1970-1972
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- The NVR disposed index is an archived 2000 capture; it confirms disposal and UIC but states no dates - decommission/stricken/scuttle dates rest on consistent secondary compilations (TCS, NavSource, NavalCoverMuseum) plus contemporaneous NYT reporting. NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals from the live register; no per-hull NVR detail page exists for DD-858.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-04
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[5]Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Artificial Reef Locations GIS layer - deployment record MO0007, 'USS Fred T Berry (DD-858)' [other_primary]
- Locator
- FWC Artificial Reef Locations MapServer layer 12, query on Deployment Name 'USS Fred T Berry (DD-858)', DeployID MO0007
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- FWC's official artificial-reef database records the hull's post-disposal deployment: DeployID MO0007; deployment date 05/14/1972; material description '391 ft Fletcher Class Destroyer' (a misclassification - the hull is Gearing-class, documented by DANFS and NVR); jurisdiction Federal; county Monroe; depth 350 ft; position 24.4590 N, -81.5537 W (matching the reported 24 27.8' N, 81 33.3' W scuttle position). The wreck remains on the bottom as a permitted artificial reef.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1972-present
- Population
- Wreck site, federal waters off Key West FL; dive community (submersible casualty ev-06)
- Limitations
- State fishery-management record of the reef deployment, not an asbestos or hazmat record - it contains no material condition statement, no pre-sinking cleaning/abatement detail, and mislabels the class (Fletcher vs Gearing). Depth 350 ft here vs '55 fathoms' (330 ft) and '360 ft' in casualty-report and secondary sources - minor depth variance by source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-05
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[6]NTSB marine casualty report, 'Entanglement of the Submersible Johnson Sea Link with Submerged Wreckage off Key West, Florida on or About 17 June 1973 with Loss of Life' (with USCG accident report; text reproduced at psubs.org; NYT 19 June 1973 contemporaneous coverage) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NTSB report title + probable-cause text (psubs.org reproduction); NYT 1973-06-19 'Submarine Lifted, 2 Trapped Inside 30 Hours Rescued'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Post-disposal event at this hull's wreck: on 17 June 1973 the submersible Johnson Sea Link (Harbor Branch/Smithsonian program) became entangled in a cable attached to the aftermost flagpole of the scuttled DD-858 while retrieving a fish trap; the wreck lay at a 70-degree list in about 360 ft of water 15 miles southeast of Key West. After >33 hours trapped, two of four occupants died of carbon dioxide poisoning (Edwin Clayton Link, Albert Dennison Stover) before the submersible was freed by the rescue vessel A.B. Wood II; survivors Archibald Menzies and Robert Meek. NTSB probable cause: fouling of the submersible's appendages on the wreck's cable; contributing: inadequate CO2 absorbent and lack of rescue equipment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973
- Population
- Johnson Sea Link crew (2 deaths, 2 survivors); wreck environment
- Limitations
- Casualty-investigation context documenting the wreck site's condition ~13 months after scuttling (entanglement hazards: cables, debris, 70-degree list) - no asbestos or materials content. NTSB report text reproduced at psubs.org and summarized in contemporaneous NYT; the report PDF itself not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-06
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[7]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) - recitals covering the Sumner/Gearing destroyer machinery group; GAO HRD-80-2 program context [court_record]
- Locator
- Goodrich omnibus opinion pp. 12, 19, 31 (per Gearing-class profile ev-gearing-class-04); navypedia class technical data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference for this hull: DD-858 is a Gearing-class destroyer built 1944-45 with a four-boiler 60,000-shp geared-steam-turbine plant in the peak Navy asbestos era, implying boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, and fireproofing. Litigation-record recitals strengthen the class inference: the Goodrich omnibus opinion recites an engineering drawing 'for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class)' - machinery lineage shared by the Gearing design - specifying amosite felts and asbestos cloths, and quotes an expert report estimating 'a partial tally' of 30.3 tons of asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging in the fire and engine rooms of Sumner/Gearing-class destroyers.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1972; opinion filed 2018
