Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS John C. Butler' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS John C. Butler' returned 21 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-john-c-butler-de339-cl-name-opinion
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[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS John C. Butler' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS John C. Butler' returned 935 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-john-c-butler-de339-cl-name-docket
-
[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'DE-339' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'DE-339' returned 73363 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-john-c-butler-de339-cl-hull-opinion
-
[4]CourtListener docket search: 'DE-339' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'DE-339' returned 109226 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-john-c-butler-de339-cl-hull-docket
-
[5]DANFS, John C. Butler (DE-339) (builder, dates, namesake, service narrative, awards; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, spec block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down by Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex., 5 October 1943; launched 12 November 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Walter C. Butler (mother of the namesake, Ens. John Clarence Butler, USNR, Navy Cross, killed in the Battle of Midway flying with VB-3 off Yorktown); commissioned 31 March 1944, Lt. Comdr. J.E. Pace. Shakedown off Bermuda; Pacific via Panama Canal (Pearl Harbor 26 June 1944); Palau/Morotai-Peleliu operations Sept 1944; screened Taffy 3 (TU 77.4.3) escort carriers in the Battle off Samar 25 Oct 1944 - laid smoke, joined the torpedo attack, exchanged gunfire with a Japanese heavy cruiser, rescued St. Lo survivors; Lingayen Gulf Jan 1945 (kamikaze engagements 8 Jan); Iwo Jima Feb-Mar 1945; Okinawa Mar-May 1945 - attacked by six kamikazes 20 May, splashed five, damage limited to mast and antennas; convoy duty to war's end. Decommissioned 26 June 1946 into Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego; recommissioned 27 December 1950; 11th Naval District naval-reserve training and Fleet Sonar School, San Diego; decommissioned 18 December 1957 ('where she remains' - entry predates striking). Five battle stars WWII; Presidential Unit Citation for the Battle off Samar. Spec block: dp. 1,350; l. 306'; b. 36'8"; dr. 9'5"; s. 24 k.; cpl. 186; cl. John C. Butler.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1943-1957
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; wartime and NRT-era crew (design complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Entry ends at the 1957 decommissioning ('where she remains') - the 1970 striking and 1971 sinking postdate the text. Transcription cited because live NHHC DANFS pages 404 (two URL patterns tried). Transcription contains two typos: 'June 1590' for June 1950 and a 'Jon C. Butler' misspelling in the awards line; an alternate ibiblio transcription (butler.txt) renders the sponsor as 'Mrs. Walter A. Butler' vs. 'Walter C.' here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-c-butler-de339-01
-
[6]USS John C. Butler (DE-339) action report, 'Action of 25 October 1944 off Samar Island - Report of,' 9 Nov 1944 (NHHC scan, HyperWar/ibiblio NewPDFs collection) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Report cover letter (p.1) and Part I narrative; archive filename carries an indexing date '1944.10.23' but the cover letter is dated 9 November 1944
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship's own action report (primary source): 'Action of 25 October 1944 off Samar Island - Report of,' from the Commanding Officer, USS John C. Butler (DE 339), Fleet P.O. San Francisco, dated 9 November 1944, to the Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet via Commander TU 77.4.3. The report documents the ship steaming in company with T.U. 77.4.3 off Samar on the morning of 25 Oct 1944, sighting AA fire at 0647, the pursuit of Taffy 3 by Japanese battleships/cruisers/destroyers, the smoke-screen and torpedo-attack sequence ('At 0742, the screen was ordered to form up and make torpedo attack'), and the prior movement narrative (departed Seeadler Harbor, Manus, 12 Oct 1944 in T.U. 77.4.34 with Kitkun Bay and Dennis).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1944-10-25 (report 1944-11-09)
- Population
- Ship's company, Oct-Nov 1944
- Limitations
- Ship-generated operational record - confirms the hull's assignment and battle narrative at primary-source level; contains no materials or asbestos content. OCR-quality scan; archive filename date does not match the report's actual cover-letter date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-c-butler-de339-02
-
[7]NHHC H-Gram 036, 'No Higher Honor - The Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944' (history.navy.mil, 11 Oct 2019) [other_primary]
- Locator
- H-Gram 036, Taffy 3 screen narrative paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC H-Gram 036 (Special Edition, 'No Higher Honor - The Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944,' 11 Oct 2019) names this hull: 'As the Japanese heavy cruisers continued to gain and score hits on the U.S. escort carriers, the other three destroyer escorts, Raymond (DE-431), Dennis (DE-405), and John C. Butler (DE-339), courageously did their best to hold the charging Japanese at bay.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1944-10-25 (H-Gram issued 2019-10-11)
- Population
- Taffy 3 ships' crews; John C. Butler crew
- Limitations
- Official NHHC historical communication naming this hull at Samar - corroborates the DANFS/action-report record. The H-Gram prints 'Raymond (DE-431)'; other sources (DANFS, NavSource) carry the Taffy 3 Raymond as DE-341 - an apparent NHHC typo, quoted verbatim. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-c-butler-de339-03
-
