Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Board of Veterans' Appeals decision, Citation Nr. 0308060, Docket No. 00-14 794 (decided 2003-04-29) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Decision text: Introduction (service dates), Factual Background ('stationed ... various Naval ships, including ... USS Hull'), Conclusion of Law (service connection granted)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published BVA decision names this hull in the veteran's service record and grants service connection for asbestos-related disease: the veteran (active service October 1955-May 1974) served as a Chief Machinist's Mate in main engine rooms and auxiliary machinery rooms aboard ships 'including the USS Niagara Falls, USS Jason, USS Hull, USS Ozbourn, USS Whitehurst, and the USS Dixie'; the Board concluded his COPD 'was incurred in service as a result of asbestos exposure' on a benefit-of-the-doubt standard. DD-945 was the only commissioned USS Hull during his service window. The record recites asbestos-related work aboard Navy engine/fire rooms (mixing asbestos with water for pipe repair; asbestos falling from handled pipes) without tying any specific task to this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1955-1974 (service); 2003 (decision)
- Population
- Navy veteran, Chief Machinist's Mate, engine rooms and auxiliary machinery rooms aboard multiple ships including USS Hull, 1955-1974; COPD
- Limitations
- Administrative adjudication by the Board of Veterans' Appeals - not a court proceeding; decided on a reasonable-doubt standard, so it adjudicates service connection, not shipboard product facts. The veteran served aboard six named ships; the decision does not isolate USS Hull as the exposure source, does not identify asbestos-containing products aboard this hull, and does not quantify material. 'USS Hull' attribution to DD-945 rests on the service window (1955-1974), within which DD-945 was the only commissioned Hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hull-dd945-01
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[2]Board of Veterans' Appeals decision, Citation Nr. 1146401, Docket No. 10-38 694 (decided 2011-12-20) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Decision text: Findings of Fact 4-5; Factual Background (ship list); Analysis (exposure and nexus findings)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published BVA decision names this hull in the veteran's service record and grants service connection for the cause of the veteran's death: service personnel records showed the veteran (active duty November 1951-August 1971) served as a radarman 'on multiple Naval ships during his almost 20 years of service, including the U.S.S. Wood, U.S.S. Hawkins, U.S.S. Casa Grande, U.S.S. Fort Mandan, U.S.S. Hull, U.S.S. Jouett, U.S.S. Waller, and U.S.S. Gurke.' The Board found he 'was exposed to asbestos' during service and that his fatal pulmonary fibrosis 'is related to his in-service asbestos exposure.' Notably, the decision recites that a May 2002 VA ratings chart gave a radarman only a 'minimal chance' of asbestos exposure, yet the Board still found exposure supported on this record. DD-945 was the only commissioned USS Hull during his service window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1951-1971 (service); 2011 (decision)
- Population
- Navy veteran, radarman aboard multiple ships including USS Hull, 1951-1971; fatal pulmonary fibrosis (d. December 2008); surviving spouse appellant
- Limitations
- Administrative adjudication by the Board of Veterans' Appeals - not a court proceeding; decided on a reasonable-doubt standard. The veteran served aboard eight named ships; the decision attributes exposure to naval service generally, does not isolate USS Hull as the exposure source, and does not identify asbestos-containing products aboard this hull. Appellant's lay testimony (thin bulkheads shedding insulation; asbestos coming off pipes) described destroyer service generally and was not pinned to a named ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hull-dd945-02
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[3]Notice of Removal, Siegfried v. Owens-Illinois, No. 2:18-cv-01575-FMO-E (C.D. Cal. filed 2018-03-02), ECF No. 50 (RECAP) [court_record]
- Locator
- Notice of Removal, ECF No. 50, preliminary statement pp.1-2 (vessel/exposure list)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos personal-injury notice of removal names this hull by number: plaintiffs allege Terry Lee Siegfried was injured by Owens-Illinois (Kaylo) asbestos exposure as an electrician/marine electrician approximately 1969-1996 at Long Beach Naval Shipyard and aboard a list of roughly forty vessels that includes 'USS Hull (DD-945)'. The notice recites the Owens-Illinois government-contractor-defense theory supporting federal removal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1969-1996 (alleged exposure); 2018 (filing)
- Population
- Terry Lee Siegfried, electrician/marine electrician, Long Beach Naval Shipyard and listed vessels, approx. 1969-1996
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation - classified at the least-final stage: the vessel list is an allegation, not a finding. Names the hull explicitly (DD-945) but alongside ~40 other vessels; does not establish that Kaylo was aboard, does not adjudicate exposure or causation, and does not quantify material. Merits history beyond removal not reviewed for this record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hull-dd945-03
