Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet lw-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED. Queue name/hull match; consistent with DANFS-incorporating article and hullnumber.com — real identity: USS John S. McCain; hulls: DL-3 (later DDG-36)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-pkt-lw-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, John S. McCain (DL-3) - verbatim narrative carried on the losthistory.net/hazegray DANFS archive (live NHHC page serves 404 on all tested paths; hazegray.org offline DNS) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/dl-dlg/dl3.htm - statistics block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull (namesake Admiral John Sidney McCain, 1884-1945, carrier task force commander): statistics block dp. 3,675; l. 493'; b. 50'; dr. 13'10"; s. over 30 k.; cpl. 403; armament 2x5", 4x3", 4x21" tt., 1 ASROC, 1 dct.; class Mitscher. Hull originally designated DD-928, reclassified 1951; launched by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine, 12 July 1952, sponsored by Mrs. John S. McCain Jr.; commissioned 12 October 1953 at Boston Naval Shipyard, Comdr. E. R. King in command. Service: Atlantic/Caribbean trials and shakedown; Operational Development Force Norfolk from 19 May 1955; Pacific via Panama Canal, San Diego arrival 4 December 1956; first Far East cruise 11 April-29 September 1957 (Australia, Formosa Patrol); Pearl Harbor homeport early 1958; Taiwan-South China Sea deployment September 1958-1 March 1959 (Quemoy-Matsu crisis); third Far East deployment from 8 September 1959 (Laos coast; Calcutta flood relief October; rescue of 41-man crew of Japanese freighter Shinwa Maru January 1960); return Pearl Harbor 25 February 1960 for overhaul and training; 7th Fleet off Laos and Vietnam 7 March-25 September 1961; Johnston Island 27 April 1962 for Pacific nuclear test series (6 months Hawaii-Johnston Island); Far East 28 November 1962-16 June 1963 (South China Sea, Gulf of Tonkin, Formosa Patrol); hunter-killer group 23 March-11 August 1964 (SEATO exercises); reclassified DDG-36 on 15 April [1965]; fall 1965 station off South Vietnam, shelled Viet Cong positions 24 November 1965; returned East Coast and decommissioned June 1966 for conversion to guided missile destroyer DDG-36 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she remained into 1967.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1967
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1949-53; crew 1953-66 (design complement 403); Philadelphia Naval Shipyard conversion workforce 1966-69
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The DANFS text ends in 1967 (published while the ship was in conversion) - all post-conversion DDG-36 service rests on secondary compilations (ev-02). Reclassification-date conflict (DANFS 'reclassified DDG-36, 15 April' in 1965 context vs. secondary sources' 15 March 1967 vs. NavSource's 6 September 1969) carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because live NHHC paths return 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-01
-
[3]NavSource destroyer photo index DD-928/DL-3/DDG-36 + NavalCoverMuseum DDG-36 page + navysite.de DDG-36 history (deck-log-cited compilation) + Tin Can Sailors destroyer history (destroyers.org via Wayback) - secondary corroboration of build data, conversion, DDG-36 service, and disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/05/0203.htm (building data block + photo captions incl. 1969 Philadelphia commissioning program and 1973 Mare Island overhaul); navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/JOHN_S_McCAIN_DDG_36; navysite.de/dd/ddg36.htm; web.archive.org/web/20141006122233/http://www.destroyers.org/histories/h-dl-3.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary compilations corroborate and extend the record: NavSource - built by Bath Iron Works, Bath ME (YN 314); laid down 24 October 1949; launched 12 July 1952; commissioned 12 October 1953; decommissioned 24 June 1966; recommissioned 6 September 1969 (commissioning program held at Philadelphia Naval Base; photo caption documents the ship in overhaul at Mare Island at the 27 April 1973 change of command); decommissioned and stricken 29 April 1978; sold for scrap 13 December 1979. NavalCoverMuseum - keel laid 24 October 1949 as DD-928; redesignated DL 9 February 1951; struck 29 April 1978; sold 13 December 1979. navysite.de - redesignated DDG-36 on 15 April 1965; entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard June 1966; rejoined the fleet 21 June 1969; deck-log-cited June 1972 service as flagship for ComDesRon 15 attached to TU 70.8.9 gunfire-support group off the DMZ (rendezvous with Benjamin Stoddert DDG-22, replenishment with Mars AFS-1, rearming from Pyro AE-24; relieved on station by Higbee DD-806 29 June). Tin Can Sailors (destroyers.org) - the 1966-69 Philadelphia conversion replaced the 3-inch/70 battery with a Mk 13 Tartar missile launcher plus new sensors and communications; DesDiv 92 homeport Long Beach after recommissioning; DesRon 23 flagship 1970; WestPac January-July 1971 (Hainan surveillance, Indian Ocean ASW, Soviet coast surveillance); reached combat zone 30 April 1972; gun-line service under DesRons 19/23/36 May-September 1972 firing 16,645 rounds over four tours (Cua Viet battery destroyed 14 May; under hostile fire at the river mouth; ~100 enemy casualties in 27 May pre-dawn mission); Northern Linebacker Strike Group night ops from 20 September 1972; stateside 1973 overhaul plus December 1973 electrical fire (severe damage to sick bay and a main cable trunk); 1974 turbine-nozzle-block casualty; last WestPac April 1977; decommissioned 29 April 1978, 'struck from the navy's lists two days later.' Disposal row across compilations: sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping 13 December 1979.