Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 912-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-kerrville-pc597-pkt-912-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Kerrville (PC-597) - verified live via firecrawl 2026-10-03 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull (specifications: dp. 295; l. 174'; b. 23'; dr. 8'; s. 20 k.; cpl. 65; a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 5 20mm., 2 rkt, 2 dcp., 2 dct.; class rendered 'PQ-451' - an italicization artifact of PC-461): named for Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas; laid down by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon, 9 May 1942; launched 7 September 1942; sponsored by Miss Doris Lee Riley; commissioned 15 February 1943, Lt. L. L. Thurber in command. Shakedown off the West Coast; departed San Francisco 5 April 1943, arrived Pearl Harbor two weeks later; eight months Hawaiian Islands ASW patrol and convoy escort; sailed 28 December 1943 for the South Pacific; early 1944 operations out of New Caledonia and the New Hebrides; Solomons assignment April 1944; screening and escort duty April-December 1944 while the Solomons served as staging bases for the Marianas and Philippines assaults; thereafter South Pacific escort of supply-laden transports with bases rotating among New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Fiji, and Samoa; post-war search of out-of-the-way islands for survivors of shipwrecks and plane crashes concluded 30 October 1945; Suva, Fiji, air-sea rescue from 4 November 1945 and similar South Pacific operations into early 1946; departed Kwajalein 1 May 1946 for the United States, arrived San Diego about one month later; sailed for the Atlantic late summer 1946; arrived Key West, Florida, 9 October 1946; towed to Green Cove Springs and decommissioned there 30 April 1947; named Kerrville 15 February 1956 while berthed with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; struck from the Navy List 5 September 1957; sold to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Maryland.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1942); wartime and postwar crew (design complement 65)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction milestones, naming, and the service narrative - not materials or asbestos content. It names only the commissioning CO (Thurber); later COs come from other sources. The published web page renders the class as 'PQ-451' (typographic artifact); PC-461 is confirmed by NavSource and uboat.net. DANFS gives no battle-star count, consistent with the ship's absence from the NAVPERS 15,790 awards list (ev-05).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, Kerrville (PC-597) - verified live via firecrawl 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010597.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officer list, photo table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and spec block for this hull: PC-461 class submarine chaser; laid down 9 May 1942 by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon; launched 7 September 1942; commissioned USS PC-597, 15 February 1943; decommissioned 30 April 1947 at Green Cove Springs, Florida and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group - with the note 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as January 1947'; named Kerrville 15 February 1956; struck from the Navy Register 5 September 1957; sold for scrap to Boston Metals Co. of Baltimore, Maryland. Specifications: 450 t.; 173'8" x 23' x 10'10"; 20.2 kts; complement 65; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one 40mm mount, three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 1,440 bhp General Motors 16-258S diesel engines (serial nos. 7807 and 7810), Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign NAOW. CO list: LT Louis Legrand Thurber, USNR (15 February 1943); LTJG W. M. Jones, USNR (1945). Two Bureau of Ships photos posted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1942); crew (1943-47)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its CO list is incomplete against uboat.net's five-officer sequence (ev-06) - carried in gaps. Spec values conflict with DANFS on displacement (450 t vs 295), draft (10'10" vs 8'), and 20mm count (3 vs 5) - carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-02
-
[4]NARA, 'USS PC-597 - War Diary, 1/1-31/44', NAID 78531932, RG 38 series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (series NAID 4697018), microfilm roll A1060 - 31 images digitized (Fold3-derived), downloaded and read [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78531932 digitized images (roll A1060 frames 0802-0832); daily pages 2 Jan (frame 0803), 12 Jan (0812), 25 Jan (0825), 31 Jan (0831); next-of-kin attachment (0832)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship's own January 1944 war diary (Part III 'Operational Remarks (War Diary)' forms, CONFIDENTIAL), daily handwritten watch entries approved each page by the commanding officer. Sampled entries: 2 January - escorting a ship (name not reliably legible in the handwriting) Honolulu to Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, in company with another PC, base course 217T speed 10 knots, positions ~6-7N 169-170W; 12 January - passage Tarawa to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, anchored berth 1 Segond Channel, Espiritu Santo 1301, main engines secured 1303; 25 January - passage Guadalcanal to Espiritu Santo escorting a five-ship convoy with three escort vessels, 0218 radar contact at 11 miles, 0314 general quarters and investigated, evaluated friendly; 31 January - moored off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal, shifted to Port Purvis, Florida Island (moored alongside USS PC 590, then the fresh-water line), then underway 1330 for convoy rendezvous and 1600 commenced screening a five-ship merchant convoy in company with USS PC 1125 and USS AM 87 to Espiritu Santo. Approved-signature block 'L. L. Thurber, Lt., USNR' throughout; a typed attachment 'REPORT OF OFFICERS NEXT OF KIN' dated 31 January 1944 lists L. L. Thurber, Lieut., USNR (wife Charlotte Elizabeth Thurber).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-01
