Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 594-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-74-lsm74-pkt-594-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-74 (history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9; specifications; commanding officers; photo captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14074.htm header block, awards block, campaign/occupation tables, specifications block, photo captions, commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium; laid down 29 July 1944 at Brown Ship Building Co., Houston, TX; launched 22 August 1944; commissioned USS LSM-74 on 20 September 1944, LTjg. Silas M. Prewitt USNR in command; international radio call sign NVFQ. Asiatic-Pacific assignment per the Turner extract: LSM Flotilla Nine (CDR. D. L. Francis USN), LSM Group Twenty-Six (LCDR. L. Brouwer USN), LSM Division Fifty-One. Campaign: Iwo Jima operation - assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 21 February 1945; earned one battle star for World War II service. Individual awards: Purple Hearts (2-KIA, unknown number wounded, 19 February 1945, Iwo Jima). Post-war: Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) 5-12 and 24-26 September 1945; China Service Medal (extended) 29 September-15 December 1945. Decommissioned 10 April 1946 at New Orleans, LA; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; transferred to the Maritime Commission (date unknown) at Lake Charles, LA for disposal (PDX-225, 27 September 1946); sold 8 October 1947 to Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN; final disposition, fate unknown. Commanding officers: LTjg. Silas M. Prewitt USNR (20 September 1944 - June 1945); LTjg. Ellis Broughton Jr. USN (June 1945 - 10 April 1946). Specifications: displacement 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. full; length 203'6"; beam 34'6"; speed 13.2 kts; endurance 4,900 miles @ 12 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount + four single 20mm; capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs; propulsion two Fairbanks Morse model 38D81/8X10 diesels 1,440 BHP each @ 720 rpm, twin propellers 2,800 shp; ship's service two 100-kW 450V AC and one 20-kW 120V DC diesel-drive generators. Photo captions document: Task Unit 53.4.2 LSMs including LSM-74 and LSM-323 en route to the assembly area off Iwo Jima D-Day 19 February 1945 (US Navy photo COMBPHIBGTP 2, taken from USS Auburn AGC-10); LSM-74, LSM-60 and LSM-238 heading toward the beachhead; LSM-74 on the beach with smoke from enemy artillery hits, off-loading tanks (USMC photo, Sgt. Bob Cooke, NARA Identifier 32607029); and LSM-74 in LST Area Baker assessing damage, making temporary repairs and caring for wounded while awaiting tow by USS Yuma (ATF-94), with the bodies of Willard O. Hicks, S2/c, and Pascual R. Rois, S2/c, transferred off the ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); ship's company 1944-46 (5 officers/54 enlisted plus embarked troops); embarked Army/Marine vehicle crews in the assault phase
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary compilation carrying a Turner Publishing history extract - not itself a Navy registry document, though milestones are corroborated by the official NHHC 1 May 1945 fleet organization record (ev-02), NARA catalog metadata (ev-04, ev-05), and uboat.net (ev-10). Contains no asbestos or material-content information. The wartime flotilla assignment shown (Flotilla Nine/Group 26/Division 51) is an earlier-era listing - the 1 May 1945 official organization places the hull in Flotilla Five/Group 15/Division 30; the NavSource commanding-officer table (Prewitt to June 1945) also differs from the organization document's listed officer - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 (live official document) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Live NHHC reading-room document, LSM Flotilla Five > LSM Group 15 > LSM Division 30 table (approx. p. 68-69 of the compiled document)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization record lists this hull as 'LSM 74 (1)' under LSM Flotilla FIVE, LSM Group 15, LSM Division 30, with Lt. S. M. Grewitot (USNR) as the listed officer. Division 30 also listed LSM 49, LSM 70, LSM 166, LSM 167, and LSM 323 - consistent with the NavSource photo caption placing LSM-74 and LSM-323 in the same Iwo Jima task unit. The hull appears exactly once in the document.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Ship's company and Pacific Fleet amphibious personnel, 1 May 1945
- Limitations
