Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]research packet 736-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lafayette-county-lst859-pkt-736-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Lafayette County (LST-859)' (Naval History and Heritage Command; updated Robert J. Cressman, 16 July 2024) - page verified LIVE 2026-10-03 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Lafayette County (LST-859)' entry body text + spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: named for counties in Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, and Wisconsin plus a Louisiana parish. Laid down 26 September 1944 at Seneca, Ill., by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 15 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Elsie M. Marcum; commissioned at Algiers, La., 6 January 1945, Lt. Daniel D. Kipnis in command. Shakedown Gulf of Mexico; departed New Orleans 17 February 1945 for the Pacific; Pearl Harbor 31 March; amphibious training; Seattle 12-24 May (embarked Army troops); Pearl Harbor 20 June; sailed 23 June for the western Pacific; reached Okinawa 28 July 1945; Saipan 5 August; Marianas through war's end. Occupation: Philippines 3 September; troops embarked Batangas Bay; Tokyo Bay 29 September 1945; occupation operations along Honshu coast Yokohama to Shiogama; Subic Bay round trip 24 October-19 November; departed Tokyo Bay 29 November; Seattle 12 January 1946. Four years of Pacific cargo/passenger runs (Marshalls, Solomons, American Samoa, Aleutians, Midway, Hawaiian chain). Korea: departed Pearl Harbor 18 August 1950; Kobe 5 September; embarked 1st Marine Division elements; TE 90.32; arrived off Inchon 15 September; as lead ship closed Red Beach under heavy mortar and machine-gun fire, debarked assault troops, destroyed enemy batteries on the right flank; cleared beach early 16 September; TE 90.32 LSTs including LST-859 received the Navy Unit Commendation. Sasebo-based supply operations 1952-1954 (Chuminjin, Ulsan Man, Inchon, both Korean coasts); departed Yokosuka 18 May 1954. Named Lafayette County 1 July 1955. Decommissioned at Pearl Harbor 15 August 1958; transferred to Republic of China custody under the Military Assistance Program, renamed Chung Cheng (LST-224). One battle star WWII; six battle stars Korean service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops, WWII/Korea (class-era complement figures)
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history, cited via the live NHHC page (verified live 2026-10-03 - unlike the LST-740 session, this DANFS page resolves). Source defects: one paragraph misprints the hull as 'LST-895' (May 1946 departure); the spec block labels the class 'LST-511' and complement '119', conflicting with the NavSource/BuShips LST-542-class and 13/104 figures (variances in gaps). DANFS gives Okinawa arrival 28 July 1945, conflicting with the NavSource campaign table's 26-30 June participation window. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-01
-
[3]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive: USS Lafayette County (LST-859), ex-USS LST-859 (page verified live 2026-10-03; last updated 1 March 2024) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160859: header timeline, campaign tables, specifications block, Commanding Officers list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource page: '542 Class Tank Landing Ship'; laid down 26 September 1944 Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, IL; launched 15 December 1944; commissioned 6 January 1945, LT. Daniel D. Kipnis USNR. Assigned LST Flotilla Thirty-One (CAPT. H.S. Covington), LST Group Ninety-Three (CDR. E.R. Sperry), LST Division One Hundred Eighty-Six. Campaign tables: Okinawa Gunto operation 26-30 June 1945; Navy Occupation service 23 September-25 October and 15 November-3 December 1945; Korean campaigns - North Korean Aggression, Inchon Landing, Second Korean Winter, Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952, Third Korean Winter, Korean Summer-Fall 1953. Named Lafayette County 1 July 1955. Decommissioned, struck from the Naval Register, and transferred to the Republic of China 15 August 1958; ROCS Chung Cheng (LST-224), 'Final Disposition, fate unknown'. One WWII and six Korean battle stars. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted plus troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; armament 2 twin and 4 single 40mm, 12 single 20mm; propulsion 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk reduction gear, three 100 kW 230V DC generators, twin screws 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Call sign NINY. Photo record: NHHC NH 74695 (LSTs off Saipan, August 1945) and L45-161.01.01 (Naval Supply Center Pearl Harbor, late 1940s). Commanding Officers list: Kipnis through Hagensick (to 15 August 1958).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Ship's company ~117 + embarked troops ~163 (spec block figures)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained archival compilation, not an official Navy record; specifications reproduce BuShips-era data. Okinawa Gunto participation dates (26-30 June 1945) conflict with the DANFS narrative (Okinawa arrival 28 July 1945) - flagged in gaps, not resolved. CO list has an apparent duplicate-tenure entry (Kipnis and Hayler both shown 6 Jan 1945-14 Jan 1946). Confirms 'fate unknown' for the ex-hull after the 1958 transfer. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-02
