USS LSM-389

Evidence

8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).

1. [1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-389 page (10/14/14389) - construction/service timeline, specification block, commanding-officer list, and photographic record; history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/14/14389.htm - full page (timeline, spec block, CO table, photo captions); page last updated 11 June 2021

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Documented for this hull: laid down 13 November 1944 at U.S. Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.; launched 12 December 1944; commissioned USS LSM-389 on 31 January 1945, LT. Frank Grace, USNR, in command; WWII assignment Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla Eleven / LSM Group Thirty-Two / LSM Division Sixty-Four; Navy Occupation Service 21 September - 30 October 1945 and 14 September 1945 - 12 April 1946 with China Service Medal (extended) for the latter period; decommissioned 20 June 1946 at Green Cove Springs, FL; Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group; struck from Naval Register (date unknown); sold December 1958 to Fleet Storage Co., New York, N.Y.; fate unknown. COs: LT. Frank Grace USNR (31 Jan 1945 - Oct 1945); LTjg. Robert B. Hicks USNR (Oct 1945 - 20 Jun 1946). Photographs: fitting-out piers at U.S. Navy Yard Charleston, photo no. 132-46 dated 10 January 1945; underway in the Panama Canal circa 1945 (taken from USS LSM-301). Specs: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full; 203'6" oa; 34'6" beam; 13.2 kt max; complement 5 officers / 54 enlisted; troops 2 officers / 46 enlisted; armament 1 twin 40mm bow + 4 single 20mm; capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs; endurance 4,900 mi @ 12 kt.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1958

   Population

   Ship's company 59 (5 officers, 54 enlisted) plus embarked troops up to 48

   Limitations

   NavSource is a reputable secondary compilation, not a primary record; its history extract credits Turner Publishing's LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (1997). No DANFS entry exists for this hull. Timeline is mutually consistent with the NARA RG 181 finding aid and the Charleston yard production table. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-389-01

2. [2]Shipbuildinghistory.com, Charleston Naval Shipyard production table (yard established 1901, closed 1996; 121 LSM rows in the table) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Charleston Naval Shipyard production table, LSM block, row 'LSM | 389'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Charleston Naval Shipyard construction table carries this hull: 'LSM 389 - Landing Ship - 520 [tons] - delivered 31-Jan-45 - Sold to Fleet Storage 1958.' Corroborates the NavSource commissioning date (delivery and commissioning coincided, 31 January 1945) and the 1958 sale to Fleet Storage Co.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1945; 1958

   Population

   Charleston Navy Yard construction workforce (1944-45)

   Limitations

   Secondary reference compilation (shipbuildinghistory.com); corroborates delivery and disposal dates but is not itself a primary record. 'Delivered' and 'commissioned' coincide on 31 January 1945 for this yard-built hull. No asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-389-02

3. [3]National Archives at Atlanta, RG 181 'Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, Ship Commissioning Files - Sixth Naval District at Charleston, South Carolina,' National Archives Identifier 2694599 (Ship Commissioning Files, 1942-1945) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Finding aid table, Box 8 row 'Landing Ship, Medium | LSM-389 | 12/12/1944'; NARA Atlanta, NAID 2694599

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The NARA finding aid lists a commissioning file for this hull: Box 8, 'Landing Ship, Medium | LSM-389 | (no ship name) | 12/12/1944.' The series consists of correspondence, invitations, and instructions relating to the commissioning of naval vessels at the Charleston Navy Yard during 1939-1945 - a hull-specific file exists in physical holdings at NARA Atlanta.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1945 (file); finding aid accessed 2026-10-01

   Limitations

   Finding aid documents the file's existence and box position only; contents are undigitized and unexamined. The 12/12/1944 entry date matches the launch date, consistent with a file opened at launch toward the 31 January 1945 commissioning. No asbestos content expected or established - commissioning files are administrative correspondence.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-389-03

4. [4]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block for this hull (2x GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, 2 shafts, 2,800 shp; diesel-driven ship's service generators - no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-wide asbestos-insulation documentation (see ev-uss-lsm-389-05); Charleston Naval Shipyard documented asbestos product use (see ev-uss-lsm-389-06, ev-uss-lsm-389-07) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/14/14389.htm specification block; shipyards.json product list for charleston-naval-shipyard; GAO HRD-80-2

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   A diesel-only landing ship built November 1944 - January 1945 at Charleston Navy Yard sits inside both the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era and a documented-asbestos building yard. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel direct-drive amphibious hull of this period were thermal insulation, machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve and pump packing, and electrical insulation in living and machinery spaces. As a diesel-only vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the confined-space exposure dynamic of a small amphibious hull applies instead.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1958

