Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet ko-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LeRay Wilson · Hull: DE-414 · Designation: destroyer escort · Class: John C. Butler
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-leray-wilson-de414-pkt-ko-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LeRay Wilson (DE-414) (namesake biography, builder, dates, Pacific service narrative, striking and sale; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/leray-wilson.html serves 404 to automated fetch; Wayback capture 2025-12-09 confirms identical NHHC text) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + namesake biography + service narrative (ibiblio HyperWar transcription; Wayback capture of NHHC page 20251209094601)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Metalsmith 2d Class LeRay Wilson (born Cove, Oreg., 4 Feb 1920; enlisted 8 Feb 1939; assigned to William B. Preston AVD-7 14 Jun 1940; killed closing doors/hatches below decks during the Japanese air attack at Darwin, Australia, 19 Feb 1942, confining flooding to two compartments; posthumous Silver Star). DE-414 laid down 20 December 1943 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; launched 28 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Julia Wilson, the namesake's mother; commissioned 10 May 1944, Lt. Comdr. M. V. Carson in command; shakedown off Bermuda; departed Boston 15 July 1944 via San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok to Manus; escorted 'Taffy 2' escort carriers to Leyte, arriving 18 October, screening them 12 days; second Leyte convoy-cover run 20-28 November; on antisubmarine patrol at the western entrance to Lingayen Gulf 10 January 1945 a kamikaze's starboard wing crashed her port side as it splashed, killing six gunners, seriously wounding seven, causing extensive damage - remained on patrol until relieved, then steamed to Manus; repaired port side February-March 1945; escorted two Saipan-Okinawa supply convoys April; screening off Okinawa from 1 May; runs on a suicide midget submarine 26 May; splashed a suicide plane 28 May; departed Okinawa 16 June; escorted logistic ships to Third Fleet rendezvous in the East China Sea; Tokyo Bay for the surrender and occupation duty; China coast until sailing 26 December, arriving San Francisco 16 January 1946; Pacific Reserve Fleet; decommissioned 15 January 1947; recommissioned 28 March 1951; 2.5 years of west coast-Pearl Harbor training/patrol; departed Pearl Harbor 27 August 1954 for the first of four WestPac cruises; decommissioned at San Diego 30 January 1959, reentered Pacific Reserve Fleet; 'at present she is berthed at Mare Island, Calif.'; struck from the Navy list 15 May 1972 and sold 14 September 1973. Four battle stars for World War II service. Spec block: 1,350 t, 306 ft, 36 ft 8 in, 9 ft 5 in, 24 kt, complement 186, class John C. Butler.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; wartime and Korean-era crews (DANFS complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The repair location for the February-March 1945 port-side work is not stated. 'Berthed at Mare Island' reflects the entry's writing date; NavSource instead records San Diego Group custody at 1959 decommissioning - both carried. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 to automated fetch (Wayback 2025-12-09 capture confirms identical text).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leray-wilson-de414-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS LeRay Wilson (DE-414) page (building/operational data, awards ribbons, namesake biography, specifications); hosts link to the ship-submitted official WWII war history scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/414.htm - Building and Operational Data block; awards ribbon block; specifications block; war-history link (images/414/06414wh.jpg)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource building/operational data for this hull: keel laid 20 December 1943 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston; launched and christened 28 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Julia Wilson; commissioned 10 May 1944 at the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company dock, Houston, Lcdr. M. V. Carson, USNR, in command; decommissioned at San Francisco 15 January 1947 after 2 years and 8 months of service; '1947: Received major ASW upgrade'; recommissioned 28 March 1951; decommissioned at the U.S. Naval Station, San Diego, 30 January 1959 after 7 years and 10 months of service, custody transferred to CO, San Diego Group, U.S. Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from the NVR 15 May 1972 with a total of 10 years and 6 months of service; sold for scrapping 14 September 1973. Awards listed: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive); China Service Medal; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 2 stars; WWII Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Philippine Liberation Medal. Specifications listed: WGT type, 1,350 t light / 1,745 t full, 306 ft oa, 2 'D' express boilers, 2 geared turbines, 12,000 shp, 24 kt, complement 14 officers / 201 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Crew 1944-47 and 1951-59 (10 yr 6 mo total commissioned service per NavSource)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive, not an official record - its commissioning-site, upgrade, and disposal details are the most detailed public source but are secondary provenance; the unsourced '1947 major ASW upgrade' entry is carried in gaps. The hosted ship-submitted war history is a scan whose original is in NARA custody - a lead, contents not reviewed. Contains no asbestos, materials, or hazmat content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leray-wilson-de414-02
-