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1980
- Population
- Conversion workforce Philadelphia NSY 1966-69; Mare Island overhaul workforce 1973; crew 1969-78; shipbreakers at the undocumented breaking yard 1979-80
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations only - none is an official record. Internal conflicts carried in gaps: DDG-36 reclassification date (15 April 1965 vs 15 March 1967 vs NavSource's recommissioning-day listing), stricken date (29 April vs 'two days later'/30 April), sale date (13 December 1979 vs Wikipedia infobox 'Jan 1980'), complement (403 vs 360 vs 373), displacement (3,675 vs 4,855 full). None of these sources addresses asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-02
-
[4]U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 'The 1200-Pounders: Prognosis Guarded' (April 1974) + USNI Proceedings January 1960 ship profile 'USS John S. McCain (DL-3)' + class-level synthesis (globalsecurity.org Mitscher-class page) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1974/april/1200-pounders-prognosis-guarded (article text); usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1960/january/uss-john-s-mccain-dl-3 (ship profile); globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/dd-927.htm (class synthesis)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Class and machinery context: the Mitscher class (DL-2 through DL-5, ordered 1948 as DD-927 through DD-930) carried experimental 1,200-psi steam plants that proved chronically troublesome - per USNI (1974), boiler explosions aboard USS Dewey (DLG-14) and USS Goldsborough (DDG-20) caused deaths, two-thirds of the Navy's ~200 active escorts ran 1,200-psi plants, and the 1,200-PSI Steam Propulsion Plant Improvement Program was established October 1971. Class-level synthesis reports Mitscher and John S. McCain required complete reboilering during the 1960s, contributing to the decision to convert both to guided missile destroyers (DDG-35, DDG-36) at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; Willis A. Lee and Wilkinson were not converted and decommissioned 1969 as uneconomical. USNI's January 1960 profile of this hull adds: built at a cost of $29.5 million exclusive of armament; re-rated destroyer leader while building 1951 and frigate 1 January 1955; new 3-inch/70 mountings installed 1957-58; flagship DesRon 21 at San Diego, then flagship ComDesFlot 5 at Pearl Harbor from January 1958. Both McCain (1973-74 condenser/turbine casualties, December 1973 electrical fire) and the class's early retirement (decommissioned/stricken 1978) align with the documented machinery problems.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1948-1978
- Population
- Crews of the four Mitscher-class DLs; yard workers on the 1,200-psi plants (incl. Philadelphia NSY conversion workforce)
- Limitations
- Class-level and era history, not hull-specific documentation: it explains why McCain's career ended in 1978 and marks the conversion-era reboilering as the period when insulation would most plausibly have been disturbed, but no cited source documents asbestos aboard this hull. USNI pages returned 403 to automated fetch; content verified via search-index extract. globalsecurity.org is a secondary synthesis used for class machinery context only - the reboilering detail is not confirmed by a ship-specific work package.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-03
-
[5]DANFS yard-period narrative (ev-01) + secondary compilations (ev-02) + Atlas shipyard dataset records for the build and overhaul yards (bath-iron-works, boston-naval-shipyard, philadelphia-naval-shipyard, mare-island-naval-shipyard, pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS yard-period narrative; shipyards.json records for the five yards; ev-02 secondary compilations for the Mare Island 1973 and Pearl Harbor 1960 availabilities
