Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 735-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-juniata-county-lst850-pkt-735-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Juniata County' (LST-850) entry - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Okinawa and occupation service, reserve/naming/disposal (archived NHHC page, Wayback capture 2013-05-28; live NHHC page not located) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Juniata County entry, full narrative and spec block (Wayback 20130528081951)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, Ill., 15 August 1944; launched 3 November 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Mildred Margaret Tegge Honig; commissioned at New Orleans, La., 27 November 1944, Lt. Perry B. Hazard in command. Shakedown off Florida; loaded military cargo at Gulfport; departed New Orleans 31 December 1944 for the Pacific via the Panama Canal and San Diego, reaching Pearl Harbor 1 February 1945. Via Guadalcanal (7 March), Eniwetok, and Guam to Saipan; embarked Seabees 12-14 April; arrived Okinawa 27 April, discharged troops and cargo 'despite intermittent enemy air attacks'; embarked 371 officers and men of the 2d Marine Division at Saipan; arrived Okinawa 30 May; carried troops in amphibious assaults on Iheya Shima (3 June) and Aguni Shima (9 June); returned to Okinawa 28 July; at Saipan 14 August as Japan accepted surrender terms. Occupation lifts: entered Tokyo Bay 11 September; second Luzon-Yokohama lift arrived 4 November; supported occupation landings along Honshu; arrived Astoria, Oreg., 30 December 1945. Operated out of Astoria ~10 months; in commission in reserve 17 May 1946; transferred to Portland October 1946; decommissioned 18 January 1947; Pacific Reserve Fleet, berthed Columbia River; named Juniata County 1 July 1955; 'recommended for use as a target to destruction 20 October 1958'; struck from the Navy List 1 November 1958. One battle star for World War II service. Spec block: dp. 1,625; l. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 14'1"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 226; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm.; cl. LST-542.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Chicago Bridge & Iron construction trades (Aug-Nov 1944); commissioning and wartime crew (1944-47); embarked troops/Seabees/2d Marine Division passengers
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Live NHHC DANFS page not located - all candidate URLs (/danfs/j/juniata-county*.html, /danfs/l/lst-850.html) returned 404 on 2026-10-03; verbatim entry used via Wayback capture of the legacy NHHC page (danfs/j5/juniata_county.htm). DANFS does not give a sinking date or location beyond the target-recommendation and striking dates.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Juniata County (LST-850) ex USS LST-850 - flotilla/group/division assignments, campaign table, milestone timeline, specification block, commanding-officer list, ribbon display [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160850.htm header, campaign table, timeline, specifications block, CO table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and campaign table for this hull: assigned to LST Flotilla Twenty-Five (CAPT. H.E. Richter), LST Group Seventy-Four (CDR. J.G. Farnsworth), LST Division One Hundred Forty-Eight; Asiatic-Pacific campaign credit 'Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 to 30 June 1945'; occupation service in the Far East 22 September - 13 October 1945; decommissioned 18 January 1947; laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group; named Juniata County (LST-850) 1 July 1955; struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1958; 'Final Disposition, sunk as a target'; one battle star. Specification block (LST-542 class): displacement 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328' oa x 50'; speed 11.6 kts trial; complement 13 officers, 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers/147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; propulsion two General Motors 12-567A 900hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three 100 kW diesel-drive ship's service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Commanding officers: LT Perry B. Hazard USNR (27 Nov 1944 - 30 Jun 1945 and Jul 1945 - Mar 1946), ENS Stanley M. Hirsch USN (temp, Jun-Jul 1945), LTjg Ralph T. Entwistle Jr. USNR (Mar-Jun 1946), LTjg James B. MacKenzie USN (Jun 1946 - 18 Jan 1947). Awards: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star); WWII Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Crew (1944-47); embarked troops; reserve-fleet caretakers, Columbia River Group (1947-58)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation tracking NVR/DANFS milestones - not a primary registry; no asbestos content; no sinking date or location for the target disposal. The official 26-30 June 1945 campaign-credit window post-dates the DANFS narrative's 3/9 June Iheya/Aguni assault lifts - the battle-star credit period is administrative; both are reported as stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-02
-
[4]shipbuildinghistory.com, 'Landing Ships, Tank - LST, Part 3 of 4: LST 797 through LST 1155' build table - per-hull builder, dates, and disposition row for LST 850 [other_primary]
- Locator