[4]NARA catalog record 139881056 - 'USS LERAY WILSON - Rep of ops in the amphibious assault on Lingayen Gulf, Luzon Is, Philippines, 1/9-10/45, including AA act on 1/8/45, & enemy suicide crash dive on 1/10/45', dated 1945-01-20, Micro Serial 107833 / Serial 032, in 'Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories', National Archives at College Park (indexed via DPLA) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/139881056 (NARA College Park, RG 'Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations', WWII War Diaries/Operational Records series; DPLA item 1e2875b36f0fd0248a1ae7f0d169e5bc)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A cataloged NARA holding exists for this hull: the ship's own report of operations for the Lingayen Gulf assault of 9-10 January 1945, including the 10 January enemy suicide crash documented in DANFS (six gunners killed, seven wounded, extensive port-side damage). The catalog entry is verified; the document itself was not retrieved - it is the most likely public source for damage-and-repair detail on the port-side work of February-March 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-01 (report); 2026 (catalog status)
- Population
- Crew aboard during the 10 January 1945 kamikaze strike (6 KIA, 7 WIA per DANFS) and repair-period personnel
- Limitations
- Catalog-level verification only - the action report's contents were not reviewed and it is not digitized in the catalog. It documents combat damage and operations; whether it records repair location, materials disturbed, or any material detail is unknown until pulled. Not an asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leray-wilson-de414-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group-6 (WGT) row (shipscribe.com scan) + navypedia WGT boiler-block map (Combustion Engineering boilers for DE-402-424) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group-6 row; navypedia us_de_tev_wgt boiler-block map
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: DE-414 is a WGT-design (design group 6) John C. Butler-class escort - 2 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750F (Combustion Engineering for the DE-402-424 Brown Shipbuilding block per the navypedia block map) feeding 2 Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 12,000 shp, twin screws, 24.3 kt. A 1943-44 steam escort of this design would have carried era-standard asbestos applications concentrated in the machinery plant: boiler and turbine insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets and packing, plus fireproofing, accommodation insulation, deck coverings, and friction linings on deck machinery.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1959
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-59
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The boiler-block map is a secondary compilation unverified against contract documents; no ship-specific material schedule was located. Establishes nothing about quantities, condition, or any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leray-wilson-de414-04
-
[6]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine (June 2025, Vol. 39 No. 3), 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- usni.org Naval History June 2025 feature article
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder context for this hull's construction yard: Brown Shipbuilding was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown & Root after the Navy asked them to build four submarine chasers; the yard sat on Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel, launched vessels in sideways slips, grew into the second-largest Houston-area employer of WWII, and went on to build destroyer escorts and landing craft. The article is a documented history of the yard that built DE-414 in 1943-44.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce 1941-1945
- Limitations
- Yard-level context only - says nothing about DE-414's materials or asbestos content. USNI Naval History is a reputable professional publication, not a primary record; full text was 403-blocked to automated fetch, content reviewed via search-result excerpt. No yard asbestos finding is asserted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leray-wilson-de414-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep (opinion index type=o; RECAP dockets type=r) for exact name 'USS LeRay Wilson' / 'LeRay Wilson' / 'Le Ray Wilson' and hull number 'DE-414' via cl-auth-search.py (authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-leray-wilson-de414-05 through -09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep complete: '"LeRay Wilson"' opinions = 0 results; '"Le Ray Wilson"' opinions = 0 results; '"LeRay Wilson"' RECAP dockets = 1 hit, a name collision - James Leray Wilson, Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor, Bankr. S.D. Cal. No. 03-10964 (filed 2003-12-09, terminated 2004-03-15), no vessel or asbestos content; '"DE-414"' opinions = 11 hits, all identifier collisions on review (docket-entry numerals 'DE 414' in Neumont v. Monroe County, Doe 1 v. United States, In re Tousa, Healthpoint v. Ethex; reporter page stars in Tosh v. Lockhart and Albanese D'ImperIo; '414 cuerdas' acreage in Matos and Ramirez; unrelated commercial strings in Wright-Ryan and Grades v. Boles) - none vessel- or asbestos-related; '"DE-414"' RECAP dockets = 144 hits (193 documents), all docket-entry/document-number collisions in unrelated criminal, bankruptcy, and civil dockets (e.g., 'Motion to Continue [DE 414]' in Carroll v. TheStreet.com; Camp Lejeune Water Litigation document entries) - none vessel- or asbestos-related. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep covers the CourtListener opinion index and RECAP dockets only - not state-court records, asbestos-trust claims, VA adjudications, or non-U.S. jurisdictions. 'LeRay Wilson' collides with person names (a 2003 California bankruptcy debtor); 'DE-414' collides with docket-entry ('DE') and reporter-page numerals - any future hit needs collision classification rather than automatic attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leray-wilson-de414-06
-
