Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet ge-packet.md (3 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-w-weeks-dd701-pkt-ge-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, John W. Weeks (DD-701) (builder, dates, service narrative, four WWII battle stars; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404 and hazegray.org no longer resolves; 2022 Wayback capture of the hazegray DANFS transcription cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'John W. Weeks (DD-701)', specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 17 January 1944 by Federal Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 21 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. John W. Davidge, daughter of Secretary Weeks; commissioned 21 July 1944, Comdr. Robert A. Theobald, Jr., in command. Shakedown out of Bermuda; tests en route to Argentia, Newfoundland (transcription reads 'Argentina. Newfoundland' - OCR garble); departed New York 10 November 1944 escorting Missouri (BB-63), Texas (BB-35), Arkansas (BB-33), Shamrock Bay (CVE-84), Wake Island (CVE-65); Panama Canal, San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok; joined 3d Fleet at Ulithi 27 December 1944. TF 38 South China Sea sweep January 1945 (Formosa, Pescadores, Hong Kong, Hainan, Indochina); Tokyo strikes 16-17 February 1945; Iwo Jima direct support; two assists on five enemy planes March 1945; Okinawa pre-invasion bombardment; 7 April 1945 strikes that sank Yamato; rescued 23 survivors when Hancock (CV-19) took a kamikaze; radar picket, shore bombardment, antishipping sweep off Tokyo Bay; Tokyo Bay 8 September 1945, occupation escort; San Francisco 20 January 1946, Norfolk 19 February 1946, inactivated 26 April 1946. Naval Reserve training cruises from 17 May 1947 to mid-1949; Europe 6 September 1949 - 8 February 1950; decommissioned 31 May 1950. Recommissioned 24 October 1950; Atlantic/Caribbean training; Flying Enterprise rescue attempt January 1952; around-the-world cruise November 1953 - 4 June 1954 incl. 7th Fleet off Korea; Atlantic Fleet 1954-1963 with five Mediterranean cruises and two NATO exercises; 1956 Suez patrol; 1957 Jordan stand-by; 1958 Baghdad-Pact cruise; 1959 Operation Inland Seas - first Navy destroyer to enter each Great Lake; escorted HMY Britannia Chicago to Sault Ste. Marie. 9 March 1960 with Ault (DD-698) first U.S. warships in the Black Sea since 1945; Triton rendezvous. Cuban quarantine escort October 1962; Battle Efficiency 'E' 1963; Mediterranean/Red Sea/Indian Ocean deployment November 1963 - May 1964 (Cyprus, first Suez transit of 1964, Zanzibar patrol); overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard 1964; Guantanamo refresher; Mediterranean cruise February-July 1965 incl. two months Red Sea; Gemini 5 recovery team; sonar school ship Key West March-April 1966; DesRon 2 European deployment May-August 1966 incl. Operation 'Straight Laced' (only simulated submarine kill, 19 August); July 1967 South Atlantic/Indian Ocean deployment. Four battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1967
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1944; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 336)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The entry ends at the 1967 deployment and records no disposal (predates the 1970 strike). Live NHHC page returns 404; hazegray.org no longer resolves - a September 2022 Wayback capture of the hazegray verbatim transcription is cited. Minor OCR garbles in the transcription ('Argentina. Newfoundland' for Argentia; '3dr fleet' for 3d Fleet) corrected on read.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-01
-
[3]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, USS John W. Weeks (DD-701) - operational/building data block, commanding officers, 'As Built' configuration note (secondary compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-701 page, 'Operational and Building Data' / 'Fate' lines, class 'As Built' note, photo caption K-67888
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary compilation records this hull's disposition: decommissioned and stricken 12 August 1970; sunk as target off Virginia 19 November 1970. NavSource lists the class 'As Built' (no FRAM modernization or redesignation) and records machinery as 60,000 SHP, General Electric geared turbines, 2 screws; a dated photograph places the ship at Pearl Harbor 7 February 1969 consistent with the reported January-September 1969 Vietnam deployment. NavSource's 'Decommissioned February 8 1950' conflicts with DANFS and the ship's association (both read 31 May 1950) and coincides with the documented 8 February 1950 return date - see gaps.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1970
- Population
- Crew to 1970; target-sinking exercise participants November 1970
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained reference compilation, not a primary source; the strike and sinking details could not be verified against an official record - the NVR excludes vessels disposed before 1987 and the DANFS entry predates the strike. Class profile and secondary references agree on the 1970 dates.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-02
-
[4]USS John W. Weeks DD-701 Association pages (ship_information.htm; history_service_1960s.htm; history_service_1970s.htm; awards page) - ship-specific secondary compilation [other_primary]
- Locator