- Population
- PC-597 officers and crew, January 1944
- Limitations
- Primary operational record covering ONE month only; other months' war diaries for this hull were not surfaced in the name-indexed catalog search (likely exist on adjacent rolls - open lead). Handwritten entries read visually; minor transcription uncertainty in ship names of escorted vessels. Contains no materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-03
-
[5]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (transcription of the wartime classified organization document) - verified live via firecrawl 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC transcription page, 'SERVICE FORCE, PACIFIC FLEET > SERVICE SQUADRON TWO' section, printed page -104- block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official fleet-organization document places this hull on 1 May 1945 under SERVICE SQUADRON TWO, Service Force, Pacific Fleet (V. Adm. W. W. Smith), in the listed block of PC-type escort craft: 'PC 597 - Lt. (jg) W. M. Jones (USNR)'. Corroborates the second documented commanding officer and the ship's operational-control alignment in the final war year.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- PC-597 officers and crew, May 1945
- Limitations
- A point-in-time organization listing: confirms assignment and commanding officer as of 1 May 1945 only; says nothing about materials, condition, or asbestos. The NHHC page is a transcription of the official document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-04
-
[6]U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), WWII battle-stars-by-ship list (104-page scan; PC block at printed p.117 / scan p.59 read directly) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVPERS 15,790 scan p.59 (printed page 117), PC block columns 2-3 - sequence PC 591, PC 598 with PC-597 absent
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- PC-597 does NOT appear in the official NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953) list of ships authorized campaign participation credit and battle stars: the PC section runs PC 591 then PC 598 with PC-597 absent, meaning the ship earned no WWII battle stars - consistent with a pure escort/patrol career outside designated assault operations.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- PC-597 crew 1943-45
- Limitations
- Absence from the awards list documents no campaign credit; it does not by itself prove the absence of any combat contact (the 25 January 1944 radar-contact/general-quarters event in the war diary shows operational alerts occurred). The scan is hosted by a ribbon vendor; it is a photographic reproduction of the official NAVPERS publication and the PC-597 absence was verified by direct image read, not by the vendor's HTML transcription.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-05
-
[7]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS PC-597 (PC-597) - build/milestone table and commanding-officer sequence - verified live via firecrawl 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/8574.html - milestone table + 'Commands listed' table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net secondary compilation for this hull: PC-461 class patrol craft built by Commercial Iron Works (Portland, Oregon); ordered 20 September 1941; laid down 9 May 1942; launched 7 September 1942; commissioned 15 February 1943; end service 30 April 1947; decommissioned 30 April 1947, stricken 5 September 1957. Commanding-officer table lists FIVE officers for the WWII window: Lt. Harry Allan Barnard, Jr., USN (15 Feb 1943 - early 1943); Legrand Lockwood Thurber, USNR (early 1943 - mid 1944); James E. Day, USNR (mid 1944 - mid/late 1944); Wendell M. Jones, USNR (mid/late 1944 - mid 1945); Sanford F. Schoenfeld, USNR (mid 1945 - late 1945).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Population
- PC-597 crew 1943-45
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a secondary compilation and its CO table conflicts with DANFS (which names Thurber as commissioning CO, not Barnard) and with NavSource's two-officer list. Partially corroborated: the ship's war diary confirms Thurber as CO in January 1944 and shows 'J. E. Day, Lt(jg)' serving as a watch officer that same month; the May 1945 fleet organization confirms Jones. Barnard (commissioning), Day (as CO mid-1944), and Schoenfeld (1945) rest on uboat.net alone - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-06
-
[8]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton), Commercial Iron Works yard list, Portland OR - verified live via firecrawl 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/commercial.htm, table rows 45-47
