Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet ga-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-hickox-dd673-pkt-ga-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Hickox (DD-673) (builder, dates, service narrative, transfer and striking; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + namesake paragraph + service narrative + bracketed disposition note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Lt. Comdr. Ralph Hickox, lost from USS Truxtun's bridge off Newfoundland 18 February 1942; launched 4 July 1943 by Federal Ship Building & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Mrs. Ralph Hickox; commissioned 10 September 1943, Comdr. William M. Sweetser in command. Caribbean shakedown; Pearl Harbor 12 December 1943; TF 58 destroyer screen through Marshalls raids, Truk, New Guinea, Marianas (Battle of the Philippine Sea, 19-20 June 1944; five aircraft kills shared, three fliers rescued), Okinawa/Formosa raids 12-13 October, Battle for Leyte Gulf 24-26 October; 17 December 1944 typhoon (lost steering in ~115-kt winds, recovered, escorted tankers to Ulithi); screened first Tokyo raids 16 February 1945; on 19 March 1945 rescued some 70 men from the water alongside burning carrier Franklin and took 18 more off the ship plus 3 from the water, driving off two further kamikaze attacks; Okinawa screening and radar picket to 29 May 1945; stateside repairs from 6 July 1945 (San Francisco); decommissioned into reserve at San Diego 10 December 1946. Recommissioned 19 May 1951; home port Newport, R.I., from 13 October 1951; DesRon 20 around-the-world cruise from 6 September 1952 including two winter months screening TF 77 and gunfire support off Korea; Newport return April 1953; Northern Europe/Mediterranean cruise September 1954 - February 1955; Mediterranean summer 1957 (Jordan crisis standby); decommissioned at Philadelphia 20 December 1957 into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Bracketed note: transferred to the Republic of Korea as Pusan 15 November 1968; struck from the Navy list 2 June 1975. Nine WWII and two Korean battle stars. Specs block: Fletcher class; 2,050 t.; 376'6"; 39'8"; 17'9"; 37 k.; cpl. 319.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 319); ROK Navy crew 1968-1989
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. No laid-down date appears in the transcription (laid-down 12 March 1943 rests on NavSource/secondary compilations). Live NHHC page returns 404 - verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription cited. Bracketed transfer/striking text is a later editorial addition to the entry, consistent with NVR-derived dates.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hickox-dd673-01
-
[3]Destroyer History Foundation Hickox pages (DANFS-mirrored history + full text of the Secretary of the Navy Navy Unit Commendation citation) + NavSource DD-673 operational/building data + Wikimedia Commons BuShips photo caption [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/usshickox/ and /usshickox_nuc/; navsource.org/archives/05/673.htm ops block; Commons category USS Hickox (DD-673), file 'underway off the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on 23 September 1951'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating records for this hull: (a) Secretary of the Navy Navy Unit Commendation citation (signed James Forrestal) for 19 March 1945 - Hickox repeatedly closed the burning carrier Franklin's stern to rescue trapped and wounded men while keeping guns manned; (b) NavSource operational/building data: laid down by Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny NJ, 12 March 1943; launched 4 July 1943; commissioned 10 September 1943; decommissioned 10 December 1946; recommissioned 19 May 1951; decommissioned 20 December 1957; stricken 2 June 1975; to South Korea 15 November 1968, renamed Pusan; stricken and broken up for scrap 1989; (c) official BuShips photograph caption (Commons NN DD-673): USS Hickox underway off the San Francisco Naval Shipyard (Hunters Point) on 23 September 1951 'following regular overhaul' - documents a post-recommissioning overhaul availability at that yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1989
- Population
- Crew 1943-1957; San Francisco Naval Shipyard workers, Sept 1951 overhaul
- Limitations
- Corroborating compilations consistent with DANFS on every overlapping date. NavSource page not directly retrievable in-session (fetch blocked); ops data verified via search-index excerpt and cross-checked against DANFS. The NUC citation is a period primary text hosted on a private foundation site. The 1989 ROK striking/scrapping rests on secondary compilations - no Korean-language primary record was located. None of these sources addresses asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hickox-dd673-02
-
[4]HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' DD-673 data block + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding-Kearny record (incl. Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey of the yard, Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar DD-673 compilation block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer with a four-boiler steam plant (high-pressure super-heated boilers, geared turbines, twin screws, 60,000 h.p. per the period compilation) would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; the builder yard (Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock, Kearny) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset - including a 1944 Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey documenting insulators cutting and fitting Johns-Manville Superex amosite pipe covering and boiler insulation in confined spaces at the yard.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; crew 1943-1957