- ussjwweeks701.org ship_information.htm timeline block; history_service_1970s.htm 'Sunk as a Target'; awards page battle-star list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship's association records: commissioning 21 July at Brooklyn Navy Yard; inactivated 28 April 1946 (DANFS reads 26 April); decommissioned 31 May 1950 (matching DANFS, against NavSource's 8 February); stricken 12 August 1970; sunk November 1970 in 1,300 fathoms at 37-10.9N, 73-45.6W, with the 1970s page describing a tow off the Virginia Capes and sinking during a U.S. Naval Landing Forces exercise at 37 deg 10.7 min N, 73 deg 45.6 min W; two Vietnam battle stars listed (Tet Counter-Offensive; Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969) consistent with the secondary-compilation January-September 1969 WestPac deployment; roster claims 950+ documented shipmates and a BuPers-estimated 5,000+ total who served aboard 1944-1970.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1970
- Population
- Ship's association membership
- Limitations
- Association site is a reunion/self-published compilation, not an official record; items not independently verified against a primary source include the Brooklyn Navy Yard commissioning location, the sinking coordinates/depth, and the Vietnam battle-star list. Association conflates decommissioning and sinking dates on one page ('sunk... August 12, 1970'), indicating editorial looseness - verified facts carried only where they agree with or add precision to DANFS/NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-03
-
[5]DANFS specifications block (Allen M. Sumner class; 34 kt; cpl 336) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding-Kearny record (incl. Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey of the yard, Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer with a four-boiler 60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; the builder yard (Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock, Kearny) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset - including a 1944 Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey of insulation work at the yard (Johns-Manville Superex pipe covering, boiler insulation; confined-space cutting/fitting by insulators).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1970
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1944; crew 1944-50, 1950-70
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1944 yard survey (Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944) postdates this hull's completion (laid down 17 January 1944, launched 21 May 1944, commissioned 21 July 1944) by roughly six weeks and documents yard practice during the same production period, not materials aboard DD-701. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- 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 - placing this hull's construction (1944) and entire service span (1944-50, 1950-70) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report); 1944-1970 (this hull's era)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep, exact-name and hull-number queries (authenticated, fleet-paced helper) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoint; type=o (2 queries) and type=r name query completed; DD-701 type=r and bare-name variants paced out (see ledger)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener searches completed: '"USS John W. Weeks"' (opinions) = 0 results; '"DD-701"' (opinions) = 0 results; '"USS John W. Weeks"' (RECAP dockets) = 2 hits, both resolved at document level this session: Dingus v. 3M (D.S.C., MDL-2873) = non-asbestos AFFF/PFAS litigation naming this hull (ev-07); MDL-875 tag-along attachment containing Adams et al v. 3M (N.D. Ala. 2:11-cv-00900) = asbestos mass complaint naming this hull in a plaintiff's exposure history (ev-08). Queries blocked by the fleet-wide pacing budget and not completed this session: '"DD-701"' (RECAP dockets), '"John W. Weeks"' (opinions and dockets).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Sweep is partial: the hull-number docket query and the bare-name variants were paced out mid-session. Name-collision risk for completed queries is low - 'USS John W. Weeks' resolves uniquely to this hull (the other Navy 'Weeks,' DE-285, was cancelled before completion; the contemporaneous SS John W. Weeks was an Army-operated barracks ship, later USS DuPage APB-51, and would not be styled 'USS John W. Weeks'; 'DD-701' is a unique hull symbol). Zero opinion hits means no published opinion indexes this hull's name or hull number; it does not exclude unindexed or state-court litigation or uncompleted docket hits.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-06
-
[8]Dingus v. 3M Company, No. 2:22-cv-02264-RMG (D.S.C.), Complaint, ECF No. 1 (filed 2022-07-14; terminated 2024-07-17; MDL-2873 constituent) - RECAP doc 206997952 [court_record]
- Locator
- Dingus v. 3M, ECF No. 1 pp. 26-27 (paras. 109-111) via RECAP mirror gov.uscourts.scd.273348.1.0.pdf
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- NON-ASBESTOS litigation naming this hull, classified down per stage discipline: the verified complaint (paras. 109-111) alleges plaintiff Ralf Dingus served aboard USS Bainbridge (~1964-66) and USS John W. Weeks (~1966-68) and was exposed to AFFF firefighting foam containing PFAS in training/response exercises - this is PFAS/AFFF product-liability litigation (MDL-2873), not asbestos. The hull attribution is unambiguous: DD-701 was the only commissioned 'USS John W. Weeks' in 1966-68. Documents that this hull is named in federal toxic-exposure pleading, but for a different agent.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1966-1968 (alleged exposure); 2022-2024 (litigation)
- Population
- Ralf Dingus (USN 1964-68; aboard USS John W. Weeks ~1966-68)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation in a terminated case; the service-history recital is unadjudicated. Carried as context only - an AFFF/PFAS claim is outside this record's asbestos scope and says nothing about asbestos aboard this hull; it is recorded so the CourtListener hit is resolved rather than left ambiguous.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-07