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Mitscher-class destroyer leader built 1949-53 with a four-boiler experimental 1,200-psi steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler/turbine insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Every documented yard period sits at an asbestos-documented yard in the Atlas dataset: Bath Iron Works (tier 2; Drinker 1942 pipe-covering-shop dust study; OSHA 1987 citations); Boston Naval Shipyard (tier 3; commissioning/fitting-out 1953); Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (1960 overhaul installing DASH, sonar dome, CIC); Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (tier 3; 1966-69 conversion window overlaps the yard's documented 1965-70 shipfitter-exposure litigation, Merwitz); Mare Island Naval Shipyard (tier 2; 1973 overhaul). These availabilities - particularly the 1966-69 conversion with reported reboilering - are the periods when era insulation would most plausibly have been disturbed and replaced.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1980
- Population
- Bath Iron Works trades 1949-53; Boston NSY fitting-out workforce 1953; Pearl Harbor NSY 1960; Philadelphia NSY conversion workforce 1966-69; Mare Island NSY 1973; crew 1953-78
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific ACM survey, insulation schedule, work package, or abatement record supports a product list for this hull. The hull was dismantled 1979-80, before asbestos-survey practice in scrapping; scrapping-yard material reports, if any existed, are not located. Yard-level findings establish conditions at the yards, not aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-04
-
[6]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (published 18 October 1979) - program-level report on asbestos in Navy ships and shipyards [gao]
- Locator
- gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2 (summary + PDF, pp. i-ii: policy paragraphs)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level context for this hull's era: GAO reviewed Navy asbestos-protection efforts at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards and reported that although recently constructed Navy ships had little or no asbestos thermal insulation, 'other Navy ships contain large quantities of asbestos'; the Navy's October 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in January 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas; the Navy estimated a one-time removal program at ~$2 billion and declined it. These policies governed during McCain's final service years (1975-78) and through the December 1979 DRMS sale.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979 report; policy window 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and ship crews service-wide, 1975-79 policy window
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation - the report's fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not this hull's yards, and it does not name or survey this ship. It establishes the policy regime under which any asbestos aboard this hull would have been managed 1975-79, not that asbestos was aboard. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (standing defect since Batch-01); report content verified via the indexed summary text and report description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-05
-
[7]Murphy v. CBS Corp. et al., No. 12-L-1141 (Circuit Court, Madison County, Ill.) - asbestos personal-injury litigation; coverage by Legal Newsline/Washington Examiner (3 June 2014 and 31 July 2014) and defense-side practitioner analyses (Lexology/JD Supra) carrying the case number [reputable_press]
- Locator
- washingtonexaminer.com/news/154210 (3 June 2014, Murphy paragraph); washingtonexaminer.com/news/1366515 (31 July 2014, appeal paragraph); lexology.com and jdsupra.com analyses naming 'Murphy v. CBS Corp. (Case No. 12-L-1141)'
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Docketed asbestos litigation naming this hull: plaintiff Robert Glenn Murphy served in the U.S. Navy 1961-1965 and, per the complaint as reported, served aboard USS Epperson (DD-719) and 'USS John S. McCain DLS' [sic - DL-3] as a boiler man third class, alleging asbestos exposure through his duties aboard; the case alleged lung cancer (defendants pointed to his 1961-78 cigarette history as alternative causation). DL-3 was the only commissioned USS John S. McCain during 1961-65 (DDG-56 commissioned 1994), so the hull attribution is certain. Posture: seven of 24 remaining defendants moved to dismiss on forum non conveniens (alleging Alaska the proper forum); Associate Judge Stephen Stobbs denied the motions 23 May 2014; defendants appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth Judicial District (July 2014); per a Holland & Knight practitioner analysis the four related appeals 'were resolved out of court and the appeals were dismissed.' No adjudication of the exposure allegation was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1961-1965 (alleged exposure); 2012-2014+ (litigation)
- Population