   Population

   Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944-45); ship's company and embarked troops (1945-46); Green Cove Springs reserve-fleet workers (1946-58); Fleet Storage Co. handlers/scrappers (1958+)

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-389. 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-lsm-389-04

5. [5]U.S. GAO, HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO HRD-80-2 report product page and attached PDF (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively in shipbuilding and repair and that Navy ships carried several types of asbestos-containing materials installed, including thermal insulation for machinery and equipment. This hull was built during that documented asbestos era (1944-45) at a Navy yard.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   report published 1979; covers Navy practice through the asbestos era

   Population

   Navy shipbuilding/repair workers program-wide (report era)

   Limitations

   Program-level finding - names no individual hull; fieldwork covered later-era yards and 1970s construction/overhaul, not 1944-45 Charleston construction. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches this session; product-page and asset content verified via search extraction - direct pull remains an access gap. Does not establish asbestos aboard this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-389-05

6. [6]Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., No. 14-2416 (4th Cir., unpublished, affirmed 30 March 2016) - official court-site opinion PDF [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion Part I (facts): Pace employment 1972-95, Shop 31/38, pumps/valves, gaskets/insulation/packing; disposition affirmed

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Yard-level litigation record: William L. Pace worked at Charleston Naval Shipyard 1972-1995 (apprentice machinist in Shop 31, then marine machinist on pumps and valves, Shop 38 exposure also alleged). The opinion records that 'in the shipyard, both asbestos-containing and non-asbestos-containing gaskets, insulation, and packing materials were used with the pumps and valves,' and that Pace attested he 'regularly worked with or in the vicinity of asbestos containing products' whose cutting and handling 'produced a visible dust.' The Fourth Circuit AFFIRMED summary judgment for all defendants - plaintiff failed the product-identification burden under South Carolina law.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1972-1995 (exposure allegations); 2016 (opinion)

   Population

   Charleston Naval Shipyard machinists and shop trades (1972-1995 record period)

   Limitations

   Yard-level record, not a hull record - Pace's documented employment (1972-1995) postdates this hull's construction (1944-45) and entire service life (to 1946). Disposition is an affirmed defense summary judgment on product identification - a merits-level negative for that plaintiff; the yard's asbestos-product use appears as record fact, not as a trial finding of exposure. Does not name LSM-389 and establishes nothing about 1944-45 construction practices aboard this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-389-06

7. [7]Post and Courier (Charleston, SC), 'Charleston asbestos-related deaths are higher than state, national average,' Gavin Jackson, 25 March 2016 [reputable_press]

   Locator

   Article body: mortality figures (8.8/100k, ~29/yr; 1999-2013 SC deaths ~500 mesothelioma); yard practice description

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   Reputable-press documentation that the builder's yard is a documented asbestos site: Charleston County's annual asbestos-related mortality rate was reported at double the state's rate and above national numbers (8.8 deaths per 100,000 residents, averaging ~29 deaths/year), with the Charleston Naval Shipyard identified as a primary reason. The article states workers 'installed and removed hazardous asbestos insulation... from vessels without proper precautions through the 1980s' at the yard, which built and repaired ships and later submarines for 95 years.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   mortality data 1999-2013; yard practice characterized through the 1980s

   Population

   Charleston Naval Shipyard workforce and Charleston County residents (mortality statistics)

   Limitations

   Yard-level journalism summarizing EWG/CDC mortality analysis and attorney commentary - not a ship record. Names no hull. The characterized practice window ('through the 1980s') reflects the yard's repair-era exposures; it does not specifically document 1944-45 construction practice, though it corroborates the yard as an asbestos-work site across eras.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-389-07

8. [8]Batch-6205 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NARA RG 181 NAID 2694599 finding aid; shipbuildinghistory.com Charleston production table; NHHC/DANFS; Naval Vessel Register; CourtListener API v4 (opinions + dockets, two query forms); Post and Courier; Fourth Circuit opinion 14-2416.U; GAO HRD-80-2; College of Charleston ArchivesSpace (blocked); general web sweep [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-389-01 through sl-uss-lsm-389-12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, crew exposure account, or litigation naming USS LSM-389 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero opinions and zero dockets for 'LSM-389' and zero opinions for 'LSM 389' (authenticated API, 2026-10-01). No DANFS entry exists for this hull; the Naval Vessel Register carries no record (NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals per its own notice). The only asbestos-adjacent material is yard-level documentation for her builder (see ev-05 through ev-07) and era-level inference (ev-04).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   2026-10-01

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built Navy hull of this type sits inside the documented asbestos era. NARA's commissioning file (ev-03) and RG 24 deck logs are unexamined physical holdings; Fleet Storage Co. disposal records are unlocated. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-389-08