Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet fq-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: MISMATCH — real identity: USS **Gillespie** (DD-609); designation DD; type destroyer; class Benson
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-gillespie-dd609-pkt-fq-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Gillespie (DD-609) entry (builder, sponsor, dates, full WWII service narrative, decommissioning and reserve-fleet assignment; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404; hazegray host unreachable to this session's fetch, text retrieved via the losthistory.net mirror of the same hazegray DANFS file) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS DD-609 entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched by Bethlehem Steel Corp., San Francisco, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. Hugo W. Osterhaus, wife of Rear Admiral H. W. Osterhaus; commissioned 18 September 1942, Lt. Comdr. C. L. Clement in command. Shakedown, then Aleutians service from 9 January 1943 (Sand Bay, Great Sitkin Island); first action 18 February 1943 bombarding Attu with Indianapolis and Richmond; same evening engaged the 3,100-ton cargo ship Akagane Maru southwest of Attu with Indianapolis and Coghlan, sinking her at 0126, 20 February. Returned to San Francisco 4 March 1943 for overhaul; transited to New York via San Diego and the Panama Canal, mooring 11 April; four round-trip transatlantic escort voyages to Casablanca through fall 1943. Pacific from 2 January 1944: Funafuti, Milne Bay (7 February), Saidor consolidation, LST escort to Cape Gloucester and Los Negros, call-fire ship in Seeadler Harbor, bombardments of Pityilu, Manus, and Rambutyo in March; Biak fire support 27 May, fighter-director/warning picket duty 31 May-2 June under repeated air attack; Noemfoor bombardments 5 and 20 July; Peleliu screening 15 September-14 October. Overhaul at Bremerton from 5 November 1944; sailed San Diego 3 January 1945; Iwo Jima logistic-support escort; Okinawa/Nansei-Shoto operations 1 March-28 March; 8 April 1945 fought off two aircraft including a kamikaze that attempted to crash her fantail - both splashed; screened strikes on the Japanese home islands 1 July-15 August; anchored Tokyo Bay 10 September 1945. Decommissioned at Charleston, S.C., 17 April 1946 and assigned to the Texas Group, U.S. Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Orange, Tex. Nine battle stars for World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1946 (active service); entry reflects status circa 1968
- Population
- Bethlehem San Francisco construction trades 1941-42; wartime crew (DANFS complement 261)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The transcription's launch line reads 'launched 1 November 1942' - impossible given the 18 September 1942 commissioning; 8 May 1942 is carried per NavSource/shipbuildinghistory/uboat.net and the conflict is logged in gaps. Text retrieved via the losthistory.net mirror of the hazegray DANFS file because hazegray.org did not resolve to this session; the live NHHC DANFS page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gillespie-dd609-01
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[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Archive, USS Gillespie (DD-609) page (as-built data block, operational/building data, photo captions, commanding officers) + NavSource Orange, Texas ISMF special-feature page [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/05/609.htm data block and photo captions; navsource.net/archives/05/orange.htm ISMF feature
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: call sign NBMY; as built 2,395 tons full load, 348'4" x 36'1" x 13'2" max, 4 x 5"/38AA, 6 x 0.5" MG, 10 x 21" tt (2x5), 50,000 shp Bethlehem turbines, 2 screws, 35 knots, range 6,500 nm at 12 knots, crew 208. Laid down by Bethlehem Steel, San Francisco, 16 June 1941; launched 8 May 1942; commissioned 18 September 1942; decommissioned 17 April 1946; stricken 1 July 1971; sunk as target off Puerto Rico 16 July 1973. Photo captions document repairs at Mare Island Naval Shipyard 4-17 March 1943 (the DANFS 'returned to San Francisco 4 March for overhaul' period), the ship at Norfolk for New Year's 1944 with Welles, Hobby, and Kalk, and the ship in the Orange, Texas ISMF nest in 1969-1972 photography. Commanding officers: LCDR Chester Lee Clement (18 Sep 1942-10 Jun 1943), LCDR John Southworth Fahy (10 Jun 1943-6 Nov 1944), LCDR Elvin Clinton Ogle (6 Nov 1944-17 Apr 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1973
- Population
- Mare Island repair workforce March 1943; Orange ISMF caretaker staff 1946-1971
- Limitations
- NavSource is a specialized volunteer photographic archive compiling official data - reputable secondary, not a primary record; the stricken/sunk dates are corroborated by uboat.net (16 July 1973 off Puerto Rico) and Tim Colton's shipbuildinghistory (sunk as target 1973), and the stricken date matches the Naval Vessel Register-derived figure (1 July 1971) carried in secondary compilations. No asbestos content documented by this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gillespie-dd609-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS Gillespie (DD 609) entry (ordered 16 Dec 1940; laid down 16 Jun 1941; launched 8 May 1942; commissioned 18 Sep 1942; stricken 1 Jul 1971; sunk as target off Puerto Rico 16 Jul 1973) + shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net destroyer construction table (Tim Colton; yard no. 5372) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship 1768 data block and commands/notable-events tables; shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net destroyers2 table row for DD-609
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Specialist secondary compilations corroborate this hull's chronology and give disposition detail the circa-1968 DANFS entry predates: ordered 16 December 1940; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1 July 1971; sunk as a target off the coast of Puerto Rico 16 July 1973. Colton's destroyer construction table assigns Bethlehem San Francisco yard number 5372 and the same build dates. uboat.net's April 1943 events record her screening USS Iowa's sea trials off New York 12-14 April 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1973
