Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet bm-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-grasp-ars24-pkt-bm-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Grasp' (ARS-24) entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (verbatim text retrieved via Wayback capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/g7/grasp-i.htm; canonical NHHC URL 404 live on 2026-09-26) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 20121024182838 of history.navy.mil/danfs/g7/grasp-i.htm (entry dated 07 February 2006)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS spec block: '(ARS-24: displacement 1,360 tons; length 213'6"; beam 39'; draft 14'4"; speed 15 knots; complement 120; armament: 4 40mm. 4 .50 cal. mg.; class Diver).' Entry text: laid down 27 April 1943 by Basalt Rock Co., Napa, Calif.; launched 31 July 1943, sponsored by Mrs. McDonough, wife of Lt. Cdr. John B. McDonough, Assistant Supervisor of Shipbuilding at Basalt Rock Co.; commissioned at Southern Pacific Docks, Vallejo, 22 August 1944. WWII: reported to ComServFor 7th Fleet 16 October 1944; tows to Funafuti and Manus; Lingayen Gulf 9 January 1945 (fire-fighting and battle repair on War Hawk and kamikaze-hit Otis Skinner); Zambales landings; Manila Harbor 3 March 1945 - over a year raising, removing or dismantling over 350 vessels and small craft, plus disposal of abandoned Japanese ordnance and salvage of three merchant ships off Mindoro/Luzon reefs; decommissioned 12 December 1946 and placed in reserve. Korea: recommissioned San Diego 10 October 1950; Wonsan/Songjin salvage and patrol under North Korean shore-battery fire. 1953-78: Pearl Harbor/Guam-based WestPac salvage; DEWLINE Arctic resupply 1956-57; Hardtack 1958 and Dominic 1962 test support; Raja Soliman salvage at Mariveles 1965; home port Apra (printed 'Appia'), Guam 27 November 1965; Duong Dong search under mortar fire 1967; Da Nang standby salvage 1969; Regulus (AF-57) salvage off Hong Kong 1971; Operation End Sweep mine clearance off Haiphong 15 June-11 July 1973; return to Pearl Harbor home port 16 September 1974. Decommissioned at Pearl Harbor 31 March 1978, struck and transferred to South Korea (Security Assistance Program) same day; served ROK Navy as Chang Won (ARS-25) until 1998. Two battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1998
- Population
- Ship's company 1944-1978; embarked salvage divers
- Limitations
- Official Navy ship history retrieved via Wayback transcription because the live NHHC page 404s (same standing link rot noted in BATCH-01). The entry's grammar places the 1946 decommissioning at San Pedro ('reached San Pedro ... decommissioned there'), which conflicts with the NavSource milestone 'at Astoria, OR' - carried unresolved in the correction row. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; establishes no asbestos fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-01
-
[3]Shipscribe USS Diver (ARS-5) class page - Stephen S. Roberts compilation of official Navy records (BuShips/CNO characteristics, vessel register data, construction and disposition tables, class notes) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/ARS/ARS05.html - Class header data, Construction table (ARS-24 row), Disposition table, Ship Notes, Class Notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official-records compilation documents: design 'Navy ARS-5' - diesel-electric, 2 screws, 3,000 hp, 14.8 kts, complement 96 (1944), 1,478 light/1,940 limiting tons, 213.5' oa x 39.0' x 14.1'; developed per CNO directives Apr-Aug 1941 (twin screws, no towing engine, flat-bottomed hull form to take the bottom during shoal-water salvage, bow lifting rollers); ARS 19-27 added per General Board list of 12 Jan 1942, directed by SecNav 16 Feb 1942; after completion of first units, ARS 21-27 were 'fitted with wooden sheathing on the sides of their hulls' for stability. Construction table: GRASP (ARS-24) ordered 14 Mar 42, Basalt Rock, keel 27 Apr 43, launched 31 Jul 43, commissioned 22 Aug 44 - all matching DANFS. Disposition table: decommissioned 31 Mar 78, struck 31 Mar 78, disposal 31 Mar 78, fate 'Trf' (transfer). Ship note: 'In USN reserve 1946-50 (decomm. 12 Dec 46). To South Korea as CHANG WON, stk. 1998.' All sixteen steel-hulled units built by Basalt Rock Co., Napa.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1998
- Population
- Ship's company; Basalt Rock construction workforce (Napa, 1943-44)
- Limitations
- Private specialist compilation of official records - a transcription layer over the documents, not the documents themselves; underlying originals are the NARA archival lead (ev-08). Resolves the transfer date and ROK stricken year; conflicts with NavSource on the 1946 decommissioning location (San Pedro vs Astoria) and with the philatelic-site 7 March 1978 decommission date. Contains no asbestos or materials information; establishes no asbestos fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS Grasp (ARS-24) page (secondary compilation: milestone lines, campaign tables, specification block, commanding-officer roster, photo captions incl. two from the official Navy salvage history 'Mud, Muscle, and Miracles') [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/09/37/3724.htm - milestone lines, Asiatic-Pacific/Korean/Vietnam campaign tables, awards block, Specifications block, CO table, photo captions 09372407/09372408 (Mud Muscle Miracles), USN 1122603
