Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 733-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-pkt-733-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Hillsdale County (LST-835) - full construction/campaign/disposal entry (live NHHC page, fetched via Firecrawl; companion entry DANFS LST-835 at https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lst-835.html) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Hillsdale County entry, full text; DANFS LST-835 companion entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down by American Bridge Co., Ambridge, Pa., 6 September 1944; launched 25 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. I. Raphael; commissioned 20 November 1944, Lt. William H. McHenry in command. Shakedown off Florida; loaded ammunition at New Orleans, departed 28 December 1944; brief stops on the West Coast and Pearl Harbor; arrived Guam 18 March 1945; six weeks transporting troops, trucks, and equipment from the Marianas to Iwo Jima; sailed from Saipan 25 April 1945 with ammunition for Okinawa; remainder of the war shuttling cargo and troops in Pacific staging areas; post-V-J Day occupation-force operations in the Philippines and Japan for two months; departed Nagoya 8 November 1945; cargo stop at Saipan; arrived San Francisco 8 January 1946; sailed to Astoria, Oreg., and decommissioned there (date unstated - 'later that month'). Named Hillsdale County 1 July 1955 while berthed with the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from the Navy List October 1959; sold April 1961 to Japan, serving as Shimokita (LST-4002). One battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1961
- Population
- Construction trades (Ambridge, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. Decommissioning date not stated precisely (narrative compresses January-June 1946; companion DANFS LST-835 entry says March 1946; NavSource says June 1946 - see correction row). DANFS stats line gives class 'LST-511' while standard references carry the ship as LST-542-class (see correction row).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, Hillsdale County (LST-835) ex USS LST-835 (10/16/160835.htm) - unit assignments, campaign table, spec block, commanding-officer list, JMSDF/Philippine disposition chain, awards [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160835.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-542-class tank landing ship laid down 6 September 1944 at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA; launched 25 October 1944; commissioned USS LST-835 20 November 1944, LT. William H. McHenry USNR in command. Asiatic-Pacific Theater assignments: LST Flotilla Twenty-Three (CAPT. W.W. Weeden Jr. USN), LST Group Sixty-Seven (CDR. V.A. King USN), LST Division One Hundred Thirty-Four. Campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation 1 May to 30 June 1945 (one battle star; awards also American Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp). Occupation service in the Far East 29 October-9 November 1945. Decommissioned June 1946 at Astoria, OR; laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group; named Hillsdale County (LST-835) 1 July 1955; struck from the Naval Register October 1959; sold to Japan April 1961, renamed JNS Shimokita (LST-4002); resold to the Republic of the Philippines (date unknown), renamed BRP Cavite (LT-509); scrapped 1989 (hulk photo at a breakers yard, location unknown, alongside ex-BRP Tiboli (YQ-58)). Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt trial; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk reduction gear, 2 propellers 1,700 shp, 3 x diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V DC generators, twin rudders; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; radio call sign NHRV. CO list: LT McHenry 20 Nov 1944-6 Nov 1945; LTjg Richard Hugh Carter USNR 6 Nov 1945-9 Jan 1946; LTjg William R. Thomas USNR 9 Jan 1946-June 1946. NHHC photo NH 79567 documents the ship underway in San Francisco Bay with a 'Welcome Home' sign, captioned 6 January 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1989
- Population
- Ship's company (~117 class-typical) plus embarked troops (1944-46); JMSDF crew (1961-onward); Philippine Navy crew (to 1989); 1989 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates cross-check cleanly against DANFS and the NARA war diaries (CO change 6 Nov 1945 and Nagoya departure 8 Nov 1945 confirmed verbatim in the ship's diary). Contains no asbestos content. 'June 1946' decommissioning adopted over DANFS variants (see correction row); the JMSDF-to-Philippines resale date is unknown and final-disposition detail beyond the 1989 scrapping photo is not documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-02
-
