Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 654-packet.md (2 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-269-lst269-pkt-654-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-269 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Hollandia/Saipan/Leyte/Nasugbu campaigns, occupation duty, decommissioning, strike, disposal (live NHHC page fetched via Firecrawl; page is UA-gated - bare curl returns 404, browser UA returns 200, re-verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-269 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 28 December 1942 at Ambridge, Pa., by the American Bridge Co.; launched 4 July 1943, sponsored by Mrs. J. J. Graham; commissioned 27 August 1943, Lt. F. C. Helm, USNR, in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater: Hollandia operation (April 1944); capture and occupation of Saipan (June-July 1944); Leyte landings (October 1944); Nasugbu at Manila Bay (January 1945). Performed occupation duty in the Far East until early February 1946; 'returned to the United States and was decommissioned on 7 February 1946'; struck from the Navy list 23 December 1947; sold 28 May 1948 to the Bethlehem Steel Co., of Bethlehem, Pa., for scrapping. Four battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Ambridge, 1942-43); ship's company and embarked troops (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. 'Returned to the United States' conflicts with NavSource's in-theater SCAJAP Q047 assignment at decommissioning - flagged, not resolved. No yard, repair, or casualty detail beyond the campaign list.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-269 (10/16/160269.htm, last updated 9 June 2023) - unit assignments, campaign dates, occupation periods, SCAJAP disposition, spec block, commanding-officer table, awards, NARA-referenced Leyte photograph caption [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160269.htm header block, campaign table, occupation table, specifications block, CO table, photo caption 1016048607
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-1-class tank landing ship laid down 28 December 1942 at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA; launched 4 July 1943; commissioned 27 August 1943 (LT. V. T. Finch, USNR, in command - differs from DANFS, see gaps). Unit assignments: LST Flotilla Five (CAPT. G. B. Carter, USN), LST Group Fifteen (CDR. V. K. Busck, USN), LST Division Seventy-Nine; and LST Flotilla Three (CDR. A. A. Ageton, USN), LST Group Eight, LST Division Fifteen. Campaign table: Hollandia operation 21-28 April 1944; Marianas operation, capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 June-28 July 1944; Leyte landings 20-21 October 1944; Manila Bay-Bicol operations, Nasugbu, 31 January 1945. Navy Occupation service 25 October-8 December 1945 and 30 December 1945-7 February 1946. Decommissioned 7 February 1946 and assigned to COMNAVFE Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q047; struck from the Naval Register 23 December 1947; transferred to the Maritime Administration 28 May 1948; sold for scrapping 28 May 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA. Four battle stars. Awards: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4); WWII Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp); Philippines Presidential Unit Citation; Philippine Liberation Medal (2); Purple Hearts (2 KIA, 21 October 1944). Radio call sign NPCV. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt; endurance 24,000 mi at 9 kt; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 3 x 100 kW 230 V DC diesel-drive generators, 2 propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders; 2 LCVP; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted; troops 16 officers/147 enlisted. CO table: LT Frank C. Helm USNR (ferry command, Aug-27 Aug 1943); LT Vergen T. Finch USNR (27 Aug 1943-10 Sep 1944); LT Johnnie Jackson Wilkes USN (10 Sep 1944-Mar 1945); LT Donald G. Rutherford USNR (Mar-May 1945); LT Theodore C. Dunn USNR (May 1945-7 Feb 1946). NARA-referenced caption (Signal Corps photo 254880 / NARA 111-SCA-2857, NAID 80662621) places LST-269 on the Leyte beaches 21 October 1944 and records two direct mortar hits 'killing two and wounding three.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Ship's company (13/104) plus embarked troops (16/147 accommodations); embarked units documented by the war diaries
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates cross-check against DANFS and the ship's own NARA records; the Finch-at-commissioning entry conflicts with DANFS (Helm) and the ship's own war history - flagged in gaps. The caption's 'wounding three' differs from the ship's war diary, which describes four wounded - flagged in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-02
-
[4]DANFS, Grasp (ARS-24) - salvage-ship history recording retraction of LST-269 at Nasugbu Bay (live NHHC page fetched via Firecrawl; UA-gated) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Grasp (ARS-24) entry, WWII service narrative, paragraph covering January-March 1945 Philippines operations