-
[4]DANFS, Hull IV (DD-945) - live NHHC page returns 404; cited via Wayback capture 2020-10-28 and the verbatim hazegray.org transcription (Wayback capture 2024-12-25) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative through February 1967
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: fourth Navy ship named Hull; launched by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 10 August 1957; sponsored by Mrs. Albert G. Mumma; commissioned 3 July 1958, Commander H. H. Ries in command. Shakedown in New England waters; departed Newport 7 September 1958 for the Pacific Fleet, arriving San Diego 13 October via the Panama Canal. Seventh Fleet deployments April-September 1959 (Formosa Patrol), July-November 1960, and August 1961-February 1962; escorted amphibious forces to the Canal Zone during the Cuban Missile Crisis (28 October 1962 departure); Subic Bay deployment October 1963-April 1964. 1965 Vietnam cruise: three patrols, rescued a downed flyer in the Gulf of Tonkin 16 July, shelled positions near Chu Lai 29 August. Overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard January-April 1966; deployed August 1966-January 1967 as flagship of Commander Task Unit 70.8.9 for three 30-day patrols off South Vietnam. Specifications block: dp. 3,990 fl.; l. 418 ft.; b. 45 ft.; dr. 14 ft. 9 in.; s. over 30 k.; cpl. 324; a. 3x5in., 4x3in., 4x21in. tt., 1 dct.; cl. Forrest Sherman.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1956-1967
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1956-58; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 324)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The published entry ends with the February 1967 return to San Diego; later history comes from the NHC Online Library narrative (ev-05). The entry gives no keel-laying date - the 1956-09-12 date carried in this record is from secondary compilation (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hull-dd945-04
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[5]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Hull (DD-945), 1958-1998' (official NHC ship narrative, ibiblio mirror of the NHC page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHC Online Library page, ship narrative (all paragraphs) + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NHC narrative completing this hull's record: a '2850-ton modified Forrest Sherman class destroyer' built at Bath, Maine; fifteen Seventh Fleet deployments, six of them Vietnam War cruises on which she 'fired tens of thousands of five-inch shells in support of forces ashore and helped rescue several downed U.S. aviators.' After the eleventh WestPac cruise (1973), overhaul removed her remaining three-inch mount and replaced the forward five-inch gun with the experimental 8-inch/55 Mark 71 Major Caliber Lightweight Gun, tested 1975-1978 during the twelfth and thirteenth deployments; gun removed 1979. Asian waters February-September 1981; final deployment September 1982-April 1983 via Alaska (five Vietnamese refugees rescued at sea in October), then Indian Ocean/Arabian Sea with the Enterprise battle group. Decommissioned July 1983; 'sunk as a target in April 1998.' Named for Commodore Isaac Hull (1773-1843).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1958-1998
- Population
- Pacific Fleet crew 1958-1983; 8-inch gun test program personnel 1975-1979
- Limitations
- Official Navy historical narrative, but a secondary-level NHC compilation rather than DANFS proper; it does not address materials or asbestos content and does not give a stricken date. The 'modified Forrest Sherman' phrasing reflects the bow-design subclass documented in ev-06.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hull-dd945-05
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[6]Official U.S. Navy photograph record, ID DNSC0409287 / 980415N3612M003 (PH1(NAC) James G. McCarter), 'the last day of the Forrest Sherman Class destroyer ex-USS HULL (DD 945)' (hosted at Wikimedia Commons) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wikimedia Commons file page, official DoD/Navy caption block and image metadata (date taken 7 April 1998)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy photo caption documents this hull's disposal: 'The HULL was decommissioned on July 11, 1983, stricken from the Navy vessel list on October 15, 1983 and sunk on April 7, 1998 [caption reads 1988 - a typo, as the image is dated 7 April 1998], serving as an at-sea target for a naval gunnery exercise off the southern California coast.' Establishes the target-sinking disposition off Southern California and supplies a stricken date (15 October 1983) that conflicts with NavSource's 15 November 1983 - carried in gaps.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1983-1998
- Population
- Disposal/target-preparation handlers, Suisun Bay and Port Hueneme 1983-1998; gunnery-exercise participants
- Limitations
- Photo-caption-level record: documents disposition and method of sinking, not materials or asbestos content. No hull-level hazardous-materials preparation or survey record for the sinking was located in public sources (see ev-09). The caption's '1988' sink year and 'October 15, 1983' stricken date are the variants flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hull-dd945-06
