Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet lk-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS **George** (DE-697)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-george-de697-pkt-lk-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, George (DE-697), Vol. III (1968) p.70 (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division; verbatim hazegray DANFS transcription via losthistory.net mirror - live NHHC page not located; bracketed supplement from K. Jack Bauer and Stephen S. Roberts, 'Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990,' p.231) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. III p.70 'George (DE-697)' - namesake biography, spec block, service narrative; bracketed Bauer & Roberts supplement
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 22 May 1943 by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.; launched 14 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Harlow F. George; commissioned at New Orleans 20 November 1943, Lt. Comdr. J. E. Page in command. Spec block: Buckley class, 1,400 t, 306 ft, 37 ft beam, 13 ft 6 in draft, 23.6 kt, complement 213, 3x3in + 4x1.1in + 8x20mm + 3x21in tt + 2 dct + 8 dcp + 1 hedgehog. Service: Bermuda shakedown; Boston departure 11 January 1944 escorting a merchantman Norfolk-Noumea (arrived 19 February); escort work Admiralties/New Hebrides/Solomons; hunter-killer group with England (DE-635) and Raby (DE-698) from Florida Island 16 May 1944 - the three-ship team sank six Japanese submarines (I-16, RO-106, RO-104, RO-116, RO-108, RO-105) 19-31 May north of the Bismarck Archipelago; Manus 4 June; ASW patrols and escort to New Hebrides/Solomons/Marshalls; station ship Funafuti; Sydney 12 October; Purvis Bay 28 October; convoys New Guinea/Manus/Guam/Saipan; Philippines liberation convoys out of Ulithi; Guam-Iwo Jima escort February 1945; air-sea rescue (3 B-29 survivors 18 April 1945); two Okinawa escort voyages; delivered surrender terms at Truk 12 September; San Pedro arrival 5 October 1945. 7th Fleet Western Pacific 10 March 1946 - 9 April 1947 (Japanese coast, Tsingtao, Shanghai - North China occupation support); Escort Division 31 with Fleet Sonar School Pearl Harbor 1947-51; San Diego with the school 1951; overhaul Pearl Harbor spring 1953; Sasebo deployment 10 November 1953, hunter-killer/screening in Japanese/Korean/Okinawan waters; San Diego 25 June 1954; WestPac 4 October 1955 (Guam, Carolines/Marianas/Bonin/Volcano Islands surveillance, Yokosuka 17 January 1956); San Diego 31 March 1956; British Columbia October 1956; 7th Fleet from 3 January 1957 (New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong station ship, SEATO maneuvers off Philippines, Guam Marianas patrols); San Diego 7 July 1957; reserve training ship out of San Francisco from 18 September 1957; decommissioned at San Francisco 8 October 1958, Pacific Reserve Fleet Stockton 'where she remains' (entry date 1968). Two battle stars WWII. Bracketed supplement: stricken from the Navy Register 1 November 1969; sold 12 October 1970. Namesake: S2c Eugene Frank George, USN, Navy Cross posthumous, killed aboard San Francisco (CA-38) 12 November 1942 (Naval Battle of Guadalcanal); DE-276, the first hull named for him, transferred to the Royal Navy pre-commissioning as HMS Goodson.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades (Bay City, 1943); USN crew 1943-58 (design complement 213); Naval Reserve training-ship nucleus crew 1957-58
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, specifications, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. The narrative ends at the Stockton reserve-fleet lay-up (entry published 1968); striking/sale data comes from the bracketed Bauer & Roberts register supplement inside the same transcription. Live NHHC page not located; verbatim mirror transcription cited. Commissioning CO printed 'J. E. Page' in DANFS vs. 'John Edward Pace' in the NavSource roster and 'J. B. Page' in the ECU finding aid - variant logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-de697-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS George (DE-697) page (volunteer archive; lead-level; direct fetch blocked - content via search index): building/operational data block, command roster, captioned photographs, hosted scan of the ship's official war history submitted by the commanding officer 27 September 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-697 page, 'Building and Operational Data' block, photo captions (incl. ABSD-6 drydock July 1945; 4 October 1957 turnover), commanding-officers table, 'War History' link
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Photo-archive detail corroborating and extending DANFS: keel laid 22 May 1943 by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City; launched/christened 14 August 1943 sponsored by Mrs. Harlow F. George; commissioned at U.S. Naval Station New Orleans 20 November 1943, Lcdr. John E. Page, USNR, in command; at war's end assigned to the Pacific Fleet Cruiser-Destroyer Force at San Diego; captioned USN photograph shows George with USS Tillman (DD-641) in sectional floating drydock USS ABSD-6 at Guam, July 1945; 4 October 1957 San Francisco photograph shows Cmdr. William C. Young turning the ship over to 12th Naval District for Naval Reserve training duty under nucleus-crew CO Lcdr. Peter Karonis; decommissioned at San Francisco 8 October 1958 after '13 years and 11 months of service,' Pacific Reserve Fleet Stockton; struck from the NVR 1 November 1969; sold for scrapping 12 October 1970. Hosts a scan of the official war history submitted by the commanding officer 27 September 1945. Command roster (partial): Lcdr. John Edward Pace/Page 20 Nov 1943 - 16 May 1944; Lt./Lcdr. Fred W. Just from 16 May 1944; later COs incl. Lcdr. Richard E. Warner, Lcdr. Herbert H. Anderson (~1946), Lcdr. James B. Hildreth (1947-48), Lcdr. Dickerson (1948-49), Lcdr. David M. Rubel (1949-), Lcdr. Kenneth C. Wallace (1952-55), Cmdr. William C. Young (1955 - 4 Oct 1957), Lcdr. Peter Karonis (4 Oct 1957 - 8 Oct 1958).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- USN crew 1943-58; 12th Naval District reserve-training nucleus crew 1957-58
