Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 739-packet.md (4 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-la-moure-county-lst883-pkt-739-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'La Moure County I (LST-883)' (updated Robert J. Cressman, 27 October 2023; fuller 2015-version narrative via Wayback capture 20190717132436 of the same canonical URL) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block (live page; 2015 text via https://web.archive.org/web/20190717132436/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/la-moure-county.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 16 November 1944 at Evansville, Ind., by Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 30 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. L. D. McBride; commissioned at New Orleans 23 January 1945, Lt. Winfield H. Cook, D-V(G), USNR, in command. WWII (2015 text): shakedown off Florida; departed New Orleans 28 February, arrived San Pedro 26 March; via Seattle to the Hawaiian Islands; sailed 24 May carrying Seabees via the Marshalls and Marianas to Okinawa, arrived 26 June; embarked 6th Marine Division veterans, sailed 10 July, reached Pearl Harbor 5 August. Occupation duty: departed Pearl Harbor 3 September; debarked troops at Sasebo 25 September; Lingayen Gulf 5 October; transported Army engineers to Nagoya 26 October-4 November; Saipan 14 November; Marianas operations through year's end; San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 15-20 January 1946, then cargo and passenger runs to Mindoro, Mindanao, Luzon, and Samar. Decommissioned at Samar 20 April 1946, custody status, transferred to the Army 26 August for use in Japan. Reacquired by the Navy 1 July 1950; recommissioned at Yokosuka 26 August, Lt. Charles M. Miller in command. Korea: departed Kobe 10 September; assigned TG 90.3, arrived off the Inchon seawalls 15 September and debarked troops on Red Beach under fire; off Inchon until 15 October; LSTs of TE 90.32 including LST-883 received the Navy Unit Commendation. Wonsan 25 October; Wonsan-Hungnam runs until 22 November; departed Japan 9 December for the Hungnam evacuation, two runs to Pusan 15-27 December; Yokosuka-Pusan operations until 31 March 1951; overhaul at Bremerton 16 May-22 July; returned to the Far East arriving Yokosuka 5 November; Korea/Japan troop and cargo runs 28 December 1951-18 July 1952 plus amphibious training; deployed again 15 June 1953, reached Pusan 27 July 1953 as the armistice was signed; carried POWs from U.N. camps to Inchon; Yokosuka 24 September; returned to California 26 February-27 March 1954. Departed San Diego 17 February 1955, arrived Japan 17 March; renamed La Moure County 1 July 1955; peacekeeping operations between Japan and Korea until 20 September; San Diego-based amphibious training with two 1956 Hawaii cruises. Third post-Korea Far East deployment: departed San Diego 9 January 1958, Okinawa 12 February, Seventh Fleet operations to the Philippines, Korea, and Japan; west coast from 25 June 1958; deployed again 29 January 1959, Yokosuka-based; arrived Long Beach 14 June 1959. Decommissioned there 7 December 1959; stricken from the Naval Register 1 January 1960; sold for scrapping to Zidell Explorations Corp. 30 November 1960. Awards: one battle star WWII (Okinawa Gunto assault and occupation 26-30 June 1945), seven battle stars Korea. Spec block: dp. 1,625; l. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 14'1"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 226; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm.; cl. LST-511.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Construction trades, Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron, Evansville (1944-45); ship's company and embarked troops (1945-46, 1950-59)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. The live page (updated 2023) compresses the WWII/Korea narrative; the fuller 2015-version text was read via a 2019 Wayback capture of the same canonical URL - cited as an archived copy. The live page header prints 'La Moure County I (LST-1183)' - a hull-number typo on the official page (see ev-09); the entry's body and spec block are this hull. DANFS is silent on the 1948 strike/reinstatement recorded by NavSource. 