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[7]Commander Daniel G. Felger, USN (Ret.), 'Retrospective: the Forrest Shermans,' U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 113/5/1,011 (May 1987) - live page 403, cited via Wayback capture 2025-05-08 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Proceedings May 1987 article: class overview, Table 2 (construction data), per-ship notes for DD-945
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Class-level design history: 18 Forrest Sherman-class ships (DD-931 series), 'powered by the earliest of the 1,200-pound steam plants in the U.S. fleet,' commissioned between the end of World War II and the end of the Vietnam War as the lone all-gun destroyer class of that span. Hull-specific notes within the class survey: 11 Western Pacific deployments and 20 Vietnam combat patrols; 1965 rescue of a downed Coral Sea (CVA-43) pilot while plane-guarding; three survivors saved in 1973 from the sunken tug Marpole; 'the first destroyer to mount an 8-inch gun,' serving as 1975 test platform for the 8-inch/55 major caliber lightweight gun (one-man operation, 12 rounds/minute, range >15 miles; program terminated without production approval). Bow-design note: Hull (DD-945) 'and the last six destroyers would have even more freeboard forward - enough so that some naval publications would list them as a separate destroyer class by virtue of their bow design.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1953-1987 (class); 1987 (publication)
- Population
- Forrest Sherman-class crews (18 ships); destroyer design and engineering community
- Limitations
- Reputable professional-journal retrospective (uncorrected OCR text), not an official record; class/era context, not asbestos documentation. Its Table 2 carries an internally impossible row for DD-945 ('Beth Q' builder, keel '12 September 1957' after the 10 August 1957 launch) - DANFS and NavSource agree on Bath Iron Works; treated as a source defect and logged in gaps, not carried as data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hull-dd945-07
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[8]DANFS specifications block (Forrest Sherman class; 1,200-psi steam plant per USNI) + Atlas shipyards.json record 'bath-iron-works' (yard-level asbestos documentation: 1942 Drinker pipe-covering-shop study, PMID 21016030; OSHA Inspection 101450294, 1987 asbestos-standard citations) + NARA RG19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'bath-iron-works'; USNI class overview
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer built 1956-58 with a 1,200-psi steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos thermal insulation, boiler and turbine lagging, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; builder Bath Iron Works is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2), including a 1942 Harvard/Drinker industrial-hygiene study documenting 'fairly serious dust risk' in pipe-covering shops and 1987 OSHA asbestos-standard citations; NARA RG19 'General Information Books' holding per-vessel material specifications are an archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1956-1983
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1956-57; crew 1958-1983
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the ship-specific findings for this hull are ev-01, ev-02 (adjudicated VA decisions naming USS Hull) and ev-03 (Siegfried pleading); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. No inference of ship-specific asbestos exposure is made from class, construction era, or steam propulsion. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hull-dd945-08
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[9]Batch-283 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live + Wayback/hazegray mirrors; NHC Online Library; NVR detail page; NavSource; VA BVA decisions index; CourtListener API v4 + RECAP storage; USNI Proceedings; EPA/Navy SINKEX program documents; class-profile worktrees [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hull-dd945-01 through sl-uss-hull-dd945-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-level asbestos materials record located for this hull: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, or hazmat preparation disclosure was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The museum-disclosure channel that produces such records for preserved hulls does not exist here - ex-Hull was sunk as a target in 1998. No hull-specific SINKEX preparation record was located; EPA/Navy SINKEX documents found are program-level (MPRSA general permit, PCB determinations), and no public hull-level prep documentation for ex-Hull was identified. CourtListener opinion coverage is partial: the API hit its documented daily cap mid-session after returning two 'USS Hull' opinion hits, of which one is classified (United States v. Lower, 10 M.J. 263 (C.M.A. 1981) - military justice, other litigation) and one could not be retrieved; the 'DD-945' hull-number query was blocked before execution.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2026-09-19
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - period-standard insulation is era-consistent and the adjudication records above presume asbestos exposure somewhere in each veteran's multi-ship service. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present aboard, and does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is incomplete pending CourtListener retry - logged, not papered over.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hull-dd945-09