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations; the stricken date traces to the Naval Vessel Register and the sinking details are consistent across NavSource, uboat.net, and shipbuildinghistory, but no primary disposal document (e.g., a Navy sinking report or MARAD/NVR card) was retrieved for this hull. uboat.net files her under 'Bristol class' - its own label for the repeat-Gleaves grouping; DANFS and NavSource class her BENSON.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gillespie-dd609-03
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[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), destroyer machinery table + 'No. 421 Class' roster (shipscribe.com scan) + GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 destroyer machinery table (No. 421 Class) ; gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: the Benson/Gleaves machinery family ran four Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers (575 psi / 700 deg F per the BuShips table) feeding geared turbines of ~47,000-50,000 shp, and DD-609's Bethlehem turbines were built in the Navy's peak asbestos-application era (construction 1941-42). Period-standard applications on the type: boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets, pump packing, deck tile, and accommodation insulation. GAO HRD-80-2 documents the Navy's program-level posture: standing 1975 policy removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1946; GAO policy context 1975-79
- Population
- Construction trades, Bethlehem San Francisco 1941-42; crew 1942-46; yard workers at Mare Island (Mar 1943), Puget Sound (Oct-Nov 1944), Boston (Dec 1945-Jan 1946), Charleston (1946)
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific asbestos record was located for this hull or any class member, and this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk; program-level, not hull evidence. Establishes no quantities and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gillespie-dd609-04
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[6]CourtListener API v4 sweeps, 2026-09-27: "USS Gillespie" (type=o opinion index) = 0 results; "USS Gillespie" OR "DD-609" (type=r RECAP docket index) = 10 dockets, all identifier collisions - no qualifying litigation [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4: type=o q="USS Gillespie" (count: 0); type=r q="USS Gillespie" OR "DD-609" (count: 10, all collisions; 0 'Gillespie' string matches in results), 2026-09-27
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying litigation names this hull. Opinion index: exact-phrase "USS Gillespie" returned zero results. Docket index: "USS Gillespie" OR "DD-609" returned 10 dockets; review of the matched text found zero occurrences of 'Gillespie' - all 10 matched the hull-number token only (e.g., 'DD 0609' attorney bar numbers in S.D.N.Y. IP cases: Beverly Hills Teddy Bear, Skyrocket, WowWee trademark dockets; plus US v. Anderson interpleader, W.R. Grace bankruptcy, DC Comics v. Pacific Pictures). Every hit classifies as a name/identifier collision, not a case naming the vessel. The namesake is not a high-collision term - only one Navy ship has borne the name - but 'Gillespie' as a litigant surname is common, so searches ran on exact phrases.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27 (search date)
- Limitations
- Negative finding within index coverage only: complaint-stage docket text never reaching RECAP, non-digitized state-court pleadings, and VA claims files are outside coverage; absence of a located hit does not prove no litigation exists. Sweep executed through the authenticated fleet pacing helper; earlier docket attempts were deferred by the shared budget and completed on a later retry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gillespie-dd609-05
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[7]Marine Corps Association, Leatherneck magazine, 'Forgotten Man' (Sgt Lindley S. Allen, USMC) - biography of Major Archibald H. Gillespie, USMC (1812-1873), Mexican-American War officer; DANFS records the ship under the name Gillespie [reputable_press]
- Locator
- mca-marines.org/leatherneck/forgotten-man/ (Gillespie biography)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Namesake context: DD-609 was named for Major Archibald H. Gillespie, USMC (1812-1873), the Marine Corps officer who carried President Polk's dispatches to California and fought in the Mexican-American War conquest of California; standard references attribute the naming to the DANFS entry.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Namesake identity only - the consulted DANFS transcription (hazegray file) contains no namesake biography paragraph, so the naming connection is documented through standard references citing the DANFS entry and the MCA biography of the man rather than a retrieved official namesake text. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gillespie-dd609-06
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[8]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, Photo NH 107213 (USS Gillespie underway off San Francisco, 2 October 1942, official U.S. Navy photograph) + BuShips photo 19-N-35168 (at anchor, 10 October 1942) + NARA deck logs (RG 24, 'Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978', NARA ID 594258) + BuShips General Information Books (RG 19) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio NHHC Online Library picture-data page NH 107213; archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy (deck-log program description); texashistory.unt.edu metapth1602120
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material and maintenance records: NHHC photograph NH 107213 and Bureau of Ships photo 19-N-35168 document the ship as completed at San Francisco in October 1942; NARA holds this hull's WWII deck logs (RG 24, series NAID 594258, digitization in progress) and the BuShips General Information Books (RG 19) carry per-vessel material specifications for the class; the National Museum of the Pacific War digital archive holds 1943-45 ship's communications documents.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (record creation); 2026-09-27 (lead identification)
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these holdings was retrieved and none is known to contain asbestos itemization; deck logs and GIB entries would evidence material condition only if individually examined. No survey, abatement, or hazmat record for this hull was located in any public source searched.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gillespie-dd609-07