Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Pearl River entry (archived 2024-05-27; live NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-30); verbatim concurring transcription: DANFS Vol. V (1979) p. 241 via losthistory.net/hazegray [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Pearl River (LSMR-516) narrative and specification block, Wayback capture dated 2024-05-27; DANFS Vol. V (1979) p. 241
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS identifies this hull as 'a medium landing ship (rocket) originally designed as a LSM but redesignated 9 February 1945 as LSMR-516,' laid down by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex., 21 April 1945; launched 19 May 1945; commissioned 20 July 1945, Lt. Clifford E. Baxter in command. 'Before LSMR-516 completed shakedown, the war ended. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, the ship participated in brief east coast type training exercises and inport periods devoted to upkeep.' Assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group, 18 December 1947, reporting at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 8 January 1948; decommissioned and placed in reserve 23 April 1948, remaining berthed at Green Cove Springs for the duration of her naval career; named Pearl River 1 October 1955; struck from the Navy List 1 October 1958; sold for scrap. Spec block: 'LSMR-516: dp. 790; l. 206'3"; b. 34'6"; dr. 7'3"; s. 13 k.; cpl. 75; a 1 5", 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2"m., 10 rkt.; cl. LSMR-401.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1961
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction workforce; ship's company and reserve-fleet caretakers, 1945-1961
- Limitations
- Archived DANFS copy is the verification surface because the live NHHC page was dead at research time (standing NHHC link-rot defect); the hazegray transcription of DANFS Vol. V p. 241 concurs verbatim (it prints the commissioning typo '20 July 1045' for 1945). This historical entry does not document asbestos, insulation, hazmat condition, individual exposure, or causation. 'Cl. LSMR-401' in the spec block conflicts with the LSM(R)-501 class assignment carried by NavSource and class references - noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-01
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[2]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Pearl River (LSMR-516) ex USS LSM(R)-516 - milestone timeline, organizational assignment, awards, specifications, photo captions (live page verified HTTP 200) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/06/06516.htm header block, awards line, WWII assignment line, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 21 April 1945 at Brown Ship Building Co., Houston TX; launched 19 May 1945; commissioned USS LSM(R)-516 20 July 1945, LT Clifford E. Baxter, USN in command; WWII assignment listed as Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM(R) Flotilla Eighteen (CAPT. C. F. Macklin USN), LSM(R) Group Forty-Four, LSM(R) Division One Hundred Seven; awards line: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal. Decommissioned 23 April 1948 at Green Cove Springs, FL; laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group, Green Cove Springs; named USS Pearl River LSM(R)-516, 1 October 1955; struck from the Naval Register 1 October 1958; final disposition sold for scrapping in 1961. Photo captions document the ship moored on the Mississippi River delta at St. Louis, MO, for the Navy Day open house, 23-27 October 1945. Specifications: displacement 758 t. light / 993 t. attack / 1,175 t. full; length 206'3"; beam 34'6"; complement 6 officers, 137 enlisted; propulsion two General Motors 16-278A diesels (non-reversing, airflex clutch), 1,440 BHP each @ 720 rpm direct drive, twin screws 2,800 shp; ship's service generators four diesel-drive 100 kW 450V AC + two diesel-drive 20 kW 120V DC.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1961
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding trades (1945); crew (1945-48); reserve-fleet caretakers, Florida Group Green Cove Springs (1948-58); scrappers (1961)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track DANFS exactly for this hull. Its 'Asiatic-Pacific Theater' organizational listing conflicts with DANFS's statement that the war ended before this hull completed shakedown and that she served only the Atlantic Fleet; DANFS is carried for operations, the NavSource listing noted in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-02
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[3]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM(R)-501-class specification block for this hull (GM diesel propulsion, direct drive); DANFS spec block (13 k., cpl. 75); GAO HRD-80-2 program documentation (Navy asbestos-insulation era); construction window April-July 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block (this hull); DANFS spec block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven amphibious landing ship built in the second quarter of 1945 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era. Era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation on hot machinery and exhaust runs, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in a compact hull. As a direct-drive diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1961
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew (1945-48); reserve-fleet caretakers (1948-58); 1961 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, specification sheet, or work package located for this hull. 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-r-516-lsmr516-03
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[4]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 Highlights section (full report PDF linked, not fetched)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, covering the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities; the product page documents Navy asbestos ship insulation and a phased removal/replacement policy (1975 policy modified 1979) - spanning this hull's entire construction (1945) and Navy-service era (1945-58).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to plain automated fetch; product-page Highlights text retrieved via Firecrawl extraction 2026-09-30. Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - not this hull's builder or berthing site.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-04
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[5]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II' (Eric Pearson, June 2025) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Naval History June 2025, Vol. 39 No. 3 - production statistics and postwar-disposition paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder documentation: Brown Shipbuilding Company was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown and Root on Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel; at its peak it employed more than 25,000 workers starting in late 1942; it built 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts (38 Edsall-class, 23 John C. Butler-class), 32 Landing Craft Infantry, and 254 Landing Ship Medium amphibious craft - the family that includes this hull's LSM(R)-501 class. In 1949 the yard was leased to the Todd Shipyards Corporation as a ship repair facility (the 'Todd Houston' division); later returned to Brown and Root and sold piecemeal in 2004 as the Brown Shipbuilding Industrial Park.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1941-2004 (article coverage)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (peak >25,000, late 1942 onward); this hull's construction cohort Apr-Jul 1945