-
[4]NARA Catalog, six digitized ship-filed war diaries in Record Group 38 (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories': NAID 633447257 (5/1-31/45), 101712599 (6/1-30/45), 83565462 (7/1-31/45), 77508274 (8/1-31/45), 77542747 (9/1-30/45), 77553852 (10/1-31/45) - catalog and file-unit pages verified live 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/633447257, /id/101712599, /id/83565462, /id/77508274, /id/77542747, /id/77553852
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own filed monthly war diaries survive as digitized NARA file units for May through October 1945 - a continuous six-month run covering the Okinawa logistics run, Marianas operations, the Philippines lift, the Tokyo Bay arrival, and the Honshu occupation service documented by DANFS. Fold3 scans, unrestricted access.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-05-01 to 1945-10-31
- Limitations
- Operational records only - monthly war diaries, not health, material, or engineering records; contents not transcribed or text-reviewed this session. No asbestos information expected or verified. January-April 1945 diaries (commissioning through the Seattle/Pearl Harbor training period) do not appear in the digitized set; post-October-1945 filings absent as the war-diary program wound down.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-03
-
[5]NARA Catalog, deck logs in Record Group 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel), series 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' (VA Navy Deck Log digitization batches): complete monthly file-unit run 'Lafayette County (LST-859)' for January 1956 through August 1958 (32 file units), e.g. NAID 203638048 (Jan 1956) through NAID 217181660 (Aug 1958, the decommissioning month) - catalog and file-unit pages verified live 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/217181660 (Aug 1958); NAID run includes 203638048, 203638176, 203638300, 203638432, 203638560, 203638692, 203638820, 203638952, 203639020, 203639086, 203639154, 203639222 (1956); 216285393, 216285461, 216285523, 216285591, 216285659, 216285727, 216285793, 216285861, 216285929, 216285995, 216286063, 216286129 (1957); 216286197, 216286265, 216286327, 217181392, 217181458, 217181526, 217181592, 217181660 (1958); supplementary index page https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' index, verified live 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A complete digitized monthly deck-log run for the hull's final 32 months in U.S. service - the entire 'Lafayette County' named period through the 15 August 1958 decommissioning at Pearl Harbor - survives in the VA Navy Deck Log batches (containers 2511-2513).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1956-01 to 1958-08
- Limitations
- Operational/navigational records only - deck logs, not health, material, or engineering records; contents not transcribed or text-reviewed this session; no asbestos information expected or verified. Deck logs for 1945-1955 (the WWII, Korea, and early-named periods) were not in the digitized set returned - they exist as NARA College Park textual records but are not digitized in the catalog (coverage gap logged).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-04
-
[6]NARA Catalog, ship-specific engineering/administrative package (all paper-only, College Park, not digitized): NAID 1168595 'LST-859, 1110 - General Information Book (2 copies)' (RG 19 BuShips, Amphibious Vessel General Information Books, covers 1958); NAID 1168596 'LST-859, 1110 - Record of Electrical Installation' (RG 19); NAID 153715455 'Plans for the Tank Landing Ship LST-859' (RG 19 Ship Engineering Drawings, S0103 Booklet of General Plans, 8 drawings); NAID 2761331 'LST-859' (RG 38 Material Inspection Reports and Related Documentation 1940-1978, Board of Inspection and Survey); NAID 472241685 'USS LST-859' (RG 24 Casualty Information Reports 1941-1960) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/1168595, /id/1168596, /id/153715455, /id/2761331, /id/472241685
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A ship-specific engineering and administrative record package exists at NARA College Park: the hull's General Information Book (2 copies, 1958), Record of Electrical Installation, an 8-drawing Booklet of General Plans, a Board of Inspection and Survey material-inspection file, and a casualty-information file. The InShipSurf material inspection reports and the BuShips General Information Book are the most promising ship-specific material-documentation leads located for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940-1978 (parent series spans); 1958 (GIB coverage)