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compilation page documents: laid down 27 April 1943 Basalt Rock Co., Napa; launched 31 July 1943; commissioned 22 August 1944 (LCDR Jacob F. Lawson); decommissioned 12 December 1946 'at Astoria, OR' and laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet Astoria; recommissioned 10 October 1950 San Diego (LCDR Sam J. Brown); struck 31 March 1978; sold to South Korea 31 March 1978 under Security Assistance Program. Campaign tables: WWII Asiatic-Pacific - Lingayen Gulf landings 6-18 Jan 1945, Zambales-Subic Bay 6-18 Jan 1945, Nasugbu 31 Jan-2 Feb 1945, Mariveles-Corregidor 14-18 Feb 1945; Korea - five campaign periods 1951-53; Vietnam - Advisory Campaign Sep 1963, Counteroffensive Phases IV-VII spans 1968-71. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive), two Navy Unit Commendations, three Navy Meritorious Unit Commendations, Philippines PUC, RVN Gallantry Cross unit citation (2), plus campaign medals - including first NUC for Salvage, Fire Fighting and Rescue Unit, Service Force 7th Fleet, Philippine Islands 6-10 January 1945. Spec block: 1,530 t. light / 1,940 t. lim.; 7 officers + 113 enlisted; four Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels driving four GE motors, double Falk reduction gears, twin screws 3,000 shp; largest boom capacity 10 tons; NHHC photo # USN 1122603 (off Oahu 21 March 1967); photo of Grasp + Safeguard (ARS-25) salvaging Regulus (AF-57) off Kau I Chau Island, Hong Kong, August 1971; 16 commanding officers listed 1944-1978.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1978
- Population
- Ship's company 1944-1978
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary record - milestone and spec values are transcribed from register-type sources but carry transcription risk; its 'Decommissioned, date unknown' line (final) and 'at Astoria, OR' for 1946 conflict with DANFS/the register compilation and are carried in the correction row. The 'Final Disposition, fate unknown' note postdates ROK service; no asbestos or materials content; establishes no asbestos fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-03
-
[5]Bartholomew, Capt. Charles A., USN, and Milwee, Cdr. William I., Jr., USN (Ret.), 'Mud, Muscle, and Miracles: Marine Salvage in the United States Navy,' 2nd ed., Naval History and Heritage Command / Naval Sea Systems Command, Department of the Navy, 2009 (GPO D 211.2:SA 3/2/2009) [museum_official]
- Locator
- govinfo.gov GOVPUB-D211-PURL-gpo58404 (dust-cover/author pages); NavSource captions 09372407 and 09372408 quoting the 2009 edition
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy salvage history (NHHC/NAVSEA joint publication) documents Grasp operations photographically and in text: a U.S.N. salvor from USS Grasp (ARS-24) working a recalcitrant air compressor blowing air into the tanks of South Korean LST M-170 (Korea-era harbor clearance), and a Grasp salvor washing mud out of RPS Rajah Soliman to lighten the capsized Philippine destroyer during the three-month Mariveles harbor parbuckling/lifting salvage of early 1965 - corroborating DANFS's account of both operations.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1951-1965 operations; publication 2009
- Population
- Grasp salvage crew; Philippine Navy liaison
- Limitations
- Official publication content retrieved via NavSource's transcribed photo captions (09372407, 09372408) and the GPO deposit record; page-level pinpoint inside the 594-page volume not captured. Documents the ship's salvage operations only - contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; establishes no asbestos fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-04
-
[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 WWII - the era and program under which this vessel was designed (1941-42 characteristics) and built (1943-44) at a wartime emergency yard - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard U.S. hulls and 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); Basalt Rock construction workforce (Napa, 1943-44)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-05
-
[7]Shipscribe USS Diver (ARS-5) class page - design/machinery data (diesel-electric, 2 screws, 3,000 hp; no steam plant) consolidated with era diesel-auxiliary practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/ARS/ARS05.html class header (Machinery: 2 screws, diesel-electric); NavSource spec block (Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 x 4, GE motors)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The register-based class record documents a diesel-electric twin-screw plant (no boilers, no steam distribution). For a 1943-44 steel-hulled diesel-electric auxiliary, era-consistent asbestos applications would be concentrated in diesel exhaust and muffler lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation and arc-resistant sheet, brake linings on towing/salvage winches and windlass, deck coverings and joiner/bulkhead fireproofing panels, and asbestos textiles in firefighting suits and blankets. This vessel's documented mission (shipboard fire-fighting under kamikaze attack at Lingayen and harbor fire-fighting at Manila) makes the textile/firefighting-gear category mission-relevant rather than generic.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1978
