Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet crew-fj-packet.md (8 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Laws (DD-558). Hull: DD-558. Designation: DD.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-laws-dd558-pkt-crew-fj-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Laws (DD-558) - modernized NHHC entry (entry updated 2004-04-15; live page returns 404 at access time, verified via Wayback capture 2025-12-09 11:33:16 UTC; older verbatim transcription mirrored at globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/dd-558.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS entry 'Laws (DD-558)' (Wayback 2025-12-09 capture of https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/laws.html): namesake biography + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Alexander Laws (midshipman 15 May 1800; Ganges, Quasi-War; volunteer in Decatur's 16 February 1804 Intrepid expedition that burned the captured frigate Philadelphia in Tripoli harbor; resigned 13 April 1807). Laid down 19 May 1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Wash.; launched 22 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Mary A. Farwell; commissioned 18 November 1943, Cmdr. Lester O. Wood in command. WWII service: departed San Francisco 11 February 1944; Kwajalein 4 March; screened refueling group for Palau/Yap/Ulithi raids; ASW screening for tankers during Hollandia; Roi Island 8 June; Saipan strikes 15 June (splashed two planes, assisted a third, 17 June); Palau softening 29 August; Mindanao strikes 9 September; with three destroyers and two cruisers wiped out a ~40-craft Japanese convoy off Sanco Point; Ulithi 1 October; Formosa/Okinawa strikes from 6 October; Leyte invasion support 20 October; TF 38 screen through the Sibuyan Sea (24 October) and Cape Engano strikes (25 October); Leyte/Luzon carrier strikes through December; Luzon assault 6 January 1945; China coast/Formosa raids; destroyer radar-picket unit 10 February; Iwo Jima strikes 19 February; departed Ulithi 21 March for Okinawa - minesweeper and UDT support ahead of the 1 April invasion, splashed a Zeke 6 April, operated off Okinawa for the rest of the war. Departed Ulithi 7 September 1945, arrived Bremerton, Wash., 15 September; steamed to San Diego; decommissioned 10 December 1946. Recommissioned 2 November 1951 at the Long Beach (California) Naval Shipyard, Cmdr. Willard Y. Howell in command; after a year of modernization and hunter-killer training departed San Diego 13 November 1952; Yokosuka 22 December; joined TF 77; screened carriers off Korea's east coast January 1953; bombarded Nando Island 19 February; silenced two enemy shore emplacements 6 March supporting the 15th ROK Division; Korea operations until late May, then Formosa patrol; San Diego 20 July 1953. Second WestPac 3 March - 12 September 1954 (Seventh Fleet; Tachen Islands alert). Annual Far East cruises 1955-1957 (Taiwan patrol). Assigned to Reserve Escort Division 12 as a Naval Reserve training ship 1 July 1958 (cruises Mazatlan to Canada). WestPac 2 February - 17 July 1962 (ASW exercises with Korean and Nationalist Chinese navies; Laotian-crisis alert; returned San Francisco). Decommissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, 30 March 1964; assigned to Reserve Destroyer Division 271, Mare Island Group, 1 April 1964; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 15 April 1973; sold to American Ship Dismantlers, Inc., of Portland, Oregon, 3 December 1973; transferred to the buyer 28 December 1973 to be broken up for scrap. Nine battle stars for WWII service, two for Korean service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding construction trades 1942-43; wartime and reserve-era crew (design complement 273); Long Beach NSY workforce (1951 recommissioning); Mare Island NSY workforce (1964 decommissioning); American Ship Dismantlers scrapping workforce 1973-74
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and milestones, not materials or asbestos content. The modernized NHHC entry carries no specifications block - specs are carried from the older transcription (mirrored at globalsecurity.org) and NavSource. Live NHHC page returned 404 at access time; the Wayback capture of the same canonical URL (2025-12-09) was used for the modernized text. The older transcription contains digit errors corrected by the NHHC text: '19 May 1842' (1942), '13 November 1962'/'January 1963' for the Korea deployment (1952/1953), and '16th ROK Division' (NHHC reads 15th ROK). The 1951-52 'year of modernization' location is not stated beyond the Long Beach recommissioning.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laws-dd558-01
-
[3]NavSource Online, Destroyer Photo Archive - USS Laws (DD-558) page (volunteer archival compilation, not an official record); corroborated by Wikipedia infobox [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/05/558.htm - operational/building data block, specifications block, CO roster, namesake photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compilation for this hull: class Fletcher 'as built'; displacement 2,924 tons (full); dimensions 376'5" oa x 39'7" x 13'9" max; armament 5 x 5"/38, 10 x 40mm, 7 x 20mm, 10 x 21" tt (2x5); machinery 60,000 shp, General Electric geared turbines, 2 screws; speed 38 knots; crew 273; flag hoist/radio call sign NEKP, tactical voice call 'STOP GAP'. Building data: laid down Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding 19 May 1942; launched 22 April 1943; commissioned 18 November 1943; decommissioned 10 December 1946; recommissioned 2 November 1951; decommissioned 30 March 1964; stricken 15 April 1973; sold 3 December 1973 to American Ship Dismantlers Corp., Portland OR for $167,689.88, removed 28 December 1973. Commanding-officer roster compiled (Wood, Sinnott, Howell, Orser, Thorne, Kuntze, Jacobs, Robbins, Wiese, Rockford). Page hosts the DANFS namesake biography of Alexander Laws.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- Crew 1943-1964 (compiled complement 273); American Ship Dismantlers workforce 1973-74