- Limitations
- Yard-level history, not a hull record - names this hull's builder and documents the wartime workforce scale, but makes no asbestos statement for the yard or this hull. usni.org returns 403 to plain automated fetch; page retrieved and verified via Firecrawl extraction, 2026-09-30. Todd-era (post-1949) yard activity is not attributable to this hull's 1945 construction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-05
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[6]Miller v. Brown Shipbuilding Co., 71 F. Supp. 672 (S.D. Tex. 1947) (Kennerly, J.) [court_record]
- Locator
- 71 F. Supp. 672, paragraphs 1-4 (trade list), 7-10 (jurisdictional dismissal)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A wartime federal court record documents the builder's workforce and trades: plaintiffs William Paul Miller and LaSalle Bryant sued for themselves and approximately 800 similarly situated Black employees of Brown Shipbuilding, pleading that they were classified and paid as common laborers while performing duties 'as sandblasters, Sander's helpers, buffers, carpenter shop helpers, welder's helpers, timekeeper assistants, material checkers, tank cleaners, tool department clerks, sheering machine operators, etc.' under Navy shipbuilding and repair contracts. The district court dismissed the suit for want of jurisdiction (no federal question; amount-in-controversy failure) on 2 May 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1947 (alleged employment period; opinion 1947)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding wartime workforce (~800 plaintiffs in the alleged class; skilled/semi-skilled trades named)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegations only, at the lowest litigation stage: the complaint's trade list was never adjudicated - the case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds without reaching the merits; a reported appellate affirmance was not independently re-verified this session and is not asserted. Not asbestos litigation and not a hull record: documents the construction-era labor population at this hull's builder (the yard active 1941-46, covering this hull's Apr-Jul 1945 build) as alleged by the plaintiffs. No asbestos, material, or exposure finding. openjurist.org returns 403 to plain fetch; opinion text retrieved via Firecrawl extraction 2026-09-30.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-06
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[7]U.S. Navy, LSM Class Manual, 1 March 1944, Serial No. 1766, issued to USS LSM-294 - scanned complete section set on NavSource (Ship's Organization; Ordnance; Main Propelling Machinery; Auxiliary Machinery incl. boilers; Pumps/Tanks/Piping; Ventilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LSM Class Manual index, archives/10/14/lsm manual/ - lsm01-00 through lsm05-xx section PDFs (live index verified 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A period U.S. Navy class manual for the LSM family (the parent design of the LSM(R)-501 class) is digitized on NavSource: a complete scanned section set covering organization, ordnance, main propelling machinery, auxiliary machinery, piping systems, and ventilation. The scans are image-only (no OCR text layer); material specifications cannot be keyword-searched, and no readable asbestos/insulation material specification was extracted.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (issue)
- Population
- LSM-family crews and maintenance trades (reference document)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the manual was issued to USS LSM-294 for the base LSM transport design, not the LSM(R) rocket variant (superstructure aft, no open well deck) - applicability to this hull is at class-family level only. Image-only scans mean material specifications cannot be keyword-searched; absence of extracted asbestos mentions is a limitation of the scan, not evidence of absence in the manual. Full manual OCR is the open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-07
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[8]National Archives, Ship Plan Index (live page verified HTTP 200) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Ship Plan Index - LSMR-514, -515, -517 rows present; no LSMR-516 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives Ship Plan Index was searched for LSMR-516 and Pearl River. The index does list neighboring LSMR river-named hulls in RG 19 'Hull series of Ship Engineering Drawings' - Maurice River (LSMR-514, NAID 153715352), Owyhee River (LSMR-515, NAID 153715353), Pee Dee River (LSMR-517, NAID 153715354) - but carries no entry for LSMR-516 / Pearl River. No located indexed result supplied a ship-specific asbestos plan, survey, or material inventory for this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1961
- Limitations
- Index-level result: absence of this hull from the published index is not proof that no plans exist - sibling hulls bracketing it (514, 515, 517) are indexed in RG 19, so series-level holdings may cover 516 without an indexed line item. The index does not establish asbestos presence or absence; a series-level NARA search remains the open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-08
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[9]CourtListener API v4 via authenticated cl-auth-search.py - exact-name and hull-number opinion searches executed; docket-index sweep blocked by fleet pacing [other_primary]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py stdout, 2026-09-30: four authenticated type=o queries completed; type=r query returned fleet-pacing stand-down
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in the CourtListener opinion corpus: 'LSMR-516' returned 0; 'LSM(R)-516' returned 123 loose-token results, all LSM-entity collisions (e.g., LSM General Contractors cases) with none naming the hull; '"USS Pearl River"' returned 0; '"Pearl River" asbestos' returned 18 results, all place-name collisions for Pearl River localities (NY/MS) with none naming the ship. The docket-index (type=r) sweep was attempted and stood down by the authenticated fleet pacing limiter - incomplete, not a negative result.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- through 2026-09-30
- Population
- CourtListener opinion corpus
- Limitations
- Opinion-corpus results are verified no-hit; the docket corpus is unsearched (fleet pacing stand-down), so litigation status is partially open. CourtListener does not exhaustively cover state courts or unreported filings; absence of a located opinion does not prove absence of claims. No anonymous, raw, or v3 CourtListener request was used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-09
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[10]Batch-5875 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback + hazegray transcription; NavSource hull page and LSM(R) class index; USNI builder history; Miller v. Brown Shipbuilding opinion; LSM Class Manual (NavSource); GAO product page; NVR; NARA Ship Plan Index and catalog; CourtListener opinion sweep; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or verified litigation naming USS LSM(R)-516 / Pearl River (LSMR-516) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos generally at the builder's yard (mesothelioma.com, mesotheliomalawyercenter.org, mesothelioma.net and similar) - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - wartime amphibious construction is consistent with retained era materials - and the CourtListener docket corpus remains unsearched this session (fleet-paced). Deck logs (RG 24), builder work packages, and the 1961 scrapping records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-516-lsmr516-10