- Population
- Engine-room and salvage-deck crews (hypothetical pathway only)
- Limitations
- Design/era inference only - the class record does not state asbestos content and no design drawing, outfitting spec, survey, or hull record for this vessel was located. Inference narrows the plausible application set (no boilers/steam lagging) relative to steam-driven hulls but cannot confirm or exclude any product aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-06
-
[8]California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region, Order No. R2-2020-0014 (rescission of Site Cleanup Requirements Order R2-1990-0147) - former Napa Pipe Facility, 1025 Kaiser Road, Napa [other_primary]
- Locator
- Order R2-2020-0014, site description and findings 2-3
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The ~150-acre industrial site on the east bank of the Napa River three miles south of Napa - where industrial uses including shipbuilding began in the 1930s and which later operated as Kaiser Steel/Napa Pipe - carried a Site Cleanup Requirements order for soil and groundwater contaminants of concern: total petroleum hydrocarbons (diesel/motor-oil/hydraulic-oil range), VOCs, and localized elevated metals. The 1990 order was rescinded in 2020 as the site moved to mixed-use redevelopment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1990-2020 regulatory record
- Population
- Yard-site workers and remediation trades (context)
- Limitations
- Yard-site environmental record, not a hull record - documents the builder's site regulatory history. The order's contaminant list does not name asbestos; no yard-level asbestos finding is asserted, and nothing here bears on materials aboard this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-07
-
[9]Jacob v. Plastics Engineering Company (PLENCO) et al., No. 1:19-cv-00108 (D. Guam, filed 2019-06-20, terminated 2020-02-26) - CourtListener RECAP docket 15808518; sole indexed document: Complaint for Personal Injury (13 pp.) [court_record]
- Locator
- courtlistener.com docket 15808518; RECAP document gov.uscourts.gud.14512.1.0 (complaint, 13 pp., scanned)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A docketed asbestos personal-injury complaint whose OCR'd text matches the exact phrase 'USS Grasp' was located in CourtListener: Eusebio V. Jacob and Marta A. Jacob v. Plastics Engineering Company (PLENCO) and Rockwell Automation, Inc. (successor by merger to Allen-Bradley Co. and successor-in-interest to Rostone Corp.), cause 28:1332 Diversity-Asbestos Litigation (suit nature 368 P.I.: Asbestos), filed in the District of Guam 2019-06-20 and terminated 2020-02-26. The phrase match places this vessel inside a filed asbestos complaint - a pleading-stage allegation of vessel involvement, not a finding of exposure. The complaint is a scanned document whose body text is not machine-readable in the RECAP copy; the matched context (plaintiff service aboard vs exposure-site list) could not be pinpoint-verified at research time.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2019-2020 (litigation); alleged exposure period not verified from complaint text
- Population
- Eusebio V. Jacob (plaintiff)
- Limitations
- Pleading allegation only - a complaint's vessel list is an allegation, not an adjudicated finding; the case terminated ~8 months after filing with no published opinion, and no disposition merits (settlement vs dismissal) were retrieved. The complaint's scanned body prevented verification of the phrase's context; referent assumed to be ARS-24 (Guam-homeported 1965-74, consistent with the Guam forum and plaintiffs) rather than USNS Grasp (T-ARS-51, Little Creek-based) - not resolved. Does not establish that exposure occurred, causation, or any claimant's eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep via fleet helper (cl-auth-search.py): 'USS Grasp' type=o -> count 0; 'ARS-24' type=o -> count 0; 'USS Grasp' type=r -> 1 docket (Jacob v. PLENCO, above); 'ARS-24' type=r and broad 'Grasp' collision query blocked by fleet pacing budget at research time - logged in search_ledger [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-grasp-ars24-05 through sl-uss-grasp-ars24-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep result: no published opinion names this vessel ('USS Grasp' and 'ARS-24' opinion searches both returned zero on 2026-09-26). The only docketed hit is the single pleading-stage asbestos complaint in ev-08 - no adjudicated exposure finding, no defense merits ruling, and no appellate history naming this hull exists in the index.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Sweep completeness limited by the shared fleet pacing budget: exact-name opinion, hull-number opinion, and exact-name docket queries completed; 'ARS-24' docket-level query and the broad 'Grasp' name-collision query ('grasp' is a high-collision common verb requiring review) were blocked and stand down per helper guidance - logged in the ledger, not asserted as a complete negative. Absence of indexed dockets does not rule out unindexed or state-court filings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-09