- lstpart3.htm table, row 'LST 850'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Build-table row for this hull: LST 850, Chicago Bridge, Seneca IL, FY1943 contract block, keel laid 15-Aug-44, launched 3-Nov-44, delivered 27-Nov-44 - 80 days on the ways, 24 days in the water, 104 total days; disposition 'Juniata County 1955, sunk as target 1958'. The same page's program introduction documents the LST Mk. 2 program scale: 1,155 contracted from 11 private-sector shipyards and 5 Navy yards, 101 cancelled, 'for a net total of 1,054'; and records that 'the 141 which were still in service in 1955 were then named after counties' (reserve-fleet hulls such as this one evidently counted).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Chicago Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of builder/NVR data; corroborates DANFS dates and is the only located source dating the sinking ('1958') - exact sinking date, location, and firing unit remain undocumented. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-03
-
[5]Galveston County Daily News, obituary of William Franklin (Bill) Douglas; Reading Eagle, obituary of Carl Manwiller [reputable_press]
- Locator
- galvnews.com Douglas obituary; readingeagle.com Manwiller obituary (https://www.readingeagle.com/obituaries/carl-manwiller/)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Veteran service aboard this hull is corroborated by named obituaries: 1st Lt. William F. Douglas served in the Pacific as Gunnery Officer and Damage Control Officer aboard USS LSM-121 and USS LST-850, stationed in the Marianas with action at Guam, Saipan, and Okinawa, honorably discharged July 1946 at Portland, Oregon; and Carl Manwiller, a WWII Navy veteran who 'served in the Amphibian Forces aboard LST 850, LST 52 and LCI(S) 53.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Named crew members (wartime service)
- Limitations
- Vessel-history documentation only: obituaries establish named crew service aboard this hull and its wartime operating areas; neither contains any asbestos, health, or exposure information, and no exposure claim is made or implied for either individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-04
-
[6]NARA-held photography (lead): NavSource photo caption - 'USS LST-850 moored pierside at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard in February 1945... LCT-1419 loaded on her main deck. US Navy photos from US National Archives at College Park, MD'; RG 24 deck logs for LST-850 (1944-47) presumed held at NARA but not digitized [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160850.htm photo caption block; catalog.archives.gov (JS-rendered, unfetchable)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for this hull: (1) U.S. Navy photographs held at the National Archives, College Park, showing LST-850 pierside at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard in February 1945 with LCT-1419 loaded on her main deck (per NavSource caption transcription); (2) RG 24 deck logs for the 1944-47 commissioned period, the standard repository for shipboard work and exposure-relevant events, not located in digitized form.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Crew and Pearl Harbor Navy Yard trades (Feb 1945 yard period)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the caption establishes that NARA holds photographs of this hull at Pearl Harbor; no NAID was captured and catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and could not be queried from this session (returned shell HTML). Deck logs and any CB&I build/inspection records are undigitized leads. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: DANFS/NavSource spec blocks (LST-542-class diesel plant); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 2 LST design table via class profile lst-1-class (2x GM 12-567A diesels, no boilers); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-use era (see ev-07); class profile ev-lst-1-class-03 application list [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource/DANFS spec blocks; BuShips SDB-1945 v2 LST design table (via lst-1-class class profile); class profile ev-lst-1-class-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST built August-November 1944 sits entirely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era. Era-standard asbestos-relevant applications aboard an LST of this design group were: diesel engine and exhaust lagging; gaskets and valve packing on machinery and piping; thermal/acoustic insulation in machinery spaces and accommodation areas; deck coverings and tile; and brake linings on winches and handling gear. As a diesel ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the concentrated spaces are the engine room, auxiliary machinery, and habitability areas.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Chicago Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944); crew in machinery and accommodation spaces (1944-47); reserve-fleet maintenance (1947-58); target-tow/sinking preparation crews (1958)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-850. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- 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 - spanning this hull's entire construction (1944), commissioned service (1944-47), and reserve-fleet life (1947-58). The same report describes standing policy from 1975 of removing asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs - a policy that postdates this hull's 1958 disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description and prior-batch transcription.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-07
