Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet crew-fi-packet.md (13 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-john-d-henley-dd553-pkt-crew-fi-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), John D. Henley (DD-553) entry; live NHHC URL returns 404 - text captured via Wayback Machine 2025-12-09 snapshot [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (NHHC page published 2015-07-22)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 21 July 1941 by Gulf Shipbuilding Co., Chickasaw, Ala. (DANFS prints 'Chackasaw'); launched 15 November 1942, sponsored by Miss Shelah Keith Kane, great-great-great-granddaughter of Captain Henley; commissioned 2 February 1944, Comdr. C. H. Smith in command. Shakedown Bermuda; Norfolk 28 March 1944; Pearl Harbor via Panama 23 April; escort/flagship of fleet refueling groups through the Marianas (Saipan, Tinian; air attacks 17-18 June), Palaus (Peleliu), and Philippines operations from Majuro, Manus, Eniwetok, Ulithi; Guam escort/patrol December 1944-January 1945; Iwo Jima bombardment and radar picket 16 February-5 March 1945; Okinawa carrier screening March-June 1945; minesweeping cover north of Okinawa July; air-sea rescue off Japan 24 August; San Francisco 24 September; overhauled and decommissioned San Diego 30 April 1946; Pacific Reserve Fleet; berthed Bremerton. Spec block: dp 2,050; l. 376'6"; b. 39'8"; dr. 17'9"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 40mm, 7 20mm, 10 21" tt., 6 dcp, 2 dct; cl. Fletcher. Six battle stars for WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Gulf Shipbuilding construction trades 1941-44; wartime crew (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Entry predates the 1968 striking and 1970 disposal. Mirror snapshot cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 (standing link-rot pattern).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Destroyer Photo Archive, USS John D. Henley (DD-553) page (specifications, milestones, commanding officers, final disposition) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-553 page - milestones block, specifications block, commanding officers list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-specific specifications and milestones for DD-553: ordered 9 September 1940; laid down 21 July 1941; launched 15 November 1942; commissioned 2 February 1944; decommissioned 30 April 1946; laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego, January 1947, later moved to Bremerton, WA; stricken from the Naval Register 1 May 1968; sold for scrapping to Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, OR, May 1970. Spec block: 2,924 t full load; 376'5"; beam 39'7"; draft 13'9" max; 38 knots; 6,500 nm at 15 kt; complement 273; propulsion two Westinghouse steam turbines, two propellers, 60,000 shp. Two men lost overboard 9 January 1945 (EM3c Rosenberg, F1c Russell).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1970
- Population
- Wartime crew; reserve-fleet maintenance personnel 1946-68
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (NavSource volunteer archive) - not a primary record, but its figures match DANFS on identity and milestones; speed (38 kt vs DANFS 35 k) and draft (13'9" vs DANFS 17'9") diverge from DANFS and are carried in gaps. Westinghouse turbines are a member-level variation from the class-design GE sets. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-02
-
[4]NavSource-hosted 'History of USS John D. Henley (DD-553)' compiled by David L. Wright (2017) from primary serials: ship's War Diaries Feb 1944-Aug 1945; War History DD553/A12 Serial 237 (5 Oct 1945); Iwo Jima action report DD553/A16-3 Serial 028; Muster Roll report of changes 19 Jan 1945; VC-93 war diary [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD553.docx full text; NARA microfilm roll A2061 (war history) corroborates the underlying serials
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Primary-source-derived operational detail for this hull: ordered under Program 18d 9 September 1940 (one of four destroyers assigned to Gulf Shipbuilding); fitting out at Mobile, AL and Naval Operating Base Algiers, LA; post-shakedown repair period at Norfolk Navy Yard (arrived 28 March 1944); TG 50.17 flagship under Capt. Edward E. Pare then TG 30.8 flagship under Capt. Jasper T. Acuff; at-sea recoveries of ditched aircrew (25 Sep, 26 Nov 1944; 11 and 17 May 1945); two men lost overboard 9 January 1945 at 12-36N 155-11E - the ship's only casualties; port turbine spring bearing and packing casualty 31 May 1945, repaired at Kerama Retto 1-6 June; tender availability alongside USS Yosemite (AD-19) San Pedro Bay, Leyte, from 27 June 1945; LCDR Simon E. Ramey relieved CDR Smith 30 June 1945; arrived San Francisco 24 September 1945 and entered Hunters Point drydock for overhaul; decommissioned San Diego 30 April 1946; stricken 1 May 1968; sold May 1970 to Zidell Explorations, Portland.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1970
- Population
- Ship's company 1944-46; yard workers at Norfolk NY and Hunters Point during repair/overhaul periods
- Limitations
- Veteran-compiled secondary history hosted on NavSource; its stated source serials (war diaries, war history, action report, muster roll) are the underlying primaries - those serials exist in NARA holdings (see ev-04). Dates and events agree with DANFS where they overlap. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-03
-