-
[11]Batch-2660 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback capture; shipscribe official-records compilation; NavSource archive; NHHC/NAVSEA salvage history via govinfo; Corn & Starr (1987); CourtListener authenticated sweep; CA Water Board yard-site order; MARAD ShipHistory (errored); NARA deck-log guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-grasp-ars24-01 through sl-uss-grasp-ars24-10
- 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 museum stewardship file (the hull is not extant in U.S. custody) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Litigation documentation is limited to a single pleading-stage asbestos complaint naming the vessel (ev-08) - no adjudicated finding exists. The ship spent 1946-50 in the Pacific Reserve Fleet and 1978-98 in ROK service - the two custody phases where a U.S. survey or disposal hazmat record could exist are the reserve-fleet lay-up (no NDRF/MARAD record located; MARAD search endpoint errored at research time) and the 1978 SAP transfer (no hazmat-condition document located).
- 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 1943-44 steel-hulled Navy auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the diesel-electric plant narrows but does not eliminate plausible applications. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-10
-
[12]NARA deck-log guidance (Vietnam-era logs digitized under the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act program) and Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Naval Personnel - deck logs), RG 38 (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations - command histories/war diaries), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; .../038.html ; .../019.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires catalog pull or research-room order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 holds this ship's deck logs 1944-1978, and her Vietnam-era logs (1968-71, 1973) fall within the VA-digitized Blue Water Navy scan program now being staged into the National Archives Catalog; RG 38 holds the Pacific Fleet/7th Fleet command histories and war diaries behind DANFS's classified-operation references (e.g., the February 1974 'Tea Party' cable repair); RG 19 Bureau of Ships records hold the Basalt Rock construction files for the ARS 19-27 group (SecNav directive 16 Feb 1942) - the likeliest location of outfitting/materials specifications for this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1978 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-11
-
[13]Cross-source discrepancy resolution: DANFS entry vs shipscribe register-based compilation vs NavSource milestone lines vs NavalCoverMuseum philatelic page vs Wikipedia infobox [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS entry (ev-01 locator); shipscribe ARS05.html tables; navsource.net 3724.htm milestones; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/GRASP_ARS_24; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencysmall/basalt.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved or carried: (a) 1946 decommissioning location - DANFS's narrative grammar places it at San Pedro ('reached San Pedro, Calif., via Pearl Harbor and Astoria, Oreg., on 5 June. The salvage ship decommissioned there'), while NavSource's milestone line says 'at Astoria, OR.' with lay-up in Pacific Reserve Fleet Astoria; both carry the date 12 Dec 1946; carried unresolved. (b) Final decommission date - 31 March 1978 per DANFS and the register-based disposition table vs 'March 7 1978' on the NavalCoverMuseum philatelic page; DANFS/register adopted. (c) ROK pennant - 'Chang Won (ARS-25)' per DANFS and shipbuildinghistory.com's Basalt Rock table vs 'ARS-5' on NavalCoverMuseum; DANFS adopted. (d) Displacement spread - DANFS 1,360 t vs shipscribe 1,478 lt/1,940 lim vs NavSource 1,530 lt/1,940 lim vs Wikipedia 1,441/1,630; shipscribe register data adopted for the record, spread noted. (e) Complement - DANFS 120 (= NavSource 7 officers + 113 enlisted) vs shipscribe design figure 96 (1944). (f) Power - 3,000 shp (NavSource spec block, shipscribe class) vs 2,780 hp (Wikipedia infobox). (g) DANFS prints the 1965 Guam home port as 'Appia' - read as Apra.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1998
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in secondary framings; none affects identity, service period, or disposal facts materially. No asbestos content in any cited source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grasp-ars24-12