- Limitations
- All five file units are paper-only at College Park ('Not Yet Available Online' per the catalog) - contents unverified; they may or may not contain insulation or material details, and no asbestos information is confirmed in them. Carried as archival leads, not findings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-05
-
[7]NARA Catalog, 'Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries' series: full-text-indexed microfilm reels containing this hull's post-1949 muster rolls/personnel diaries - NAID 129756087 'Reel 120-56, 1956' and NAID 130071743 'Reel 5-57, 1957' located; 1955 reels also surfaced in results (NAID 129236100 'Reel 119-55', NAID 129284530 'Reel 151-55') [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/129756087, /id/130071743, /id/129236100, /id/129284530
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- This hull's post-1949 muster rolls and personnel diaries are indexed inside NARA microfilm reels for 1955-1957, providing personnel-level coverage of the named period - the crew-level record counterpart to the deck logs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1955-1957
- Population
- Ship's company 1955-1957 (muster-roll coverage)
- Limitations
- Personnel records only - names and ratings aboard, not health or material records; no asbestos information expected. The reels are multi-ship microfilm units; the catalog's full-text index confirms this hull's presence inside them but reel-level browsing would be needed to enumerate pages. WWII/Korea-era muster rolls sit in the separate 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships' series (1946-1949 quarterly reels) - not enumerated ship-specifically this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-06
-
[8]ATSDR/Illinois Department of Public Health, 'Health Consultation: Union Mechling Company site, Seneca, Illinois' (2005 update of the 1997 consultation; PDF retrieved and text-reviewed 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATSDR HAC PDF, 'Site History' section pp. 2-3
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Government environmental documentation exists for the builder's yard site: the ~66-acre Union Mechling site on the Illinois River at Seneca (industrial since 1941) included a ~15-acre Chicago Bridge & Iron section with production rails and mooring piers. The consultation documents petroleum-hydrocarbon, pesticide, and lead soil contamination; 2,192 tons of contaminated soil were excavated from the CBI locations in 1999, and Illinois EPA issued a 'no further remediation' letter in May 2001 with industrial/commercial land-use restrictions.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1997-2005 (consultation); 1941-present (site)
- Population
- Postwar site workers and trespassers (consultation scope)
- Limitations
- Site-level environmental record for the builder's yard decades after construction - documents postwar site contamination and remediation, not wartime shipbuilding conditions. Asbestos was NOT among the contaminants evaluated or mentioned anywhere in the consultation (verified by full-text review); the document describes the CBI section as having 'previously housed barge-building operations' (postwar tenant) and does not attribute contamination to LST construction. Establishes neither asbestos use nor absence at the yard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-07
-
[9]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 to automated fetch, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull-specific. Temporal relevance is nil for this hull's U.S. service - she decommissioned and transferred to the Republic of China in August 1958, 17 years before the 1975 policy window described. gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch 2026-10-03 (standing access defect since Batch 01); content via product-page description previously verified in class profile 2026-09-16.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-08
-
[10]CDC/NIOSH, '100 Years of Respiratory Protection History' (archived CDC page, verified live 2026-10-03; adopted from the prior session's commit 3fbd8ad4 evidence row) [other_primary]
- Locator
- WWII section, paragraph beginning 'As the world entered World War II'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- CDC/NIOSH historical review states that as the U.S. entered World War II, 'the US Navy's use of asbestos increased for insulation purposes for pipes in naval vessels'; that a Navy medical officer recognized in 1939 the need for respirators when cutting and wetting amosite and other asbestos-containing insulation; and that even after the 1946 Fleischer et al. study the Navy continued asbestos use while warning that 'exposure to asbestos dust is a hazard which cannot be overlooked' - recommending confined pipe-covering operations, respirators, and ventilation (Barlow et al., 2017).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1939-1946+ (documentation window); hull era 1944-1958