- Robert Glenn Murphy (USN boilerman 3/c aboard DD-719 and DL-3, 1961-65; lung cancer)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation only: the hull name appears in the plaintiff's exposure allegation as reported in docket coverage, not in any adjudicated finding - the located rulings address forum non conveniens (venue), not exposure, causation, or product identity. The case was resolved without a merits ruling on the McCain allegation. Does not establish causation, quantity of asbestos aboard, which products aboard were asbestos-containing, or legal eligibility. Case file not retrieved (state-court docket; coverage via reputable press and practitioner analyses). The article's 'DLS' is a typographical error for DL-3.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 sweep, 2026-09-29 (authenticated helper, fleet-paced) - opinion-index queries; exact-name hit line: Danny T. Barnes v. United States, 473 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2007), cluster 796522, and its Fed. Cl. predecessors (clusters 210896, 6769177) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search API results (opinion index): exact-name queries and hull-number queries as listed; Barnes opinion cluster 796522 (Fed. Cir. 2007)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-29): qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was NOT located in the opinion index. Results: '"USS John S. McCain" asbestos' (type=o): 0 hits. '"USS John S. McCain"' (type=o): 3 hits, all the Barnes v. United States line - a DOPMA military-promotion dispute (not asbestos) in which 'aboard the USS John S. McCain' refers to DDG-56 in the Persian Gulf in 1998 (name collision with the later Arleigh Burke-class hull). '"DDG-36" asbestos' (type=o): 0 hits. Additional queued queries (bare 'DDG-36', 'DD-928', 'DL-3', 'aboard the John S. McCain', and docket-type searches) were HTTP-429 fleet-budget blocked - see search_ledger; state-court filings such as Murphy (12-L-1141) are outside the federal opinion index in any event.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage caveat: pleadings naming DL-3/DDG-36 that lack a published or RECAP-archived document would not surface; state-court asbestos filings (like Murphy) do not index as federal opinions. The Barnes collision is classified, not qualifying: it names DDG-56, is a personnel-law dispute, and postdates this hull's scrapping by ~19 years. Does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-07
-
[9]Batch-4569 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS mirrors; NVR; NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum/navysite/destroyers.org secondary tabulations; USNI Proceedings; GAO HRD-80-2; CourtListener authenticated sweep; general-web asbestos-mention check (law-firm list pages only - banned, not used); reputable-press docket coverage (Murphy v. CBS) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No asbestos survey, abatement contract, insulation schedule, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated/trial-stage litigation record for this hull was located (see search_ledger). The hull was scrapped 1979-80 - before the Navy's asbestos-management era - so no modern survey surface exists and original-material disposition (what insulation went to the breakers) is undocumented. The only ship-specific asbestos reference is the unadjudicated Murphy pleading allegation (ev-06). General-web asbestos mentions of 'USS John S. McCain' appear on law-firm/SEO ship-list pages (shepardlawfirm.com, mesotheliomasymptoms.com, elslaw.com, mesotheliomahelp.org, navyshipexposure.com) - banned sources, used as leads only; none produced a citable record. Note navyshipexposure.com's DDG-56 page asserts 'asbestos-containing hull insulation' aboard the 1994 Arleigh Burke-class ship without primary support - a further reason hull attribution matters for this name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located survey or adjudicated record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard during the ship's 1953-78 service - the question is moot for the fabric since the hull was scrapped in 1979-80. Does not establish or defeat any claim of historical exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-08
-
[10]NARA deck-log guidance (RG 24 Entry 118, College Park) + NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records (SCB-5 design files; Philadelphia NSY conversion work-package correspondence) + NARA Philadelphia holdings for Philadelphia Naval Shipyard records + DRMS disposal records for the 1979 sale [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material records (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (1) McCain's 1953-78 deck logs sit in NARA's post-1940 Navy deck-log series at College Park (RG 24 Entry 118); Vietnam-era logs were digitized under the Blue Water Navy program and a secondary compilation already quotes her June 1972 gun-line logs, confirming the series exists. (2) NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds SCB-5 design and correspondence files plus shipyard work-package records; the Philadelphia NSY 1966-69 conversion package - including any reboilering - is the single most probative lead for hull-level insulation work. (3) NARA Philadelphia holds Philadelphia Naval Shipyard records. (4) The DRMS disposal file for the 13 December 1979 sale is the most promising disposal-era hazmat lead.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1980 records; 2026-09-29 index check
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-s-mccain-dl3-09