[8]NavSource Online DE-339 operational-data block (stricken 1970-06-01; sunk Dec 1971); corroborated by globalsecurity.org DE-339 table and cawreckdivers.org wreck survey [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-339 'Building and Operational Data' block; globalsecurity.org DE-339 ship-list row; cawreckdivers.org/Wrecks/Butler.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposal record: struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1 June 1970 (NavSource building/operational data block: '9 years and 3 months of service'); sunk as a target off California December 1971 (NavSource; corroborating globalsecurity.org ship-list entry reads 'Sunk as target off Southern California, Dec 1971'). A recreational dive-club survey (cawreckdivers.org) locates the wreck at Northwest Harbor, San Clemente Island - hull upright in ~60-80 ft, bow blown off and sunk in deeper water, ~60 ft of the original 306 ft remaining at the main site, with post-sinking demolition training noted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1970-1971
- Population
- Reserve-fleet/inactive-ships custody personnel 1957-1971
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer photographic archive and globalsecurity/cawreckdivers are secondary compilations - the stricken and sinking dates are concordant across all three but are not verified against an official disposition document (NVR does not cover pre-1987 disposals; DANFS predates them). Exact sinking date, sinking agent, and whether any stripping/abatement preceded target use are undocumented; 1971 sinking predates EPA/Navy ship-sinking environmental review, so no hazmat record is expected to exist.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-c-butler-de339-04
-
[9]BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 design-group-6 row (shipscribe scan) + NavSource machinery line; insulation-spec suite identified via Jack v. Borg-Warner exhibit list (class-profile archival lead ev-john-c-butler-class-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 (design group 6); Jack v. Borg-Warner ECF 738 att. 1 exhibit-list items Honeywell-160 through -167
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: DE-339 is a BuShips design-group-6 (WGT) destroyer escort built Oct 1943-Mar 1944 with 2 superheated 'D' express boilers and Westinghouse geared turbines (12,000 shp) - inside the peak naval asbestos era, when the documented insulation suite (BuShips Manual ch.39 'Thermal Insulation' NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) 1945; Navy Dept spec 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos' Oct 1945; BuEng ch.13 heat-insulation instructions 1933/39) covered thermal pipe covering, block insulation, asbestos felt, lagging cloth/tape, millboard, finishing cement, gaskets and packing aboard steam-driven hulls. Builder Consolidated Steel Corp. (Orange, Tex.) is not in the Atlas yard dataset, so no yard-level record tempers the inference.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1943-1971
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-1957
- Limitations
- Class/era and specification inference only - does NOT establish that any asbestos-containing material was installed aboard this hull, and establishes no quantity and no individual exposure. The controlling spec suite is identified from a sister-hull litigation exhibit list; the spec documents themselves were not retrieved this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-c-butler-de339-05
-
[10]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - pretrial order materials and exhibit list, ECF 738 att. 1 (verified in class-profile record john-c-butler-class, 2026-09-16) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF 738.1 pp. 12, 26-27 + exhibit list
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Class-level litigation context: pretrial materials in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC (W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537) name USS Brannon (DE-446), a John C. Butler-class sister of this hull, and recite the plaintiff's theory that a Griscom-Russell evaporator was supplied to Navy specification 'without insulation' and that asbestos was 'a critical material' when the Navy insulated it aboard - while the same materials concede the insulation 'could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' The exhibit list identifies the era's controlling Navy insulation documents as evidence in that case.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- WWII/postwar service era; litigation 2017-2019
- Population
- Machinist's mate aboard USS Brannon (DE-446)
- Limitations
- Names sister hull DE-446, NOT this hull - included to document the class's known litigation posture and the insulation-spec theory; it is a pleading/exhibit-list-level recital, not an adjudicated finding, and transfers nothing ship-specific to DE-339.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-c-butler-de339-06
-
[11]Batch-296 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS probes; ibiblio DANFS transcription; NHHC ship action report; NHHC H-Gram 036; NVR coverage check; NavSource/globalsecurity/cawreckdivers; shipyards.json yard-dataset check; CourtListener API + site-scoped index sweep; law-firm listicle sweep (excluded) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-john-c-butler-de339-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-339: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming THIS hull was found in the sources searched. CourtListener API v4 was rate-limit throttled (HTTP 429) across repeated spaced attempts on 2026-09-19; a site-scoped web-index sweep of courtlistener.com for the ship name and hull number returned no qualifying asbestos case. 'USS John C. Butler (DE-339) asbestos' content circulates on mesothelioma law-firm/lead-gen ship lists (shepardlawfirm.com, freeasbestostesting.com, veteransguide.org, mesotheliomahelp.org, elslaw.com) - excluded per source rules; none cites underlying documentation. The hull was stricken 1970 and sunk as a target in 1971, predating EPA/Navy ship-sinking environmental review - no pre-sinking abatement documentation is expected to exist.
- 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 or of filings - state-court and non-digitized records are not covered, the CourtListener API sweep could not be completed under rate limiting (shared 125/day quota), and the site-scoped index sweep is partial coverage, not a completed docket search. Law-firm ship lists repeat the hull name without documentation and were not usable as evidence. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-c-butler-de339-07