[4]NARA NAID 139933333, 'USS LST-835 - War Diary, 2/1-28/45' (RG 38, World War II War Diaries; micro serial 112623; Roll A1477; 14 images; digitized via Fold3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 139933333, images 1-14 (downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-03); berth/moored entry ~8 Feb on image 4; 'minor repairs' dailies images 5-11; departure ~23 Feb images 11-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's February 1945 war diary (downloaded and OCR-read this session; carbon-copy ribbon degraded in places) documents the stateside-to-war-zone transit: underway 1 February 1945 from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor in company with other landing ships, LCT-1378 carried shipborne; moored starboard side to USS LST-633 at Berth T-18, West Loch, Pearl Harbor, T.H., arriving about 8 February; then roughly two weeks alongside in which the repeated daily entry is crew 'turned to at ship's work' with 'minor repairs ... effected' and stores taken aboard (one day noting 19,982 gallons of fresh water loaded; one noting embarked personnel); underway again about 23 February for the western Pacific. No enemy contact, no ammunition expended in action during the month.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-02
- Population
- Ship's company (Feb 1945); any alongside support at West Loch, Pearl Harbor
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced record; OCR extraction is partial where the ribbon is faded, but the West Loch berth, LST-633 alongside, the 'minor repairs were effected' phrasing, and the loading details are legible and were spot-checked. The diary does not itemize the repair work, does not say 'asbestos,' and does not indicate yard (vs. ship's-force) labor; 'minor repairs' is the diary's own wording and is consistent with routine ship's-force maintenance. No material content is documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-03
-
[5]NARA NAID 140084307, 'USS LST-835 - War Diary, 11/1-30/45' (serial 713, submitted 2 January 1946, signed R.H. Carter; RG 38 war-diaries series; Roll A2009; 5 images; digitized via Fold3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 140084307, pages 1-5 (downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The November 1945 war diary (all 5 pages OCR-read this session; clean scan) documents the homeward staging verbatim: underway 1 November to Nagoya, Honshu, in company with 10 LSTs (Com LST Group 44 OTC in LST-924), carrying 57 U.S. Army vehicles, 24 trailers, and 17 officers + 156 enlisted as passengers; arrived Nagoya berth A-109, Iseno Umi, 3 November; beached inner harbor and discharged all cargo 4 November; 6 November - 'Lt(jg) Richard Hugh Carter, 266776, (D) USNR, assumed command this date, having relieved Lt. Commander, William J. McHenry, 97862, (DE) USNR'; underway 8 November from Nagoya to Saipan in company with 11 LSTs and 3 LSMs; arrived Saipan mid-month; 16 November moored port side to AOG-23 at berth L-14 for fuel; anchored berth L-87, Saipan Harbor, for the remainder of the month.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-11
- Population
- Ship's company; embarked U.S. Army passengers (Nov 1945)
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced record, legibly scanned. Documents the CO change and the DANFS 'departing Nagoya 8 November' sentence verbatim; no repair, yard, or material content for the month. The printed CO name 'William J. McHenry' differs from DANFS/NavSource 'William H. McHenry' - likely a diary typo or OCR ambiguity, flagged not resolved. Does not document the December 1945-June 1946 inactivation period (no ship-titled diaries surfaced for those months).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-04
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan); NavSource LST-835 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, 2026-09-16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160835.htm specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this hull: the LST-542 design group ran a diesel plant (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, 900 hp each, single Falk reduction gear, twin screws, 1,700 shp total - BuShips design table and this hull's NavSource spec block) with no boilers, so the steam-plant lagging pathway of boiler vessels does not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications aboard a 1944 diesel landing ship of this type were the era-standard set - diesel-exhaust and machinery-space lagging, gaskets and valve packing, accommodation thermal insulation, deck coverings - and the documented ~two-week February 1945 West Loch 'minor repairs' period (war diary, ev-03) is wartime maintenance aboard this hull inside the Navy's asbestos-use era, unitemized.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1989
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46); any West Loch alongside support (Feb 1945); JMSDF and Philippine crews (1961-1989); 1989 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or repair work package was located for LST-835/Hillsdale County. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution. The Feb 1945 'minor repairs' entries do not state who performed them or what materials were disturbed. SDB 1945 v2 link verified live 2026-10-03 (HTTP 200).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-05
-
[7]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 - spanning this hull's construction (1944), her Pacific service including the documented February 1945 repair/loading period, her 1946-1959 reserve lay-up, and all post-sale service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- 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 text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, reconfirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-06
-