-
[9]shipbuildinghistory.com, Chicago Bridge & Iron Seneca IL yard page (verified live 2026-10-03); Illinois DOT, Seneca Regional Port District profile (idot.illinois.gov PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/chicagobridge.htm header text + build table; idot.illinois.gov seneca_regional_port_district_profile.pdf timeline ('1942-1945' panel)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard documentation: the Navy requisitioned the Chicago Bridge & Iron facility at Seneca, IL in 1942 and invested $6 million in its improvement; the 200-acre 'Prairie Shipyard' built LSTs until war's end and was sold to Union Mechling in 1949 (shipbuildinghistory). Illinois DOT's port-district profile records 157 LSTs built at the site in 1942-45, 23 of them direct participants in the Normandy D-Day assault; the site is today's Shipyard Industrial Park / Seneca Regional Port District. This hull's build table entry on the same page (see ev-03) fixes it inside that mass-production program.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1949
- Population
- Prairie Shipyard construction workforce (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Yard background only: documents the construction site and program scale, not materials or working conditions aboard this hull; neither source contains asbestos information. Wartime employment figures for the yard (up to 11,000 peak, ~27,000 total) circulate in secondary/local-history sources only - not asserted here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-08
-
[10]ATSDR/IDPH Health Consultation, Union Mechling Company site (aka National Marine), Seneca, IL - includes the former Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI) section of the Prairie Shipyard property [other_primary]
- Locator
- UnionMechlingCo022305-IL.pdf, 'Site History' narrative; full-text searched for 'asbestos' - zero occurrences
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The former builder-yard site was evaluated as a government environmental site: the ATSDR/IDPH health consultation for the Union Mechling site (Seneca, IL) describes an approximately 66-acre property comprising Prairie States, Chicago Bridge and Iron (CBI), Open Field, and Woodland sections; the ~15-acre CBI section 'previously housed barge-building operations' with production rails and mooring piers; remediation addressed petroleum waste, pesticide waste, PCBs, and lead-contaminated soil, including excavation of 1,482 tons of contaminated soil from CBI locations.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1997-2005 (consultation period)
- Population
- Post-war site tenants and remediation workers
- Limitations
- Explicitly NOT an asbestos record: the consultation evaluates soil/groundwater contamination (petroleum, pesticides, PCBs, lead) and contains no mention of asbestos anywhere in the document. Documents the post-use environmental history of the hull's construction site only; establishes nothing about shipboard materials or worker exposure during construction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-09
-
[11]Batch-7393 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback; NavSource; shipbuildinghistory build table and yard page; IDOT port profile; ATSDR Union Mechling consultation; NVR (no entry, pre-1987 disposal); NARA catalog (JS-blocked); CourtListener (quota-blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-juniata-county-lst850-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LST-850 / Juniata County was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated API returned a daily-quota-exhausted 429 (server wait ~9.2 hours); logged as blocked, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard LSTs' material located is generic law-firm marketing (e.g., a landing-ships practice page asserting exposure aboard tank landing ships as a class, naming no hulls) - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (throttled, not run). Deck logs, CB&I build/inspection records, and any target-preparation or sinking records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-10
-
[12]Cross-check: Wikipedia 'USS Juniata County (LST-850)' / 'USS LST-850' infobox vs DANFS commissioning entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wikipedia USS Juniata County (LST-850) infobox 'Commissioned' field vs DANFS narrative paragraph 1
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the Wikipedia infobox for this hull carries 'Commissioned: 3 November 1944' - the launch date. DANFS documents commissioning at New Orleans 27 November 1944 (Lt. Perry B. Hazard in command); NavSource and the shipbuildinghistory delivery column agree (27-Nov-44). The 3 November figure is a secondary-source defect; the commissioned date carried in this record is 27 November 1944. The same infobox's complement and armament figures (8-10 officers/89-100 enlisted; single 3-inch mount) diverge from the DANFS spec block (cpl. 226; 8 40mm., 12 20mm.) - see gaps.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating milestone error, not a material claim. Wikipedia is a tertiary compilation; DANFS/NavSource/shipbuildinghistory all carry 27 November 1944. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-juniata-county-lst850-11