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The DANFS entry for the salvage ship USS Grasp (ARS-24) records that after the late-January 1945 Zambales landings Grasp 'sailed to Nasugbu Bay, Luzon, to retract LST-269 from the beach and recover the anchor and cable for LST-701,' then proceeded to Manila Harbor, arriving 3 March 1945. This corroborates that LST-269 was stranded on the Nasugbu beachhead after the 31 January 1945 landing and required a dedicated salvage vessel to retract her - consistent with the ship's own war history (ev-04), which describes a collision at Nasugbu in which another LST 'ripped away one third of our starboard side.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-01 to 1945-03
- Population
- Ship's company at the stranding; salvage crew of USS Grasp
- Limitations
- Mentions this hull inside another ship's official history; establishes that a salvage retraction occurred, not the damage extent or any material content. The collision narrative is LST-269's own war history, not Grasp's entry; Grasp's entry does not state why the ship could not retract unaided. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-03
-
[5]NARA NAID 77707066, 'USS LST-269 - War History' (serial LST269/P20, dated 17 October 1945, signed T. C. Dunn; RG 38, World War II War Diaries series; microfilm Roll A2106; 5 images, digitized via Fold3 collaboration; downloaded and OCR-read in full this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 77707066 images 1-5 (downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-02); transmittal letter on image 1
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own submitted narrative, 'The History of LST 269' (forwarded 17 October 1945 under ALPAC 202), documents verbatim for this hull: built by American Bridge Co., Ambridge, Pa., launched into the Ohio River 'during the later months of the summer of nineteen forty three'; sailed the river route to New Orleans where Lt. F. C. Helm readied her and was relieved by Lt. V. T. Finch days before the October 1943 sailing; Guantanamo Bay, Colon, the Canal, Balboa; Bora Bora, Samoa, Fiji, Noumea; anchored off Guadalcanal 27 December; working-up in the Russells (launching her embarked LCT); 'checked and dressed up with several routine maintenance adjustments' at Florida Island; Treasury Island beaching 20 January amid battle ('retracted without a scar'); mid-February Green Island landing carrying New Zealand and American troops and evacuating several hundred natives; April 1944 Humboldt Bay assault carrying elements of the 24th Division (approached 24 April), then a second Humboldt Bay run; convoy torpedo-plane attacks en route to the Marshalls/Marianas; July 1944 'participation in the assault on Guam' carrying a Marine Tractor Group (official campaign credit is Saipan - see gaps); Hawaii availability where Lt. Wilkes relieved Lt. Finch; Leyte Gulf entered 20 October, beached D-plus-1 south of San Jose where she 'was hit several times by enemy fire, and suffered casualties to both ship and crew,' retracted temporarily, returned to complete unloading; departed 24 October during the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea; 'retired to Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, where we were repaired and readied for the landings on Lingayen Gulf'; January 1945 Lingayen Yellow Beach then Nasugbu - where 'another LST, while attempting to maneuver onto the beach beside us, beached stern first ... and she ripped away one third of our starboard side'; temporary repairs, then Mindoro, Leyte and Samar where 'we ran aground on an uncharted coral head'; February via Humboldt Bay to Manus 'where repairs were effected' and Lt. Rutherford relieved Lt. Wilkes; late April at Emirau then Guam where Lt. T. C. Dunn relieved Lt. Rutherford; departed Guam early June, Pearl Harbor, arriving Southern California 5 July (stateside overhaul and leave); then sailed again for Hawaii and the Pacific.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-08 to 1945-10
- Population
- Ship's company (wartime), embarked troops incl. 24th Division elements and a Marine Tractor Group; construction trades (Ambridge); repair activities at Hollandia, Manus, and the stateside overhaul yard
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced record in a literary register; chronology is loose and undated in places - campaign credits per DANFS control. Documents damage and repair events aboard this hull (Hollandia post-Leyte repair; Manus collision/grounding repairs; a stateside overhaul beginning July 1945) but no material scope; contains no asbestos content. OCR of the carbon-copy scan is readable with scattered garble; quoted phrases verified against the images.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-04
-
[6]NARA NAID 78646407, 'USS LST-269 - War Diary, 10/1-31/44' (RG 38, World War II War Diaries; micro serial roll A1226; 7 images, digitized via Fold3; downloaded and OCR-read in full this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78646407 images 1-7 (downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-02); 20-25 October entries on images 4-6