- Official primary organization record for 1 May 1945 only - it reflects the post-Iwo Jima assignment and does not establish the unit assignment during the February 1945 Iwo Jima operation (NavSource's Flotilla Nine/Group 26/Division 51 listing is the wartime extract; the hull was likely reassigned between February and May 1945 - see gaps). The listed officer 'Lt. S. M. Grewitot' conflicts with NavSource's CO table (Prewitt through June 1945) - unresolved, carried in gaps. The '(1)' annotation's legend is not defined in the published document. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-02
-
[4]Shipbuilding History (T. Colton compilation), 'Brown Shipbuilding, Houston TX' yard history and hull-by-hull production table [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Brown yard page: yard-history narrative; hull table row 179
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard record for this hull: Brown Shipbuilding yard hull no. 179 = LSM 74, laid down 29-Jul-44, launched 22-Aug-44, delivered 20-Sep-44, disposition 'Sold to JeffBoat 1948, converted to barge.' Yard context: Brown Shipbuilding was built in 1941 by George and Herman Brown at the junction of Green's Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel with $9mm from the Navy; it produced 12 PCs, 32 LCI(L)s, 61 DEs and 254 LSMs - 359 vessels in four years. The yard was leased to Todd Shipyards Corporation in 1949, operated as Todd's Houston Division until 1984, returned to Brown (then Brown & Root) as an offshore fabrication yard, and was sold piecemeal to multiple buyers in 2004.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction workforce (1941-45)
- Limitations
- Published compilation of builder production records, not a primary contract document; construction dates corroborate NavSource exactly. Its 'Sold to JeffBoat 1948' differs by a year from the 8 October 1947 sale carried by NavSource and uboat.net - carried as a date conflict (see ev-10, gaps). It adds the otherwise-undocumented detail that the hull was converted to a barge. Yard history documents a high-volume wartime emergency yard building this class at peak tempo - it does not document materials, insulation practice, or any asbestos handling at the yard. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-03
-
[5]National Archives catalog, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (RG 353-series parent): 'LSM 74' file unit in 'World War II Casualty Reports' (NAID 124042361, series 651298); 'USS LSM-74' file unit in 'Casualty Information Reports' (NAID 472241363, series 803937); Index of Purple Heart Award Recipients file units matching this hull (NAIDs 491919263 '[Enlisted, Killed in Action] Hicks, Willard THRU Huntley, William'; 491929984 '[Enlisted, Killed in Action] Pruett, Russell THRU Roach, Clarence'; 491898531 '[Enlisted, Wounded in Action] Riva, Elmer THRU Sarkany, Frank', series 6424319) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 124042361 (WWII Casualty Reports, series 651298); NAID 472241363 (Casualty Information Reports, series 803937); NAIDs 491919263, 491929984, 491898531 (Purple Heart index, series 6424319)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds personnel-casualty records for this hull: a 'World War II Casualty Reports' file unit titled 'LSM 74' and a 'Casualty Information Reports' file unit titled 'USS LSM-74', both in Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Index of Purple Heart Award Recipients file units whose surname ranges cover the documented dead (Willard O. Hicks, S2/c; Pascual R. Rois, S2/c - both per NavSource captions) and the wounded category also match on this hull's name in the catalog's full-text index. These catalog records corroborate that the ship sustained personnel casualties at Iwo Jima and that contemporaneous casualty paperwork exists at NARA.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- Ship's company at Iwo Jima, 19-21 February 1945; next-of-kin correspondents
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live via the NARA catalog v3 search API on 2026-10-02; file-unit contents were not opened - titles, series placement, and index matches verified only. Casualty and Purple Heart records document personnel losses, not ship materials; no asbestos claim is made from them. Which index card specifically names LSM-74 within each surname-range file unit was not determined.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-04
-