- Population
- Navy vessel construction, maintenance, and crew populations during and after WWII (Navy-wide)
- Limitations
- Navy-wide WWII-era documentation, not hull-specific - does not name LST-859, identify material aboard this hull, quantify anything, or establish individual exposure. Its value is era grounding: it confirms asbestos pipe insulation was standard Navy practice during this hull's 1944 construction and that the practice continued through her 1945-1958 service period (with the 1946 warning falling inside it).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-09
-
[11]Consolidated era inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 LST design data (diesel plant, no boilers; LST-542-group machinery data) plus era amphibious-ship construction practice; cf. class profile lst-1-class evidence ev-lst-1-class-01/-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data (lst-1-class class profile); NavSource spec block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for diesel-powered LST-542-class hulls: with no boilers or steam plant, asbestos-relevant applications concentrate in GM diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, valve packing, and winch/crane brake linings - the era-standard amphibious-ship material set.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Chicago Bridge & Iron Seneca construction trades (1944); ship's company (1945-1958); ROC Navy crews (1958-?)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-specific asbestos record exists for this hull; the BuShips source describes machinery, not insulation content, and does not name this vessel. This hull's unusually long U.S. service (1945-1958, including Korea-era hard use with no located refit/abatement record) makes retained original-era materials a reasonable inference - but inference only. Establishes no quantities, no present-day presence, and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-10
-
[12]LST-1-class class-profile CourtListener sweep (2026-09-16): the only document-level hit class-wide was Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co. Inc., S.D.N.Y. No. 1:07-cv-04771 - a scanned Navy reunion-notice compilation where 'USS LST 579' appears inside a reunion listing, an incidental mention; no asbestos docket naming a specific LST hull was located in that sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class profile lst-1-class, evidence row ev-lst-1-class-04; search_ledger rows sl-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-13/-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A class-level CourtListener sweep documented in the LST-1-class profile found no asbestos docket naming any specific LST hull; the sole hit was an incidental (non-exposure) mention of another hull inside an exhibit. For this hull, no qualifying litigation was located in secondary web searches this session.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-09-16 (class sweep); 2026-10-03 (hull queries blocked)
- Limitations
- Class-level datum, not a hull finding - the sweep was a class-wide landscape check, and its own limitations note that hull-number sweeps were not exhaustively run. For this hull specifically, dedicated CourtListener opinion and RECAP-docket queries were attempted 2026-10-03 but blocked by shared daily-quota exhaustion - litigation coverage is a residual gap, NOT a verified negative (see search_ledger).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-11
-
[13]Batch-7402 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC DANFS (live); NARA catalog (war diaries, deck logs, engineering/inspection package, muster reels); LOC Veterans History Project; NVR; ATSDR/IDPH; OSTI; CDC/NIOSH; GAO; CourtListener (blocked - daily quota) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-01 through sl-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located in the public sources searched: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, government material schedule, or NIOSH/yard-level asbestos evaluation naming LST-859 or its Seneca builder's yard was found (see search_ledger). CourtListener searches were attempted but blocked by daily-quota exhaustion - the litigation lane is a residual gap, not a verified negative.
- 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 - era-consistent construction materials remain a reasonable inference, and the paper-only InsShipSurf/BuShips files at College Park are unreviewed leads. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lafayette-county-lst859-12