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The builder's yard list for Commercial Iron Works places this hull as yard number 46: 'PC 597 - US Navy Sub Chaser - 463 [tons] 173 [ft] - 15-Feb-43 - Named Kerrville 1956, scrapped 1957', bracketed by PC 596 (hull 45) and PC 598 (hull 47). The yard built 188 small warships during WWII and was sold to Zidell Marine in 1946 (ship dismantling).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades 1942
- Limitations
- Secondary yard-history compilation, not a primary registry; the listed '15-Feb-43' date is the commissioning date rather than delivery. Confirms yard number and naming/scrapping notes consistent with DANFS and NavSource. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-07
-
[9]NARA catalog holdings for PC-597 (search verified live 2026-10-03): 'PC-597, 2/15/43-4/30/47' NAID 192389838, RG 24 series 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities' (Ancestry-partnership digitization, roll 5818, 357 images); 'USS PC-597 - War Diary, 1/1-31/44' NAID 78531932 (see ev-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'PC-597'; NAID 192389838 file-unit page (357 images, Fold3/Ancestry partnership)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized NARA holdings exist for this hull: the complete muster-roll run for the commissioned life (15 February 1943 - 30 April 1947), 357 images - the personnel record of every officer and enlisted man carried aboard; plus the January 1944 war diary (ev-03). Muster rolls are the authoritative population record for any future crew-level exposure research.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- All hands aboard PC-597, Feb 1943 - Apr 1947
- Limitations
- File-unit existence verified and first image (reel marker 120-3937) inspected; page-level muster content NOT read - 357 images were not individually transcribed. Muster rolls document who served, not what materials were aboard. Additional war-diary months for PC-597 were not surfaced by name-indexed search and are an open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-08
-
[10]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 existence (construction 1942, commission 1943-47, reserve fleet 1947-57, disposal 1957).
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, previously confirmed 2026-09-18 and treated as standing). Content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (two GM 16-258S diesels, two shafts, no steam plant); DANFS specifications line (20-knot 173-ft patrol craft, complement 65); PC-461 class design context (steel-hulled mass-production submarine chaser, ~340 built 1941-44 - secondary literature); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; DANFS specifications line; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled diesel submarine chaser built May-September 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a diesel patrol craft of this type and period were engine exhaust lagging, machinery thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation, in a small confined hull volume. As a diesel-powered craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply. Her reserve-fleet lay-up (1947-57) falls inside the same era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1942); crew (1943-47); reserve-fleet caretakers and 1957 scrappers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, construction work package, or disposal/hazmat record located for PC-597. 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-kerrville-pc597-10
-
[12]Batch-7972 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live); NavSource; NARA catalog + digitized Jan-1944 war diary (31 images read) + muster-roll file unit (357 images, existence verified); NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945; NAVPERS 15,790 scan (PC-597 absence read directly); uboat.net; ShipbuildingHistory Commercial Iron Works yard list; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; marketing/litigation web sweeps; CourtListener via fleet helper (see ledger rows for final status) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kerrville-pc597-01 through -18 (see ledger)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS Kerrville or PC-597 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener searched this session via the fleet helper (4 base queries + 1 authorized asbestos variant after a base overflow): '"USS Kerrville"' opinions 0 hits, dockets 0 hits; '"PC-597"' opinions 5 hits, all name collisions (Indiana post-conviction docket codes and fuzzy filing-text matches); '"PC-597"' dockets 24 hits, all name collisions (California Penal Code 597 cites, 'PC, 597 MOTION' docket-entry strings including inside the CSX v. Gilkison asbestos docket, fuzzy page/exhibit matches); '"PC-597" asbestos' docket variant 2 hits, both name collisions - zero qualifying litigation of any kind. Web sweeps returned NO hull-specific asbestos marketing claims at all - 'PC-597' asbestos/mesothelioma queries surface only California Penal Code 597 collisions (animal-cruelty statute), not the vessel; 'USS Kerrville asbestos' returns zero results.
- 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 - wartime small-craft construction records for this yard type are thin, and no hull-level material inventory was located. The digitized muster rolls and any additional months of war diaries are open leads (ev-08). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kerrville-pc597-11