'cpl. 226' and 'cl. LST-511' conflict with NavSource/BuShips figures - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS La Moure County (LST-883) ex USAT LST-883 (10/16/160883.htm, last updated 1 March 2024) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160883.htm header block, campaign tables, specifications block, CO roster, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and spec block for this hull: LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship; laid down 16 November 1944 at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 30 December 1944; commissioned 23 January 1945, LT. Winfield H. Cook USNR in command. WWII assignment: LST Flotilla Thirty-Two (CAPT. D. J. Sweeny), LST Group Ninety-Five (CDR. J. Capponi USNR), LST Division One Hundred Eighty-Nine; Okinawa Gunto operation 26-30 June 1945; Navy Occupation Service Medal periods 8-29 September and 30 October-9 November 1945. Decommissioned 20 April 1946 at Samar, Philippine Islands; custody transferred to the US Army Transport Service 26 August 1946 and commissioned USAT LST-883; struck from the Naval Register in 1948; reacquired by the US Navy 1 July 1950 and reinstated on the Naval Register; recommissioned 26 August 1950 at Yokosuka, Japan, LT Charles M. Miller in command. Korean campaign table (7 stars): Inchon Landing 15-17 September 1950; North Korean Aggression 18 September-2 November 1950; Communist China Aggression 3 November-27 December 1950; First UN Counter Offensive 3 February-7 March 1951; Second Korean Winter 28 December 1951-9 January 1952, 27 January-13 March 1952, 20-28 March 1952; Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 10 June-14 July 1952; Korea Summer-Fall 1953 27 July 1953. Named USS La Moure County (LST-883) 1 July 1955; decommissioned 7 December 1959 at Long Beach Naval Shipyard; struck 1 January 1960; sold to Zidell Explorations Corp 30 November 1960 for scrapping. Specifications: 1,625 t.(lt) / 4,080 t.(fl); 328' o.a.; 50' beam; 11.6 kts trial; endurance 24,000 miles at 9 kts; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted, troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; armament 2 twin 40mm mounts w/Mk.51 directors, 4 single 40mm, 12 single 20mm (ultimate design); propulsion two General Motors 12-567A 900hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100kW 230V DC ship's service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Commanding-officer roster of eight (Cook, Hager, Kovach, Miller, Gant, Schmuckal, Lund, Ruecker). Photo captions place the hull at Puget Sound Navy Yard 20 April 1945 (PSNY photo #2068), beached on a ramp at Inchon circa 1951, and beached at Taeyanpyong, Korea, circa 1953; US National Archives photo USN 1045992 shows her underway.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Construction trades (1944-45); ship's company and embarked troops (1945-46, 1950-59); USAT crew (1946-50); Long Beach NSY trades (1959); Zidell shipbreakers (1960-61)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS and here corroborate DANFS while adding the 1948 strike/reinstatement detail that DANFS omits (single-source, noted in gaps). Contains no asbestos content. The 1960 scrapping predates modern ACM-handling regulation; no hazmat or material record for the breakup was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-02
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[4]NARA NAID 77570217, 'USS LST-883 - Report of operations in the occupation of Sasebo, Kyushu, Japan, 9/22-27/45' (RG 38 WWII War Diaries series, 3 digitized images; report dated 9/30/1945) + NAID 101715404, 'COM LST GR 95 - War Diary, 2/1-28/45' (this hull's group: LST Group 95 per NavSource) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAID 77570217 (Fold3 scan, micro serial 150338/serial 020, 9/30/1945); NAID 101715404
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-titled primary documentation digitized at NARA: the ship's own operations report for the occupation of Sasebo, Kyushu, Japan, 22-27 September 1945 (3 images) - corroborating the DANFS occupation narrative (troops debarked at Sasebo 25 September). The LST Group 95 war diary for February 1945 (NAID 101715404) documents this hull's assigned group during the month after her commissioning.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked Army/Navy occupation personnel (September-October 1945); LST Group 95 ships (February 1945)
- Limitations
- Archival leads: catalog entries verified this session, image contents not OCR-read. The Sasebo report is ship-titled and ship-authored; the Group 95 diary is a unit-level document that may or may not name this hull specifically. Neither was located containing asbestos or material information; operational records, not material records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-03
-
[5]NARA RG 24 deck logs, 'La Moure County (LST-883) - <Month Year>' monthly file units (Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project scans): e.g., NAID 181850339 (February 1956), NAID 296926907 (January 1957), NAID 296927827 (September 1957, 122 images), NAID 218431491 (February 1958), NAID 218432727 (April 1959), NAID 218433131 (October 1959), NAID 218433267 (December 1959 - the decommissioning month) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'LST-883' -> 'La Moure County (LST-883) - <Month Year>' file units; sample page https://catalog.archives.gov/id/296927827