-
[9]Adams et al v. 3M et al, No. 2:11-cv-00900-RDP (N.D. Ala., filed 2011-03-07; nature 368 P.I.: Asbestos), Plaintiffs' Original Complaint - contained in IN RE: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875 (J.P.M.L.), Notice of Potential Tag-Along, ECF No. 6993-1 [court_record]
- Locator
- MDL-875 (J.P.M.L.) ECF No. 6993-1 attachment pp. 134-135 of 393 (= complaint pp. 26-27), Fowler employment-history paragraph; RECAP mirror gov.uscourts.jpml.375294.6993.1.pdf
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull, at the least-final stage (pleading allegation only): the verified mass complaint alleges plaintiff Glen W. Fowler 'worked, including but not limited to: as a Engineer for United States Navy from approximately 1946 to 1946 in Various Locations including: USS Foss DE 59; USS Jerauld APA 174; USS John W. Weeks DD 703; USS LSMR 522; USS Macon CA 132; USS Vermillion Bay' amid asbestos-containing equipment, and was diagnosed with asbestos-related asbestosis 25 January 2010. Hull attribution resolves to DD-701 by name - 'DD 703' in the pleading is a clerical mismatch (DD-703 was USS Wallace L. Lind); 'John W. Weeks' is unique to DD-701.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1946 (alleged exposure); 2010-2011 (diagnosis, pleading)
- Population
- Glen W. Fowler (USN 'engineer' ~1946 per pleading; asbestosis dx 2010)
- Limitations
- PLEADING-STAGE ALLEGATION ONLY - a multi-plaintiff mass complaint's undifferentiated vessel list; exposure aboard this hull is alleged, never adjudicated. Weaknesses flagged: the alleged Navy window ('approximately 1946 to 1946') barely overlaps this hull's active service (inactivated April 1946); the hull number is misprinted (DD 703); no products are tied to the vessel specifically. Does not establish asbestos presence aboard, causation, quantities, or eligibility; merits history beyond the 2011 tag-along not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-08
-
[10]USS John W. Weeks DD-701 Association, 'Taps' memorial page - entry for Harry J. Smith (Jr.) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ussjwweeks701.org taps.htm, 'Harry J Smith' entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-association memorial entry records that Harry Smith Jr., who served aboard USS John W. Weeks as a Fireman on the 1949-50 Mediterranean cruise, died 18 January 1985 of mesothelioma; the posting states 'It was presumed at the time of diagnosis that he was exposed to asbestos while serving as a Fireman aboard the USS John W. Weeks' and that no compensation was received. Fireman was the boiler-room rating. This is the only ship-specific asbestos-relevant personal account located for this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1949-1950 (service); 1985 (death); page accessed 2026
- Population
- Harry Smith Jr. (USN Fireman, aboard 1949-50; d. 1985 mesothelioma)
- Limitations
- Family attestation on an association memorial page - 'presumed' exposure, not medical documentation, adjudication, or any record of asbestos-containing material aboard this hull; no claim, suit, or VA decision is referenced or was located. Carried as unverified context only; it does not establish asbestos presence, exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-09
-
[11]Batch-3676 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray Wayback capture + mirrors; NVR (pre-1987 disposals excluded); NARA catalog API (unavailable); MARAD vessel-history DB (errored); association site (ussjwweeks701.org); archive.org deck-log index; CourtListener sweep (partial) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-01 through sl-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos MATERIAL record located for DD-701: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or museum record (hull sunk as a target 1970 - no museum or scrapping phase to generate abatement documentation). Ship-specific asbestos-relevant items located are limited to one pleading-stage allegation in a mass complaint (ev-08, unadjudicated) and one unverified family attestation (ev-09); no adjudicated finding or material documentation names this hull.
- 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 - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level (ev-04, ev-05). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-10
-
[12]NARA archival leads: deck logs for DD-701 (RG 24; Vietnam-era logs digitized under the Blue Water Navy scanning project but not enumerable via the retired catalog API) and BuShips General Information Books / contract plans (RG 19) hold per-vessel material-level detail; NHHC deck-log collection noted. Neither retrieved. [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24 (deck logs), RG 19 (BuShips records); catalog.archives.gov; archive.org naval deck-log index (no DD-701 result)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material documentation exist but were not retrieved: NARA RG 24 deck logs (USS John W. Weeks DD-701, 1944-1970 - including Vietnam-era logs processed under the VA Blue Water Navy digitization) and NARA RG 19 BuShips General Information Books / Federal Shipbuilding contract records. The catalog.archives.gov API returned no usable search response during this session; no DD-701 deck-log identifier located on archive.org.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Leads only - retrieval not performed; these holdings may or may not contain asbestos-relevant material specifications for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-john-w-weeks-dd701-11