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained photo archive - lead-level documentation, not an official record; the page blocks automated fetches so contents were reviewed via the search index extract and prior retrieval, not re-verified line-by-line this session. Roster, captions, and dates unverified against USN/NHHC/NARA originals; CO name 'Pace' vs. DANFS 'Page' conflict carried in gaps. The hosted war-history scan is a primary facsimile; its contents were not transcribed. Nothing on materials aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-de697-02
-
[4]Buckley-class TE design data (DANFS spec block; Atlas class profile buckley-class.class.json drawing on BuShips 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945' Vol. I DE section design groups 2-3 + navypedia block map) + National Museum of the Great Lakes reprint of 'Fighting Ships from Bay City,' Inland Seas, July 1945 (contemporary description of the Defoe DE type) [other_primary]
- Locator
- class-f/buckley-class.class.json propulsion_summary + class_notes + member row DE-697; DANFS spec block; NMGL 'Fighting Ships from Bay City - July 1945' (Inland Seas reprint)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a steam-plant destroyer escort built at Defoe Shipbuilding, Bay City, in 1943: the Buckley TE plant - two 'D' express-type oil-fired boilers (435 psi/750F) feeding GE turbo-electric machinery, 12,000 shp, ~23.6 kt - makes this class, with the John C. Butler class, the most asbestos-relevant DE design, since diesel/diesel-electric DEs lacked steam plants entirely. Plausible period applications: boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging between machinery spaces, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, electrical insulation, deck coverings, accommodation insulation. The 1945 Inland Seas account of the Defoe DE type records a piping/electrical density consistent with that inference surface - '5.6 miles of pipe, 93,655 foot or 15 3/4 miles of electrical cable,' 2,010 valves, 2,650 pipe flanges, 9,018 pipe fittings, 'steam turbo-electric drive, oil fired express type boilers.' Boiler manufacturer for this hull block carried as Combustion Engineering per the navypedia TE block map (unverified against contract documents).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943 (construction); 1943-58 (service)
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades 1943 (yard ~4,000 wartime employees per Inland Seas); USN engineering crew 1943-58
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - not a ship-specific finding. The class profile notes no ship-specific asbestos documentation located for any of the 148 Buckley hulls; boiler-manufacturer attribution is navypedia-sourced, unverified against BuShips contract documents. The Inland Seas account describes the Defoe DE type generically (photographed example is this hull) and contains no materials or asbestos content. Does not establish asbestos presence, quantity, location, or survival aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-de697-03
-
[5]CourtListener API v4 sweep (opinion index type=o; RECAP dockets type=r) for exact name 'USS George' and hull number 'DE-697' via cl-auth-search.py (authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-george-de697-05 through -09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep at drafting: exact-name query '"USS George"' (type=o) returned 17 results - all name collisions or non-qualifying mentions on review. Every vessel-relevant hit resolves to a different hull: the only asbestos opinions among them are Yeanna Woo v. General Electric Co. (Wash. App. 2017), naming USS George K. MacKenzie (DD-836), a Gearing-class destroyer, and Corley v. Long-Lewis (N.D. Ala. 2010, 688 F. Supp. 2d 1315), an asbestos removal/remand opinion in which 'USS George' matches 'USS George Clymer' (APA-27), an attack transport in the plaintiff's service history - not this hull. Drakatos v. R.B. Denison (D. Conn. 1980, 493 F. Supp. 942) involves a 1977 crane-accident death aboard USS George C. Marshall (SSBN-654) - non-asbestos, different hull. The remainder are Navy-Marine Corps court-martial opinions (Nevandro, Dambra, Sager, Griffin, Salcido, Bush, Randall) and unrelated matters whose 'USS George' matches are longer 'USS George <X>' ship names or personal names - none can describe this hull, scrapped in 1970-71, for their contemporary-service facts. Hull-number query '"DE-697"' (type=o) returned 5 results - all string collisions on review ('DE 697' as docket-entry numerals in opinion text; none references a vessel, naval service, or asbestos). RECAP-docket queries for '"USS George"' and '"DE-697"' returned the fleet-pacing 'momentarily spent' status at drafting - pending per search_ledger. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in the completed portion of the sweep.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Opinion index swept for both exact name and hull number; all hits reviewed and classified (vessel hits resolved to DD-836, APA-27, SSBN-654 via published-opinion mirrors when the CL API was fleet-paced). Both RECAP-docket queries were pending under fleet pacing at drafting; final status in search_ledger. Sweep does not cover state-court records, bankruptcy/trust claims, or non-U.S. jurisdictions. 'George' is an extreme-collision name (postwar 'USS George <X>' hulls, personal names, corporate names); any future hit requires collision classification rather than automatic attribution to DE-697, the only U.S.-commissioned 'USS George' with no suffix.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-de697-04
-
[6]Batch-4475 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + hazegray/losthistory mirror, NVR, NavSource, Atlas class profile and shipyard dataset, National Museum of the Great Lakes, ECU Joyner Library finding aid, CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-george-de697-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material-condition report, or litigation naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No preservation-era documentation can exist - the hull entered reserve-fleet lay-up at Stockton in 1958, was stricken 1969, sold for scrapping 1970, and was never a museum, memorial, or reserve-fleet artifact after disposal.
