Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-49 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Header timeline, campaign table, specifications block, and Merchant Service section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's live USS LSM-49 page identifies an LSM-1-class landing ship medium laid down at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, on 14 June 1944; launched 7 July 1944; and commissioned 14 August 1944 with LT Richard Greenwood, USN, in command. It reports Asiatic-Pacific assignment with LSM Flotilla Five, LSM Group Thirteen, and LSM Division Twenty-Five; Iwo Jima assault and occupation service from 19 February through 16 March 1945; Far East occupation service from 16 September through 16 November 1945; decommissioning at Terminal Island, California, on 13 May 1946; one WWII battle star; sale on 20 February 1948; and later commercial use as MV Western Venturer. Its specification block reports a complement of 5 officers and 54 enlisted and two Fairbanks-Morse 38D81/8X10 diesels, each rated 1,440 bhp, driving twin screws at 2,800 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1970
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); U.S. Navy crew (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer archival compilation, not an official Navy registry; its history extract attributes its narrative to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (1997). It provides no asbestos, insulation, survey, or exposure documentation. The reported post-sale grounding/breakup has not been independently verified in a government record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-49-lsm49-01
-
[2]National Archives, RG 38 World War II War Diaries, COM LSM GR 13 report of operations in the invasion of Iwo Jima, NAID 139944268 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 139944268, task-organization page in digitized COM LSM GR 13 Iwo Jima report; record title dates 1945-02-19 through 1945-03-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's digitized RG 38 war-diary file for Commander LSM Group Thirteen's Iwo Jima operation identifies LSM-49 in the Group's task organization: LSM Unit Able, Task Unit 53.4.1, included LSMs 43, 44, 46, 47, 49, 92, 140, 141, 242, 261, 264, and 266. The file contains the Group report for operations from 19 February through 14 March 1945, independently placing LSM-49 in the Iwo Jima operation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-02-19 to 1945-03-14
- Population
- LSM-49 crew and embarked personnel in the Iwo Jima operation
- Limitations
- This is an operational-presence record, not a hull-material record. It does not state that LSM-49 contained asbestos, identify any material, establish individual exposure, or establish causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-49-lsm49-02
-
[3]U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy's Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (1979-10-18) [gao]
- Locator
- Report discussion of Navy policy and shipboard applications; product page was live-addressable but returned HTTP 403 to direct retrieval, and Firecrawl was quota-blocked
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO's Navy-wide asbestos program report describes thermal insulation for machinery, equipment, and piping as the major shipboard asbestos application, and discusses asbestos use in deck tile, piping gaskets and packing, electrical components, and brake and clutch linings. It reports that asbestos-free thermal-insulation specifications were adopted in 1973. LSM-49's 1944 diesel construction predates that specification change, but the report does not name LSM-49 or establish that any listed product was installed aboard her.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1973-1979 report context; LSM-49 built 1944
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and ship crews (program context)
- Limitations
- Navy-program and era evidence only; LSM-49 is not named. Direct GAO full-text verification was blocked, so this row is partial and cannot support a hull-specific finding, quantity, manufacturer attribution, present-day condition, individual exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-49-lsm49-03
-
[4]CourtListener API v4 authenticated exact-query sweep via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py [court_record]
- Locator
- Search ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-49-lsm49-08 through -11; helper output: all exact queries returned HTTP 200 authenticated; Starostenko docket 1:19-cv-09993 is the sole exact-hull docket hit and is a name collision
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener API v4 searches completed through the required helper: exact-name queries for USS LSM-49 returned zero opinions and zero dockets; the exact hull-number query LSM-49 returned zero opinions; and the exact hull-number docket query returned one result, Starostenko v. UBS AG (S.D.N.Y. No. 1:19-cv-09993), a securities action with no vessel or asbestos connection. No qualifying asbestos litigation or other vessel litigation was located in those exact searches.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- This bounded exact-query search is not proof that no claim exists and does not prove absence of asbestos or defeat any exposure claim. The one docket hit is classified down as a name collision because its parties, cause, and complaint concern UBS securities litigation, not a vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-49-lsm49-04
-
[5]Batch-6305 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NARA RG 38 NAID 139944268; NHHC/DANFS; NVR; GAO; NPS; authenticated CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-49-lsm49-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located in the bounded public review: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, construction material list, or qualifying exact-name/hull litigation was found. The live NavSource history page contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; NARA's Iwo Jima operational record has no material-condition content; the tested DANFS URL returned 404; no NVR record was located; and the exact CourtListener sweep is negative except for one unrelated name-collision docket.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- This is an access-bounded negative finding, not proof that asbestos was absent. Firecrawl reported KEYLESS_QUOTA_EXHAUSTED with a multi-hour retry interval; GAO direct retrieval returned HTTP 403; no exhaustive NARA/BuShips construction-file search or non-digitized record review was performed. It establishes neither exposure nor non-exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-49-lsm49-05
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[6]National Archives guide to federal records, Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships) and Record Group 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA federal-records guide for RG 19; RG 24 guide https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead: NARA's RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) and RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) are potential routes to LSM-49 construction specifications, machinery plans, deck logs, and muster-roll material; no box-level or hull-file retrieval was performed in this batch.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946 records (potential)
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only. No claim is made that a specific LSM-49 file or asbestos record survives in these groups, and this is not asbestos evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-49-lsm49-06