[8]Batch-4315 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + Wayback/HyperWar mirrors, Naval Vessel Register, NavSource, NARA catalog (DPLA index), BuShips Ships' Data 1945 (shipscribe scan), Atlas shipyard and class-profile datasets, CourtListener API v4, Library of Congress Veterans History Project, USNI Naval History [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-leray-wilson-de414-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material-condition report, or litigation naming this hull was found in the public sources searched. No preservation-era documentation can exist - the hull was sold for scrapping 14 September 1973 and was never a museum, memorial, or NDRF asset. The 10 January 1945 kamikaze strike's 'extensive' port-side damage and February-March 1945 repair are documented as events; any materials disturbed or replaced are undocumented. The 1951 recommissioning-era availability and any yard periods during 1951-59 are undocumented at shipyard level.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the hull no longer exists in recoverable form, so no present-day survey is possible, and whether era materials aboard contained asbestos is undocumented in either direction. Construction-era yard records, deck logs, the ship-submitted war history, and the cataloged NARA action report are paper leads only (ev-03, ev-08).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leray-wilson-de414-07
-
[9]NARA cataloged action report (ID 139881056) and RG 24 deck logs for DE-414 (a veteran's published 1957-cruise account states he obtained the 1957 deck logs from the National Archives in 2003); ship-submitted official WWII war history scan hosted by NavSource; NARA RG 19 BuShips contract specifications/General Information Books for the Brown Shipbuilding construction; Library of Congress Veterans History Project AFC/2001/001/39471 (Y3c Keith Garbee DeWitt, USS Lawrence C. Taylor DE-415 and USS LeRay Wilson DE-414, 1944-1946); INSURV/disposal records for the 1972 striking and 1973 sale; Brown Shipbuilding/Brown & Root Houston yard records - partially cataloged, contents unretrieved [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/139881056; friendsoftobi.org 1957-cruise PDF (deck-log provenance note); navsource.net/archives/06/414.htm war-history link; loc.gov/item/afc2001001.39471/
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material documentation not yet retrieved: (1) NARA action report for the 9-10 January 1945 Lingayen operations incl. the suicide crash (catalog.archives.gov ID 139881056, dated 20 January 1945, Micro Serial 107833) - cataloged, not digitized; (2) NARA RG 24 deck logs - a crew member's published 1957 WestPac cruise account records that he obtained copies of the 1957 cruise deck logs from the National Archives in November 2003, confirming the series exists for this hull; (3) the ship-submitted official war history ('the official War History of USS LeRay Wilson as submitted by the ship at war's end' per the NavSource page) hosted as an image scan; (4) LOC Veterans History Project collection AFC/2001/001/39471 - oral history of Yeoman Third Class Keith Garbee DeWitt, service units USS Lawrence C. Taylor (DE-415) and USS LeRay Wilson (DE-414), dates of service 1944-1946; (5) INSURV/disposal file for the 15 May 1972 striking and 14 September 1973 sale; (6) Brown Shipbuilding/Brown & Root Houston yard records for the 1943-44 construction period.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1973 (records); 2026 (lead status)
- Limitations
- Leads only - the NARA action report is cataloged but unretrieved; the deck-log existence is attested by a veteran's published account, not by a catalog query; the NavSource-hosted war history is a facsimile whose original is in NARA custody; the LOC collection is an oral-history holding, not a materials record. They establish nothing about materials aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leray-wilson-de414-08
-
[10]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - pretrial materials naming John C. Butler-class sister USS Brannon (DE-446), with exhibit list citing the Navy insulation-spec suite (BuShips Manual ch. 39 Thermal Insulation NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) 1945; Navy Dept spec 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos' Oct 1945; BuEng ch.13 1933/39; BUMED 1977 memo) [court_record]
- Locator
- W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537 pretrial/exhibit materials per Atlas john-c-butler-class profile (ev-john-c-butler-class-03)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Class-level litigation context: pretrial materials in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec name John C. Butler-class sister USS Brannon (DE-446) and recite that 'Griscom-Russell supplied the Navy with the evaporator on Mr. Jack's ship in conformity to detailed precise specifications... without insulation. The Navy did not consult it about the type of insulation it planned to use,' with proposed testimony that 'asbestos was a critical material during WWII when the Navy installed the distiller on Mr. Jack's ship' while 'on the USS BRANNON this could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' The docket's expert/exhibit materials cite the period Navy insulation-spec suite - the documentary channel in which a hull-level material specification for this class would most likely surface.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2017 (litigation); wartime exposure window
- Population
- John C. Butler-class crews (class context); DE-446 veteran plaintiff
- Limitations
- Class/era context only - DE-446's litigation and materials are not DE-414's, and the Jack materials are pleading/exhibit-list stage, unadjudicated. No qualifying case names DE-414. The cited Navy spec suite was identified but not retrieved - see class-profile search ledger sl-john-c-butler-class-07.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leray-wilson-de414-09