[8]DANFS LST-835 companion entry (decommissioning 'March 1946'); DANFS Hillsdale County entry ('later that month' after 8 Jan 1946 arrival); NavSource CO table and disposition line ('June 1946'); NARA muster-roll file-unit coverage through 5/31/46 (NAID 126637880); DANFS stats line 'cl. LST-511' vs NavSource 'LST-542 Class' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS /danfs/l/lst-835.html and /danfs/h/hillsdale-county.html full texts; NavSource 160835.htm CO table; NAID 126637880 file-unit title; NHHC photo NH 79567 caption via NavSource
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two source conflicts documented and resolved/disclosed: (a) Decommissioning - the short DANFS LST-835 entry states 'decommissioned in March 1946,' the longer Hillsdale County entry compresses the timeline to an implied January 1946 ('arrived San Francisco 8 January 1946, and later that month sailed to Astoria, Oreg., and decommissioned there'), while NavSource states June 1946 at Astoria and its CO table runs command succession (LTjg Thomas) through June 1946; the hull's digitized muster rolls span commissioning through 31 May 1946 (NAID 126637880), consistent with a late-May/June 1946 decommissioning. June 1946 is adopted; the DANFS variants are disclosed, not reconciled. A related minor conflict: NHHC photo NH 79567 is captioned 6 January 1946 in San Francisco Bay vs the DANFS arrival date of 8 January. (b) Class assignment - the DANFS stats line reads 'cl. LST-511' while NavSource and standard references carry the hull as LST-542-class; LST-542 is carried per NavSource/BuShips design grouping, with the DANFS class-line variant disclosed. (c) CO's middle initial - the Nov 1945 war diary prints 'William J. McHenry' where DANFS/NavSource give 'William H. McHenry' (diary typo or OCR ambiguity; DANFS retained).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Resolves/discloses publication-level discrepancies; does not affect identity or the disposal timeline materially. No asbestos content in any source; the adopted June 1946 decommissioning rests on NavSource + muster-roll coverage, not on a stated decommissioning document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-07
-
[9]Batch-7377 search ledger (this record): DANFS (both entries); NavSource; NARA catalog (10 digitized ship-titled war diaries Feb-Nov 1945, two read in full; muster rolls 236 images; muster-roll index; Columbia River Group Pacific Reserve Fleet commander records); BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; NVR; NIOSH HHE; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or qualifying litigation naming LST-835/Hillsdale County/Shimokita/Cavite was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational (war diaries) and confirms only routine ship's-force 'minor repairs' at a Pearl Harbor fleet berth - not a documented yard availability with material scope.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - construction at a wartime yard and a documented wartime repair period sit inside the Navy's asbestos-use era. LITIGATION COVERAGE IS INCOMPLETE: CourtListener was blocked this session by the fleet daily-quota (helper reported ~9.7 h to reset) - logged blocked, not a negative result; the no-litigation statement covers the secondary-web sweep only and does not include the CourtListener opinion/docket indexes. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-08
-
[10]NARA catalog, "LST-835" - 199 file units (fuzzy relevance). Ship-titled units: ten digitized war diaries Feb-Nov 1945 (NAIDs 139933333, 139943959, 140013809, 140029087, 101746847, 83565436, 77505270, 77571119, 77592132, 140084307); muster rolls 'LST-835, 11/20/44-5/31/46' NAID 126637880 (RG 24, 236 images via Ancestry); Index to Muster Rolls range file NAID 118967604; 'Commander, Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, 12/1/45-1/1/49' NAID 190113550 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov "LST-835" and "USS LST-835" result sets; NAID record pages 126637880, 118967604, 190113550
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary archive coverage for this hull is unusually deep but only partially read: ten digitized ship-titled war diaries cover February through November 1945; the February and November diaries were read in full this session (ev-03, ev-04) and the other eight (Mar-Oct 1945, covering the Guam/Iwo Jima shuttle, the Okinawa ammunition run, and the occupation period) remain an open, fully digitized lead. Muster rolls spanning the entire commissioned life (11/20/44-5/31/46, 236 images) are digitized - the personnel-verification source. The Columbia River Group Pacific Reserve Fleet commander records (Dec 1945-Jan 1949) are the archival lead for the inactivation/lay-up period that no ship-titled diary covers. No casualty report file unit titled for this hull surfaced (contrast sibling LST-790's NAID 472241654).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- Ship's company (1944-46); researchers
- Limitations
- Archival-lead row: eight of ten war diaries, the muster rolls, and the reserve-group records were not read; their content is unknown beyond catalog titles. WWII deck logs proper for this hull were not surfaced in the catalog result sets checked. RG 181 or district inactivation work-package records for the June 1946 Astoria decommissioning are an unlocated lead - no inactivation-period ship record of any kind was surfaced for Dec 1945-Jun 1946.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hillsdale-county-lst835-09