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The October 1944 war diary (all 7 pages OCR-read) documents the Leyte assault and the 21 October mortar hits verbatim: entered Leyte Gulf 20 October, anchored LST Area X, launched DUKWs and LVTs 'which carried the men and equipment of the 361st Field Artillery Battalion, 96th Division, USA'; witnessed the torpedoing of USS Honolulu. On 21 October launched her two causeway pontoons and beached on Blue Beach #2 at 0914; at 1421 enemy mortar fire from Liberanan Head about 2,300 yards north fell on an estimated 7 LSTs and one LSM on beaches Orange 1, Orange 2, and Blue 2; about 1425 'we suffered two direct hits on frame 23, amidships main deck' - the first demolished the #21 20mm gun, severed the main degaussing cable and other electrical installations, killed two gun-crew members and wounded an Army casualty being treated in the sick bay and a Navy hospital corpsman; the second wrecked an Army truck on the weather deck, wounding one Army man and one enlisted man on the bridge; shrapnel punctured the main deck. Retracted at 1438 with progress slowed because electrical damage made it impossible to raise the ramp and close the bow doors; re-beached at 1610 to finish unloading. 22 October: completed unloading 0845, then medical-guard duty in Transport Area Three. 25 October: transferred all casualties to USS Clay (APA-39) and departed with Tractor Group Baker for Hollandia; anchored Humboldt Bay 30 October.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-10
- Population
- Ship's company; embarked 361st FA Bn / 96th Division troops; casualties treated aboard and transferred to USS Clay
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced record; OCR clean. Casualty accounting per the diary (2 killed; wounds described for an Army casualty already in sick bay, a hospital corpsman, an Army man, and an enlisted man) versus the Signal Corps caption's 'wounding three' - minor count discrepancy flagged in gaps. Documents battle damage to the hull but no repair-work detail and no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-05
-
[7]NARA NAID 139860432, 'USS LST-269 - War Diary, 1/1-31/45' (forwarded 1 February 1945; RG 38, World War II War Diaries; 6 images, digitized via Fold3; downloaded and OCR-read in full this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 139860432 images 1-6 (downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-02); Nasugbu entry 31 January on image 6
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The January 1945 war diary (all 6 pages OCR-read) documents Lingayen and the Nasugbu (Musketeer Mike Six) operation verbatim: underway from Noemfoor Island to Lingayen Gulf under CTU 77.9.16 (Comdr. N. M. Nelson, USCG, in USS LST-168) and CTG 77.9 (Rear Adm. R. L. Conolly), operational control passing to CTU 77.9.12 (Comdr. A. A. Ageton in USS LST-483) on 2 January; anchored off Yellow Beach, Lingayen Gulf, 11 January; anti-aircraft engagement 12 January (Japanese bombs bursting 500-1,000 yards off the starboard bow); beached Yellow Beach 15 January, unloaded via pontoon causeway, detaching 12 officers and 283 enlisted men of the 306th Airdrome Squadron, U.S. Army; retracted 16 January; anchored San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 23 January; loaded for the Musketeer Mike Six operation (diesel fuel from LST-701, provisions and water from LST-917; Surgical Team No. 4 assigned and reported aboard); combat-loaded 6 officers and 139 enlisted men of the 11th Airborne Division at Tarraguna Beach 25-26 January; sortied in Task Unit 78.2.5 (Comdr. L. Drexler in USS LST-917) under TG 78.2 (Rear Adm. W. M. Fechteler in USS Spencer) on 27 January; on 31 January ordered to beach at #3 Beach, Nasugbu, Luzon, beaching at 1007 - unloading slowed because eight feet of water off the ramp forced small-boat cargo handling; six Army casualties treated aboard by Surgical Team No. 4.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-01
- Population
- Ship's company; 306th Airdrome Squadron (12 officers/283 enlisted detached); 11th Airborne Division troops (6 officers/139 enlisted embarked); Surgical Team No. 4 and six Army patients
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced record; OCR clean. Coverage ends 31 January with the ship still working the Nasugbu beachhead - the collision and stranding narrated in the war history (ev-04) and Grasp's DANFS entry (ev-03) fall in the following days; the February 1945 ship diary that would document them is not in the catalog as labeled (see ev-09 archival-lead row - the file unit so titled contains LST-450's diary). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-06
-
[8]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan, verified live HTTP 200 2026-10-02); NavSource LST-269 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, 2026-09-16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160269.htm specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this hull: the LST-1 design group ran a diesel plant (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, 900 hp each, single Falk reduction gear, twin screws 1,700 shp, three 100 kW diesel-drive DC generators - BuShips design table and this hull's NavSource spec block) with no boilers, so the steam-plant lagging pathway of boiler vessels does not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications aboard a 1943 diesel landing ship of this type were the era-standard set - diesel-exhaust and machinery-space lagging, gaskets and valve packing, accommodation thermal insulation, deck coverings, winch/crane brake linings - and this hull's own records document repair availabilities inside the Navy's asbestos-use era: post-Leyte repairs at Hollandia (Oct-Nov 1944), February-March 1945 repairs at Manus after the Nasugbu collision and coral-head grounding, and a stateside overhaul reached 5 July 1945.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (Ambridge, 1942-43); ship's company and embarked troops (1943-46); repair personnel at Hollandia and Manus and the stateside overhaul yard (1944-45); 1948 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or repair work package was located for LST-269. Names era-standard applications and documented repair events, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution. The repair events are documented by the ship's own war history; their material scope is unitemized.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-07