- Population
- Construction trades (Bethlehem San Pedro 1944-45); crew 1945-1970; Boston NSY FRAM yard workers 1961
- Limitations
- Class/era inference and litigation recital only - NOT a hull-level finding for DD-858. The engineering drawing covers the shared Sumner/Gearing machinery group; the 30.3-ton figure is an expert's partial tally for fire/engine rooms, not an adjudicated quantity and not specific to this hull. The Goodrich opinion treated some related exposure conclusions as speculative. Establishes no individual exposure and no surviving material aboard (hull scuttled 1972).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-07
-
[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
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships, did not begin substituting alternative insulation until the early 1970s, and removed asbestos insulation under standing policy only when damaged or required for repairs (1975 policy, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas) - placing this hull's construction (1944-45), its entire service career (1945-1970), and its FRAM II yard period (1961) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979 (report); 1944-1972 (this hull's era)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-08
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweep for 'Fred T. Berry' / 'DD-858' / 'DDE-858' (opinions and RECAP dockets) via authenticated fleet-paced helper [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py stderr diagnostics, repeated exit-2 pacing refusals (session log /tmp/cl-berry-o.err)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Partial CourtListener sweep completed via authenticated fleet-paced helper (cl-auth-search.py): '"Fred T. Berry" asbestos' (type=o, opinions) = 0 results; '"DD-858"' (type=r, RECAP dockets) = 6 hits, all name collisions - 'DD-858' appears as a string fragment inside indexed docket-entry text of unrelated cases (United States v. Ortega, 2:12-cr-00198 E.D. Cal., criminal; United States v. Basham, 13-9 4th Cir. prisoner petition; In re Seroquel Products Liability Litigation, 6:06-md-01769 M.D. Fla., pharma MDL; Wonser v. Norman, 2:24-cv-02160 S.D. Ohio and Saki v. Norman, 1:25-cv-01893 N.D. Ohio, civil rights §1983) - no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located. Queries paced out and NOT completed (fleet budget spent, exit 2): '"Fred T. Berry"' and '"USS Fred T. Berry"' (type=o and type=r), '"DDE-858"' (type=o and type=r), '"DD-858"' (type=o). Ship-naming litigation is documented out-of-band via the VA adjudication record (ev-02).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- sweep attempted 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Sweep is PARTIAL: the asbestos-conjoined name query and the hull-number docket query completed with no qualifying hits; the bare-name and DDE-858 queries never executed (fleet pacing budget spent mid-sweep; not retried into a ban). Private-civil-asbestos dockets naming this hull may still exist unlocated - re-run the queued queries when the budget clears. The BVA decision (ev-02) was located via va.gov, not CourtListener, and is unaffected.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-09
-
[10]Archival leads not retrieved: NARA RG 24 deck logs (USS Fred T. Berry DD-858, 1945-1970); NARA RG 19 BuShips General Information Book / per-vessel material specifications; David Taylor Model Basin report 'Measurement of Motion and Thrust Variation of Main Propulsion System of USS Fred T. Berry (DDE858)' (indexed via exa.ai publication stub; DTIC unavailable in-session); NPS Boston NHP catalog record BOSTS-15937 (1961 drydock photo set) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov (API retired to SPA shell); exa.ai publication stub 0jj58whnxy9; navsource.org photo caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Hull-level material documentation may exist in archives: RG 24 deck logs for DD-858 (1945-1970), RG 19 BuShips General Information Books (per-vessel material specs), the DTMB propulsion-system test report on this hull (DDE-858 designation dates it 1950-1962), and the NPS BOSTS-15937 photograph record of the 1961 Boston NSY drydocking. None was retrieved; NARA catalog API returned its HTML application shell only, and DTIC search was unavailable.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1970 records; leads identified 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Leads only - retrieval not performed; these holdings may or may not contain asbestos-relevant material specifications or yard work packages for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fred-t-berry-dd858-10