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained compilation - consistent with DANFS on all overlapping dates; the buyer name prints 'Corp.' where NHHC reads 'Inc.', and the sale price ($167,689.88) is NavSource-only detail not carried in DANFS. Spec-level differences vs DANFS spec block (draft 13'9" max vs 13'; speed 38 kt vs 33 kt; displacement full-load vs 2,050 standard) are compilation conventions - carried in gaps. navsource.org did not respond to automated fetch; the .net mirror served the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laws-dd558-02
-
[4]DANFS spec block + Fletcher-class machinery spec (class profile: navypedia + BuShips Ships' Data 1945) + GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos program review - substitution not begun until early 1970s) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block (globalsecurity transcription); NavSource machinery block; shipyards.json (absence of 'seattle-tacoma' record verified); fletcher-class.class.json class machinery block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1942-43 at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding, Seattle, with a four-boiler steam plant (class spec: 4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 GE geared steam-turbine sets, 60,000 shp, 2 shafts - NavSource confirms GE geared turbines and 60,000 shp for this hull) would have carried the period-standard asbestos-insulated fit - boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, fireproofing, deck tile - as documented for WWII-era naval construction generally (GAO HRD-80-2: the Navy did not begin substituting alternative insulation until the early 1970s, after this hull's active service). Documented yard touchpoints that would have disturbed such material: construction at the Harbor Island yard 1942-43; recommissioning at Long Beach Naval Shipyard November 1951 plus a 'year of modernization' (location unstated); decommissioning at Mare Island Naval Shipyard March 1964; reserve berthing at Mare Island 1964-1973; dismantling at the American Ship Dismantlers Burgard Facility, Portland, 1973-74.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- Seattle-Tacoma construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-1946, 1951-1964; yard and dismantling workforces as listed
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No source documents which products were installed aboard or removed from DD-558; the builder yard is absent from the Atlas yard dataset, so no yard-level product schedule contextualizes this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laws-dd558-03
-
[5]University of Washington Libraries / MOHAI digital collections caption (Todd Shipyards Seattle Division history, 1961) + U.S. EPA Harbor Island (Lead) Superfund site profile, EPA ID 1000949; Superfund ROD for the Shipyard Sediment Operable Unit (1996-11-27) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA Superfund site profile ID 1000949; EPA ROD (1996) 'Summary of the Nature and Extent of Contamination'; UW digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu imlsmohai items 19271/19275
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard regulatory context: the Seattle yard where DD-558 was built began as the Todd Dry Docks facility on Harbor Island (opened 1918), was expanded from October 1940 under a Navy destroyer contract, operated during this hull's construction as Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., and was renamed Todd Pacific Shipyards in June 1944 (UW/MOHAI company-history caption: 'The yard ultimately completed 45 destroyers'). The site lies within the Harbor Island (Lead) Superfund site, EPA-listed in 1983; the 1996 Record of Decision for the Shipyard Sediment Operable Unit documents shipyard-derived sediment contamination - copper, lead, mercury, zinc, and tributyltin from sandblasting and ship work - at the Todd and Lockheed yards.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1996
- Population
- Shipyard workforce at the Harbor Island yard (1940s onward)
- Limitations
- Yard-site environmental documentation, not hull evidence: the ROD's enumerated contaminants are metals and organotin in sediment - it does not list asbestos and says nothing about materials aboard any vessel built there. Establishes only that the builder site is a long-documented industrial-contamination area. (Same citation chain as verified in uss-mccook-dd496, same builder yard.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laws-dd558-04
-
[6]U.S. EPA, Amendment No. 1 to Unilateral Administrative Order for Remedial Design, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. and MMGL, LLC - River Mile 3.5 East Project Area, Portland Harbor, CERCLA Docket No. 10-2020-0052 (2020-04-27); corroborating MMGL allocation summary memo (2022) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA UAO Amendment No. 1, CERCLA Docket 10-2020-0052 (semspub.epa.gov/work/10/100228787.pdf), recitals on ASD/SSI corporate history and Burgard Facility operations; MMGL allocation memo (mitigationcreditdebit.com PDF) Site 61/607 narrative
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Disposal-yard regulatory context: the 2020 EPA order documents that American Ship Dismantlers, Inc. (ASD) was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schnitzer Steel Industries until its 1985 dissolution, and that for approximately ten years between 1972 and the early 1980s SSI and ASD dismantled ships at the Burgard Facility (12005 N. Burgard Road / 9300 N. Burgard Way, Portland - east bank of the Willamette River, river miles ~3.6-4.0), 'many of the ships were surplus U.S. marine vessels purchased from the United States Maritime Administration.' This hull was sold to ASD on 3 December 1973 and transferred at Mare Island 28 December 1973 (DANFS/NavSource), placing her dismantling inside the documented Portland Harbor industrial-contamination corridor.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1972-1985
- Population
- Ship-dismantling workforce at the Burgard Facility, ~1972-early 1980s
- Limitations