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's deck logs are digitized and public at NARA for the second commission's final era: monthly file units confirmed from February 1956 through December 1959, scanned under the Veterans Benefits Administration / Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project (RG 24). The December 1959 unit covers her final month in commission at Long Beach.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1956-1959
- Population
- Ship's company (1956-1959)
- Limitations
- Archival leads: file units verified digitized this session; contents not OCR-read. Catalog search surfaced ~557 file units for this hull; confirmed monthly coverage is 1956-1959 - Korean War-era (1950-55) and first-commission (1945-46) deck logs were not surfaced in catalog results and their digitization status is undetermined (WWII-era logs sit in a separate series). Deck logs are operational records; material/abatement content would be exceptional.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-04
-
[6]NHHC photographic catalog, USN 1045992 'USS La Moure County (LST-883)' (National Archives-held US Navy photo) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC USN 1045992 catalog page; NavSource 10/16/160883.htm photo captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC catalog page confirms a NARA-held US Navy photograph of this hull underway (catalog no. USN 1045992). NavSource captions further document a Puget Sound Navy Yard photo (#2068) dated 20 April 1945, an Inchon ramp beaching circa 1951, and a Taeyanpyong, Korea, beaching circa 1953.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1959
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: photographs document the hull's existence and locations, not materials or work performed. The NHHC page required a rendering-capable fetch (firecrawl) to display - it returned 404 to a plain fetch this session; content confirmed live. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (2x GM 12-567A diesels, Falk reduction gear, no boilers); Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. II (January 1945) LST design table (shipscribe.com scan; LST542-931 design group); Corn & Starr (1987) WWII shipbuilding asbestos documentation; class profile lst-1-class [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; BuShips SDB-1945 v2 LST table via https://shipscribe.com/styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf; DANFS narrative (Bremerton overhaul, Long Beach decommissioning); class profile lst-1-class
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-542-group tank landing ship built November 1944-January 1945 sits inside the documented WWII shipbuilding asbestos era. As a diesel vessel she carried no boilers - the steam-plant lagging pathway does not apply. Era-standard asbestos-relevant applications aboard a diesel LST of this period were: GM diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. Documented yard events aboard this hull raise the inference's relevance without proving materials: the Bremerton (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard) overhaul 16 May-22 July 1951 and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard final inactivation/decommissioning in late 1959.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1961
- Population
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944-45); ship's company and embarked troops (1945-46, 1950-59); Puget Sound NSY trades (1951); Long Beach NSY trades (1959); Zidell shipbreakers (1960-61)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, overhaul work package, material schedule, or abatement record located for LST-883. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials on this hull; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution; no individual exposure established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-06
-
[8]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which this hull was built (1944-45) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in naval and merchant construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its builder and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Citation carried from the verified sibling record (AJIM DOI; publisher blocks automated fetch - bot filter, not link rot).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-07
-
[9]Buckholtz (Estate of Woodruff) v. Zidell Explorations, Inc. and Port of Tacoma, Wash. Ct. App. Div. II No. 56257-0-II (unpublished, filed 24 January 2023); Pierce County Super. Ct. No. 20-2-08044-1; review sought, Wash. Sup. Ct. No. 101864-9 [court_record]
- Locator