[6]National Archives catalog: NAID 32607029 'Photograph of a Landing Ship Moving Away from the Beach at Iwo Jima' (RG: Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations > World War II Navy Command Files > U.S. Marine Corps Iwo Jima Operation, Volume 1); NAID 139933729 'COMTASK-GROUP 53.4 - Rep of ops in the invasion of Iwo Jima, Bonin Is, 2/19/45 - 3/3/45' (WWII War Diaries series NAID 4697018) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 32607029 (WWII Navy Command Files, USMC Iwo Jima Operation Vol. 1); NAID 139933729 (RG-CNO WWII War Diaries series NAID 4697018)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holdings bearing on this hull's Iwo Jima action: NAID 32607029 is the USMC photograph (Sgt. Bob Cooke) that NavSource captions as 'USS LSM-74 on the beach at Iwo Jima, 19 February 1945' under enemy artillery fire (NARA's own title is generic - the hull identification comes from the NavSource/association caption). NAID 139933729, Commander Task Group 53.4's report of operations in the invasion of Iwo Jima (19 February-3 March 1945), matches 'LSM-74' in the catalog's full-text index - consistent with the NavSource photo caption placing LSM-74 in Task Unit 53.4.2 - and likely contains the parent formation's account of the action in which this hull was damaged.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops at Iwo Jima; TG 53.4 staff
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified via the NARA v3 search API 2026-10-02; the photograph's catalog title does not name LSM-74 (attribution is NavSource's caption) and the TG 53.4 report file was not opened - the 'LSM-74' match is an index-level hit, contents unexamined. Neither record is an asbestos source. No ship-authored war diary for LSM-74 surfaced in the war-diaries series (other ships' and commands' documents mention her; her own installments were not located).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-05
-
[7]LSM Class Manual, 1 March 1944, Serial No. 1766 (issued to USS LSM-294), scanned page-image PDFs hosted on NavSource - U.S. Navy ship's organization and technical manual for the LSM-1 class [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LSM index 'LSM Class Manual' link; OCR of lsm02-30.pdf (ch. 30, 4 pp.), lsm02-31.pdf (ch. 31, 5 pp.), lsm02-31-9.pdf (boiler detail, 1 p.) this session
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class documentation establishes the machinery fit relevant to era-standard asbestos applications: Chapter 30 confirms the Fairbanks Morse 38D8-1/8 opposed-piston diesel as fitted to 'Nos. 1-125, Nos. 126-141, Nos. 201-230, Nos. 253-269' (covering LSM-74) with a muffler for each engine; Chapter 31 documents refrigerating plants and an auxiliary oil-fired fire-tube steam boiler designed to supply 1,500 pounds of steam per hour at 55 psi (distilling-plant service); piping, pumps, and tanks are documented elsewhere in the manual. Aboard a 1944-built naval vessel, the asbestos-relevant loci on this machinery fit are thermal insulation/lagging on the auxiliary boiler and its steam piping, muffler/exhaust lagging, gaskets at flanged joints, valve and pump packing, and electrical insulation - applied in a small, confined hull. This is era inference: the manual lists equipment, not insulation materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- LSM-1-class construction and operating crews (1944-45 era)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - the manual is the class's operational/organizational document issued to a sister ship (LSM-294), not a construction or material specification, and it does not name this hull. This session's OCR review of the machinery chapters (ch. 30 'Main Propelling Machinery' 4 pp., ch. 31 'Auxiliary Machinery' 5 pp., ch. 31-9 boiler page 1 p. - 10 pages total) found no explicit 'asbestos,' 'insulation,' 'lagging,' 'magnesia,' 'gasket,' 'packing,' or 'felt' references - a scoped negative within these chapters, not proof that such materials were absent aboard; a prior-batch OCR pass over ~51 pages including piping, ventilation, and spare-parts chapters reported the same. Does not establish installed materials, quantity, or exposure for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-06
-