- Disposal-site documentation, not hull evidence: the federal record documents the dismantling operation's location, corporate structure, and era - it does not name DD-558, does not enumerate asbestos among the site's contaminants, and does not describe the scrapping process for this hull. Whether this specific hull was broken at the Burgard Facility is consistent-but-unverified (ASD's documented Portland operation and the December 1973 sale/transfer dates align).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laws-dd558-05
-
[7]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (research guide: VA-claims context; RG 19 Bureau of Ships correspondence path; RG 24 deck logs/muster rolls) + NARA Special List 44 named-vessels index [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov asbestos research guide (RG 19 filing-path section); SL-44 named-vessels index, 'Laws (DD-558)' row (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/special-list-44-named)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official research guide maps the record path for ship-level asbestos inquiry for this hull: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) correspondence series (1940-1961) filed by hull code DD558; Fletcher-class correspondence under DD445 Class (the guide itself uses a Fletcher-class hull, USS Kidd DD-661, as its worked example); type correspondence under DD as last resort; and private-yard correspondence under QM/Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding. The guide's mapped window (1940-1961) covers this hull's construction and all but the last three years of commissioned U.S. service (the 1962-64 tail and the 1964-73 reserve/disposal period fall outside it). The SL-44 named-vessels index carries a DD-558 row: wartime deck logs held for 18 November 1943 - 30 June 1945, spanning commissioning through the end of the Pacific war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1961 (RG 19 window); 1943-1945 (SL-44 log coverage)
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- The guide maps where ship-level asbestos records would sit if they exist - it is not itself evidence of asbestos aboard this hull, and no retrieval of the underlying correspondence or logs was performed. SL-44 coverage ends 1945-06-30; Okinawa-phase and all postwar logs sit outside the indexed range (RG 24 Entry 118 unverified for this hull).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laws-dd558-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, cl-auth-search.py fleet meter) - exact-name and hull-number sweep [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results, 2026-09-27 (cl-auth-search.py)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep results for this hull (2026-09-27, authenticated API v4 via cl-auth-search.py fleet meter): '"USS Laws"' type=o count 0; '"USS Laws"' type=r count 4, all name collisions - United States v. Aircraft Piper Cheyenne (E.D. Mich. 2014, forfeiture), Bolwell v. Duramed (D. Conn. 2002), McLean v. Russian Federation (D.D.C. 2019), Citadel Builders v. National Fire & Marine (E.D. La. 2023, insurance-contract dispute); none asbestos, none maritime, none referencing a vessel. '"DD-558"' type=o count 0; '"DD-558"' type=r count 4, all collisions - Wonser v. Norman (S.D. Ohio 2024) and Saki v. Norman (N.D. Ohio 2025) hit Ohio BMV special-reserve license-plate exhibit lists ('DD' series plates), Reyna v. CBS News (D.D.C. 2023) and Trustees of 1199SEIU v. Cotto (E.D.N.Y. 2018) are OCR/noise matches; none asbestos, none maritime. '"USS Laws" asbestos' type=r count 1 - Citadel Builders v. National Fire & Marine (E.D. La. 2023), the same insurance-contract docket ('asbestos' appears in a policy exhibit; no vessel context). '"Laws" asbestos' type=o count 7,051 - unscreenable as a ship signal: the statutory-word referent ('laws') saturates asbestos opinions generally; the exact-name and hull-number sweeps above are the qualifying checks and both are clean. NO QUALIFYING ASBESTOS OPINION OR DOCKET names USS Laws / DD-558 in CourtListener's index.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage is opinions + RECAP docket index only; a state-court or non-digitized federal case naming the vessel could exist beyond the index. A bare-surname 'Laws' vessel reference without 'USS'/'DD-558' phrasing cannot be excluded absolutely - but with the exact-name, hull-number, and conjunction sweeps all returning collisions or zero, any such reference would be an outlier. Sweep completed under intermittent fleet-pacing constraints (helper exit-2 blocks between successful queries; sparse retry driver used).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laws-dd558-07
-
[9]Batch-3529 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS modernized entry (Wayback-verified); globalsecurity verbatim transcription; NavSource secondary compilation; NARA asbestos research guide + SL-44 named-vessels index; Atlas shipyard dataset; Fletcher-class profile; EPA Harbor Island and Portland Harbor records; CourtListener sweep; web-level litigation/material check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-laws-dd558-01 through sl-uss-laws-dd558-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No materials-level ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-558: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no hazmat disclosure, no museum record (the hull was scrapped in 1974 - no preservation phase exists), and no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in the sources searched (see search_ledger). Marketing ship pages asserting generic asbestos presence aboard DD-558 exist (law-firm and referral-site pages incl. shepardlawfirm.com, mesotheliomasymptoms.com, mesolawcenter.com, mesotheliomahelp.org) but are excluded as non-authoritative. The Fletcher-class profile carries the parallel class-level finding: no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for any Fletcher hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level and the construction-era window is squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use period (GAO HRD-80-2). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laws-dd558-08