-
[9]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 1942-43 construction, her Pacific service and documented repair availabilities, and her 1948 scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, reconfirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced helper), opinion and docket indexes [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-269-lst269-12 through -15
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located: exact-phrase "LST-269" returned 0 in the opinion index and 0 in the docket index; "LST 269" returned 0 in opinions; "USS LST-269" returned 0 in opinions. No case or docket naming this hull in any posture.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes published opinions and RECAP dockets - state-court filings, unreported settlements, MDL-875 pleading-level vessel lists, and non-digitized dockets are outside coverage. A zero result means no located docketed case or opinion naming this hull, not proof none exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-09
-
[11]Batch-6805 search ledger (this record): DANFS (LST-269 + Grasp ARS-24); NavSource 160269.htm + unit war-diary PDFs; NARA catalog + three file units read in full (war history, Oct-44 and Jan-45 diaries) + one mislabeled unit + still-picture record; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; CourtListener API (opinion + docket); MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-269-lst269-01 through -18
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or qualifying case naming LST-269 was found in the public sources searched. The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational (war history and war diaries) and documents damage/repair events aboard this hull - Hollandia repairs after Leyte, Manus repairs after the Nasugbu collision and coral-head grounding, and a stateside overhaul reached 5 July 1945 - but no primary source read names asbestos aboard 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 - construction at a wartime inland yard and three documented repair/availability events sit squarely inside the Navy's asbestos-use era. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-10
-
[12]NARA catalog, LST-269 file units - ship-titled war diaries February 1944 through September 1945 (RG 38 WWII War Diaries, Fold3-digitized), war history NAID 77707066, and still-picture NAID 80662621 (Signal Corps 111-SCA-2857, Leyte invasion); one documented catalog defect: NAID 139891500 'USS LST-269 - War Diary, 2/1-28/45' contains USS LST-450's February 1945 diary [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov LST-269 result set; NAIDs 77707066, 78646407, 139860432, 139891500, 80662621 record pages
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary archive coverage for this hull is unusually good and mostly digitized: catalog.archives.gov 'LST-269' surfaces about twenty ship-titled war-diary file units spanning February 1944-September 1945 plus the 17 October 1945 war history - all Fold3-scanned and readable via the NARA IIIF service. Three units were read in full this session (war history NAID 77707066; October 1944 diary NAID 78646407; January 1945 diary NAID 139860432). Documented defects/leads: the file unit titled 'USS LST-269 - War Diary, 2/1-28/45' (NAID 139891500) actually contains USS LST-450's February 1945 diary (serial 33, Apra Harbor, Guam) - a mislabeled microfilm unit, so LST-269's own February 1945 diary (covering the Nasugbu collision aftermath and Manus transit) was not located under its catalog title; September 1943-January 1944 ship diaries (fitting-out, shakedown, transit to the Solomons) were not surfaced; WWII deck logs proper not located in the digitized program; still-picture record NAID 80662621 (Leyte invasion, 21 October 1944) is the National Archives-held Signal Corps frame whose caption records the mortar hits. NavSource hosts parent-unit war diaries as image-only PDFs - LST Flotilla Five May 1944 and July 1944 and an LST Flotilla Seven history - verified live but not OCR'd this session.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Ship's company (1943-46); researchers
- Limitations
- Archival-lead row: unread file units (incl. the mislabeled February 1945 slot and the pre-February-1944 diaries) are unconfirmed in content; unit-level flotilla diaries were verified live but not read (scanned-image PDFs exceeding fetch limits); yard work-package records for the Hollandia/Manus repairs and the 1945 stateside overhaul are open leads (wartime repair-yards records, e.g. RG 181-era); NARA casualty-reporting for the hull not searched as a distinct series.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-269-lst269-11