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1944 yard survey postdates this hull's entire construction (laid down March 1943, commissioned September 1943) and documents yard practice, not materials aboard DD-673. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hickox-dd673-03
-
[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing this hull's entire U.S. service life (1943-1957 active; reserve to 1968) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- 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-hickox-dd673-04
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 sweep, 2026-09-27 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper): "USS Hickox" type=o = 0; "DD-673" type=o = 0; "USS Hickox" type=r = 0; "Hickox asbestos" type=r = 68 plaintiff-surname dockets; "DD-673" type=r = 3 non-ship docket collisions; bare "Hickox" type=o = ~2,655 surname collisions [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoint, queries as listed; executed via cl-auth-search.py
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep found no qualifying litigation naming this hull. Exact-phrase opinion searches for 'USS Hickox' and 'DD-673' returned zero results; the bare 'Hickox' query returns ~2,655 results that classify as surname collisions (Com. v. Hickox, Leeward Isles Resorts v. Hickox, Hickox v. Florida Parole Com'n, etc.) - no vessel reference identified in the indexed opinion set. RECAP docket search for 'USS Hickox' returned zero dockets. The 'Hickox asbestos' docket query returns 68 dockets that are all plaintiffs surnamed Hickox suing asbestos defendants (Hickox v. Owens-Corning, Hickox v. Garlock, Hickox v. CSX, Wendell W. Hickox v. Rock Wool Manufacturing, Hickox v. Armstrong World, etc.) - surname collisions, not ship references. The 'DD-673' docket query returns 3 non-ship collisions (University of Pittsburgh W.D. Pa.; Pro Image Installers v. Dillon N.D. Fla.; Edgar Milton Thrift III bankruptcy D. Idaho - the string appears as a document/serial reference, not a hull).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Indexed-text sweep only: asbestos plaintiffs' vessel lists commonly live in complaints/exhibits not fully indexed by opinion or docket search; a zero result does not prove no filing ever named the hull. The 68 'Hickox asbestos' dockets were classified by case caption (plaintiff surname vs. product defendants); individual docket texts were not opened.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hickox-dd673-05
-
[7]Batch-3648 search ledger (this record): DANFS via HyperWar/ibiblio; destroyerhistory.org Hickox pages incl. NUC citation; NavSource ops data; Commons BuShips photo; CourtListener exact-name + hull-number sweeps; GAO product page; NARA deck-log inventory lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hickox-dd673-01 through sl-uss-hickox-dd673-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-673: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract or hazmat disclosure, and no qualifying asbestos case or docket naming the hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). A law-firm-adjacent marketing site (navyshipexposure.com) presents a 13-entry 'equipment manifest' for DD-673 attributed to BuShips documentation and litigation exhibits (Buffalo Pumps sales file for the DD-666-DD-680 series; Warren Steam Pump documentation; Westinghouse motors/turbine-gear) - a banned source, carried only as an unverified lead in gaps.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level and the hull's scrapping abroad closed the museum/abatement disclosure channels that produced records for preserved Fletcher hulls. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hickox-dd673-06
-
[8]NARA deck-log program record: Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978 (RG 24, NAID 594258; VA-scanned Vietnam-era batches in progress); USS Hickox (DD-673) appears in third-party NARA deck-log inventory lists [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-log portal (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks); series NAID 594258; Golden Arrow Research NARA deck-log inventory (lists USS Hickox DD-673)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Deck logs for this hull are held in NARA RG 24/Record Group holdings (Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978) - the series the VA digitization program is processing; Hickox appears on third-party inventories of requestable NARA deck logs. Deck logs record yard periods, drydockings, and availabilities and could resolve the 1945 San Francisco repair yard and 1956 drydocking details.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1957
- Population
- Crew 1943-1957
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - deck logs were not retrieved or reviewed; NARA catalog search returned no parseable result to automated fetch in-session. Deck logs rarely name insulation materials and are not an asbestos source per se; they document where and when the hull was in yards.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hickox-dd673-07