[8]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, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1944) and service era (1944-47).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; Navy asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py, 2026-10-02: type=o "LSM-74" (0 hits); type=o "USS LSM-74" (0 hits); type=r "LSM-74" (0 hits); type=o "LSM-74" asbestos OR mesothelioma (pacing-blocked at run time - see limitations) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-04; CourtListener API v4 (type=o and type=r)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS LSM-74 was located in CourtListener. The exact hull-number query returned zero opinion hits and zero RECAP docket hits, and the exact-name 'USS LSM-74' opinion query returned zero hits - a clean negative for the indexed corpus, with no name collisions to screen.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Negative result bounded by index coverage: CourtListener indexes opinions and RECAP dockets; unindexed filings, state-court complaints, VA claims, and settled pleading-stage matters may contain ship references never captured. The asbestos-qualified opinion variant was pacing-blocked when attempted (fleet budget momentarily spent) and could not be completed - a minor residual gap, since the parent term 'LSM-74' already returned zero opinions. Zero-hit searches are a search negative, not proof of no litigation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-08
-
[10]Batch-6366 search ledger (this record): NavSource amphibious archive; live NHHC Pacific Fleet organization document; NARA catalog v3 API (casualty reports, casualty information reports, Purple Heart index, CNO command files, war-diaries series, muster-roll series, logbook series); shipbuildinghistory.com Brown yard table; LSM Class Manual OCR; GAO product page; CourtListener API v4; uboat.net cross-check; hazegray DANFS amphibious index; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material inventory, or docketed case naming USS LSM-74 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this hull - the hazegray transcription of the DANFS amphibious index confirms published entries only for LSM-175 (Oceanside), LSM-373 (Lakeland), LSM-398, LSM-446, and LSM-540 among LSMs. No ship-authored war diary or muster-roll file unit for this hull was located in the NARA catalog; casualty-report and casualty-information file units exist (ev-04). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no ship-specific asbestos claims; generic 'asbestos on Navy ships' marketing content does not name this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 hull built at a wartime emergency yard sits squarely in the Navy's documented asbestos era, and ship-specific documentation may exist in undigitized records (BuShips construction specifications, New Orleans/Lake Charles disposal-work records, JeffBoat barge-conversion files). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-09
-
[11]uboat.net Allied Warships, 'USS LSM 74 (LSM 74)' entry (secondary compilation); cross-checked against NavSource and the NHHC organization document [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/12685.html sidebar + history block; NavSource 14074; NHHC 1 May 1945 organization LSM Division 30 row; shipbuildinghistory hull-179 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MILESTONE CONFLICTS surfaced/carried by cross-check: (1) Stricken - NavSource reports 'date unknown'; uboat.net gives 9 June 1946. The 9 June 1946 date is carried as the best available secondary value, consistent with the disposal sequence (Maritime Commission transfer paperwork dated 27 September 1946; sale 8 October 1947). (2) Sale year - NavSource and uboat.net give 8 October 1947 to Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; shipbuildinghistory.com's yard table records 'Sold to JeffBoat 1948, converted to barge.' The 1947 date is carried (two sources agree); the 1948 variant and the barge-conversion detail are noted. (3) Commanding officer on 1 May 1945 - the official NHHC organization document lists Lt. S. M. Grewitot (USNR) for this hull; NavSource's commanding-officer table shows LTjg. Silas M. Prewitt USNR in command 20 September 1944 - June 1945. Either NavSource's end-date is approximate/wrong or the document lists a different embarked officer - unresolved, both stated. (4) Unit assignment - NavSource carries wartime assignment LSM Flotilla Nine/Group 26/Division 51; the 1 May 1945 official document places the hull in Flotilla Five/Group 15/Division 30 - a post-Iwo Jima reassignment, not necessarily a conflict.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Limitations
- Correction row reconciles secondary milestone data against an official dated record where possible; the stricken date remains secondary-sourced (not verified against the Naval Register) and the CO discrepancy is unresolved. uboat.net also carries 'Ordered 15 Sep 1943' (contract date, secondary). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-74-lsm74-10