[5]NARA Catalog: 'USS JOHN D HENLEY - War History' (naId 77655288), RG 38 Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (naId 4697018), microfilm roll A2061, digitized via Fold3; and 'John D. Henley - Muster Rolls' (naId 120273938), digitized via Ancestry partnership [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov naId 77655288 (roll A2061) and naId 120273938 (muster rolls)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA catalog confirms ship-specific primary records exist and are digitized: this hull's war history/diaries on WWII War Diaries microfilm roll A2061 (Fold3 scan, image series at catalog.archives.gov/medialz/microfilm-publications/WWII_WarDiaries/0001/A_2061/) and its muster rolls (Ancestry-partnership scans, e.g. muster roll dated 1944-03-31). These are the authoritative path for personnel-level and maintenance-event research on this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Ship's company 1944-46 (named individuals on muster rolls)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the digitized frames were located but not page-reviewed this session; their content is administrative/operational and is not known to contain asbestos information. Muster rolls document crew, not materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-04
-
[6]Destroyer History Foundation, Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation builder page (Chickasaw, AL) + Fletcher-class profile machinery basis (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v.1 DD section, shipscribe.com scan SDB1945v1.pdf) + GAO HRD-80-2 (1979) era documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org/destroyers/gulf/ builder page; fletcher-class.class.json ev-01/02/05 (BuShips data, GAO HRD-80-2)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer laid down July 1941 and built 1941-44 at Gulf Shipbuilding, Chickasaw - a dormant WWI yard reopened in 1940 by Waterman Steamship Corp. with $5M in Navy funding as one of eleven Fletcher builders (four high-bridge hulls laid down 1941, three low-bridge 1942). The class plant (four Babcock & Wilcox boilers, twin-screw geared turbines, 60,000 shp) is the equipment class in which wartime boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings commonly contained asbestos. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that the Navy did not begin substituting alternative insulation until the early 1970s - after this hull's entire service life ended.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1970
- Population
- Gulf Shipbuilding construction trades (10,000-15,000 peak workforce) 1941-44; crew 1944-46; reserve-fleet and disposal workers 1946-70
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-level asbestos record located for this or any Fletcher-class member. Establishes no quantities, no specific product presence aboard this hull, and no exposure for any individual. Gulf Shipbuilding is not an Atlas shipyards.json entry - no yard-level asbestos documentation was located for the builder.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-05
-
[7]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Public Health - 'Asbestos' military exposure page [other_primary]
- Locator
- publichealth.va.gov/exposures/asbestos/ - 'How Veterans may have been exposed' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Era context: VA states that veterans who served in shipyard work, insulation work, demolition, and manufacturing/installation of products such as flooring and roofing may have been exposed to asbestos during military service, and that VA decides asbestos-related claims case-by-case.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- undated page, accessed 2026-09-27
- Population
- Navy veterans generally
- Limitations
- Program-level VA guidance; does not name this hull and does not establish presence of asbestos aboard or exposure of any individual. Context for claimants, not evidence for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 opinion search via authenticated fleet helper [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-06/07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search: '"John D. Henley"' returned 1 hit - Petersen v. City of Clemson, 439 S.E.2d 317 (S.C. Ct. App. 1993), a zoning case in which 'John D. Henley' is a named individual party (name collision, not the ship). '"USS Henley"' returned 0 hits. Hull-number and RECAP docket-index queries remained outstanding under fleet pacing limits; see search_ledger.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Partial sweep: bare-name and 'USS Henley' opinion queries completed (one collision, zero ship hits); 'DD-553' opinion query and RECAP docket index not completed under pacing. A name-match search cannot prove no filing exists - pleadings that omit the hull name or index only a party name would not surface. 'Henley' is also collision-prone: three other Navy hulls (DD-39, DD-391, DD-762) carried the name for a different person.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-07
-
[9]Batch-3524 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (Wayback), NavSource, NARA Catalog, MARAD Vessel History Database, Naval Vessel Register, VA Public Health, VA BVA decisions, CourtListener, destroyerhistory.org, general web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, BVA decision, or adjudicated/docketed claim naming USS John D. Henley (DD-553) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only name-bearing asbestos content located is marketing list pages (law-firm 'Navy ships' pages enumerating DD-553 among hundreds of hulls), excluded as non-authoritative.
- 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 - a 1941-44 steam plant of this class is era-consistent with asbestos insulation. Does not establish or defeat any individual exposure or eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-d-henley-dd553-08