- Div. II unpublished opinion No. 56257-0-II (facts and holdings); Wash. Sup. Ct. petition file 101864-9 (courts.wa.gov petition documents)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Washington appellate record documents the asbestos exposure pathway inside the company that bought THIS hull for scrapping: Zidell Explorations (Portland, OR - purchaser of LST-883 on 30 November 1960 per DANFS) 'began dismantling decommissioned Navy ships in Portland in the 1950s,' and the opinion records a work crew removing asbestos insulation material from ship pipes during dismantling. Per the opinion: a Pierce County jury awarded $11,216,056 (Aug 2021) to a mesothelioma claimant who worked 1970-73 at Zidell Dismantling's Tacoma operation on ships including USS Philippine Sea; Division II held Zidell Explorations owed a duty as owner of at least one ship worked on, but reversed the judgment for trial-court spoliation error and remanded for a new trial; review was then sought at the Washington Supreme Court (No. 101864-9).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2021-2023 (litigation); 1970-73 (documented exposure window)
- Population
- Zidell Dismantling/Explorations shipbreaking trades (1950s-1970s, documented window 1970-73)
- Limitations
- Scrapping-context row only - the opinion does not name LST-883, and the litigated exposures were 1970-73 at the separate Tacoma sister operation, a decade after this hull's 1960-61 Portland-area sale for breaking; nothing in the record establishes who broke this specific hull or what its materials were. Litigation-stage discipline: the jury verdict was reversed on appeal (unpublished opinion, not citable under Wash. GR 14.1) and the exposure-related holding described is the appellate court's; the Supreme Court petition's final disposition was not located this session - described exactly as staged. Does not establish exposure aboard this hull or any individual's eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-08
-
[10]NHHC DANFS page anomalies verified live this session: page title/header reads 'La Moure County I (LST-1183)' while the entry body, spec block (cl. LST-511), and NHHC North Dakota infographic ('USS La Moure County I (LST 883), 1945') confirm the hull is LST-883; second anomaly: DANFS spec block 'cl. LST-511' vs LST-542-class assignment in NavSource, Wikipedia, and the BuShips SDB-1945 v2 design grouping (LST542-931 block) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Live DANFS page header vs entry body; NHHC 'Naval History of North Dakota' infographic PDF; NavSource class line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the live NHHC page's own header misnumbers the hull 'LST-1183' (no such hull exists in the LST series as built; the second La Moure County is LST-1194) - the entry's content, spec block, and all corroborating sources establish LST-883. Separately, the DANFS spec block's 'cl. LST-511' is a legacy designation at variance with the LST-542-class assignment carried by NavSource, the class profile, and the BuShips SDB-1945 v2 design grouping (LST542-931); this record carries LST-542-class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2023 (page update); 1944-45 (class assignment)
- Limitations
- Corrects official-source display anomalies, not material claims. The 'LST-511' vs 'LST-542' divergence is a known DANFS-era designation inconsistency across the LST series; the BuShips design block (LST542-931) and NavSource are the carried authorities. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-09
-
[11]Batch-7426 search ledger (this record): DANFS (live + 2019 Wayback capture); NavSource; NARA catalog (ship-titled Sasebo report, group war diary, 1956-59 deck-log file units); NHHC photo catalog USN 1045992; NHHC North Dakota infographic; NVR (not present - disposed pre-1987); Washington Courts (Zidell context); secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener (blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or verified litigation naming LST-883/La Moure County was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the fleet-wide daily API quota was exhausted before the first query (cl-auth-search.py exit 2, server-requested wait 30,697 s ~8.5 h); per batch rule this is logged as blocked in the search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material naming the hull is a law-firm marketing page (mesotheliomasymptoms.com) asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy (it also mislabels her 'LST-511 class').
- 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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (throttled, not run). Deck logs, overhaul work packages (Bremerton 1951, Long Beach 1959), the builder's construction records, and the Zidell breaking contract are undigitized or unlocated leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-moure-county-lst883-10