- 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 1943 steam-plant escort is precisely the design family for which era asbestos use is expected. The hull no longer exists, so no present-day survey is possible; whether era materials aboard contained asbestos is undocumented in either direction. Construction-era yard records, deck logs, reserve-fleet custody files, and the 1970 disposal file are paper leads only (ev-07).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-de697-05
-
[7]East Carolina University, Joyner Library, East Carolina Manuscript Collection: Destroyer Escort Commanding Officers Collection - Richard B. Hillyer Papers (#564-013), finding aid [other_primary]
- Locator
- ECU finding aid #564-013, container list Items 1-7 (Hillyer book; Divins log; ASW operation map; holograph flagship note; ship history typescript; Just war diary; DANFS photocopy)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Verified archival holding for this hull: the Hillyer Papers contain the donor's 1946 self-published account 'The Greatest Anti-Submarine Action of All Wars: U.S.S. George (DE-697)'; a log of the ship's travels from commissioning to 6 January 1945 kept by crewman Grover C. Divins; a hand-drawn anti-submarine operation map for COMCORT Divs. 38 & 40 with per-sinking positions; a holograph note that 'the George was the flagship of Operation C.O.C.O.R.T. Div. 39 & 40, Hamilton Hains, CMDR, USN, was O.T.C.'; a typescript ship history 22 May 1943 - 8 October 1958; Lt./Lcdr. Fred W. Just's official war diary May - 12 June 1944 (declassified photocopy; Just was mission commander for COMCORT Divs. 39 & 40); and a photocopy of the ship's DANFS Vol. III pp. 69-70 entry. Hillyer served aboard as Ship's Cook 3/c during the May 1944 patrol.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (records); 1992 (acquisition)
- Population
- Crewmembers documented in collection materials (Hillyer SC3/c; Divins; mission staff)
- Limitations
- Finding aid verified; the underlying documents were not reviewed - contents beyond the finding-aid descriptions are unexamined. These are operational/personal records; nothing in the finding aid addresses materials or asbestos. Useful to corroborate the May 1944 patrol (flagship/OTC detail supplements DANFS's team attribution) and as a lead for the declassified war diary.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-de697-06
-
[8]NARA RG 19 (BuShips contract specifications / General Information Books) and RG 24 (deck logs) for DE-697; Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard availability records (spring 1953 overhaul); Pacific Reserve Fleet Stockton custody records 1958-69; 1970 disposal/sale file; the ship-submitted official war history (scan hosted by NavSource; original an official record) - all undigitized or not located online [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 19/RG 24 entry series (undigitized); Pearl Harbor NSY work records; Stockton reserve-fleet custody/disposal files; NavSource-hosted war-history facsimile
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material documentation not yet retrieved: (1) NARA RG 19 holds BuShips per-vessel specifications and ships-data books covering DE-697's construction at Defoe Shipbuilding, Bay City; (2) NARA RG 24 deck logs cover 1943-58 operations incl. the 1944 hunter-killer patrol and 1953 Pearl Harbor overhaul; (3) Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard work records may document the spring 1953 overhaul scope; (4) Pacific Reserve Fleet Stockton custody records 1958-69 and the 1970 disposal/sale file document material condition at lay-up and sale; (5) the official war history submitted by the commanding officer 27 September 1945 exists as a scan on NavSource - a primary facsimile whose original is in official custody.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1970 (records); 2026 (lead status)
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these holdings were pulled or digitized; contents unknown. They establish nothing about materials aboard. NARA catalog returns an SPA shell to programmatic fetches (standing limitation across batches).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-george-de697-07