USS LST-375

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet 668-packet.md [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-lst-375-lst375-pkt-668-packet-md

2. [2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'LST-375' - live NHHC page [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC DANFS LST-375 full entry (live page)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Laid down 25 November 1942 at Quincy, Mass., by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched 28 January 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Frederick C. Sachse; commissioned 2 February 1943. Assigned to the European theater: Sicilian occupation (July 1943), Salerno landings (September 1943), Invasion of Normandy (June 1944). Post-war: occupation duty in the Far East January-February 1946; returned to the United States; decommissioned 18 July 1946; struck from the Navy list 10 June 1947; sold 31 December 1948 to the Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, Pa., and subsequently scrapped. Earned three battle stars for World War II service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1942-1948

   Population

   Ship's company (13 officers/104 enlisted spec) plus embarked troops

   Limitations

   Authoritative service history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material information. Live NHHC page retrieved 2026-10-02 (several NHHC DANFS pages 404'd in prior batches - this one resolved). No HyperWar/ibiblio mirror exists for this entry (checked, 404).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-01

3. [3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-375 - specification block, campaign table, awards, CO roster, photo captions, hosted documents [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net 10/16/160375 - spec block, campaign table, awards block, CO roster, photo captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship. Commissioned 2 February 1943, LT. Edward R. Buck Jr., USNR, in command. Campaign table with date bands: Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943; Salerno landings 9-21 September 1943; Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944. Occupation service in the Far East 18 January-20 February 1946. Decommissioned 18 July 1946; struck from the Naval Register 10 June 1947; sold for scrapping 31 December 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA. Three battle stars. Awards display: Combat Action Ribbon (Salerno landings, retroactive); American Campaign Medal; European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (3); Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; WWII Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Individual awards noted: Medal of Honor (posthumous) and Purple Heart, Ens. John Joseph Parle (Sicily, 9-10 July 1943); Bronze Star with combat V, LT. Edward R. Buck Jr. (Normandy, June 1944); Purple Hearts (1 KIA, 27 WIA - Salerno). Specification block: 2 General Motors 12-567A diesels (900 hp each), single Falk main reduction gears, 3 diesel-drive 100 kW 230V D.C. ship's service generators, twin propellers 1,700 shp, 11.6 knots trial - a diesel plant with no boilers. Complement 13 officers/104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers/147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; call sign NDAN. CO roster: Buck (2 Feb 1943-Jul 1945); LT. T. A. Perkins (Jul-Sep 1945); LTjg. Francis J. Mueller USNR (Sep 1945-Mar 1946); ENS. Charles W. Pickering USNR (Mar-18 Jul 1946). Photo captions: on fire beached at Salerno 9 September 1943 after German artillery hits (Buck family photo); unloading at Salerno beachhead (Australian War Memorial; Imperial War Museum NA6631 - British 5th Infantry Division); in Portland Harbor, England, alongside USS LST-6 circa May-June 1944 preparing for Overlord (Time-Life/David Scherman); beached at Normandy unloading vehicles; Navy Day pierside 27 October 1945; probable decommissioning-ceremony crew parade.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1942-1948

   Population

   Ship's company (13 officers/104 enlisted spec) plus embarked troops (16 officers/147 enlisted capacity); Salerno casualties 1 KIA, 27 WIA

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled archival page quoting Navy sources; consistent with DANFS on every overlapping fact. Spec data are equipment descriptions only - no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material information. Photo-caption attributions (Buck family, AWM, IWM, Time-Life) are as printed on the page.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-02

4. [4]USS LST-375 Salerno Landings After Action Report - scanned typewritten ship document, contributed to NavSource by Robert Peterson for his uncle Peter Anthony Rich, BKR1, USNR [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net 10/16/pdf/160375a.pdf (4-page scan; text via pdftotext/tesseract OCR this session)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Four-page scanned after-action narrative attributed to this hull covering the Salerno landings (OCR-extracted this session): during the 8 September approach the crew went to general quarters at 1708 on signal from USS Biscayne, the convoy's right flank came under enemy bomber attack, and flares/night bombing continued; aboard, assault troops, boat crews, beach party, and scouts were fed and returned to stations, the scout boat (Ensign Howe) and small boats (Ensign Roth) were lowered, and all boats were loaded in 42 minutes and away. The assault LST formation was under shore-battery fire with shrapnel over the ships; the ship beached at 0640 on 9 September about twenty yards left of the assigned beach, the tank deck was unloaded by 0658, a 0700 retract attempt found the ship firmly held by a sand or clay bar, two direct hits were taken at 0714, the elevator cable was severed leaving the main deck still loaded, and the ship withdrew to the anchorage under continued intense fire, where a jury-rigged elevator moved about fifteen vehicles to the tank deck before collapsing under a heavy truck. Ships in the gulf were attacked from the air again on a later date.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943-09

   Population

   Ship's company and embarked assault troops, boat crews, beach party, scouts (September 1943); contributor-identified crewman Peter Anthony Rich, BKR1, USNR

   Limitations

   Scanned contributor-hosted copy of the ship's document - provenance is plausible (contributor's uncle was a rated baker aboard this hull per the caption) but the scan is not an official-registry copy; the official original would sit in NARA RG 38 operation/action-report files. OCR of the scan is imperfect - quoted times/dates were read from rendered pages; fine-grained details (exact hit sequence, casualty figures) are partially legible. Contains no asbestos or materials content. NavSource separately labels this PDF 'Salerno Landings After Action Report' in its Additional Resources block while also linking it beside the Purple Heart caption - one document.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-03

5. [5]Bronze Star Medal citation for LCDR Edward Robinson Buck Jr., USNR - scanned award document hosted on NavSource [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net 10/16/pdf/160375b.pdf (1-page scan; OCR this session)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Scanned Bronze Star Medal citation (prepared 19 November 1946, signed 13 February 1947): 'For meritorious achievement as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. LST-375, a unit of the initial assault forces in the invasion of the Coast of Normandy, France, June 1944. Maintaining his ship in excellent condition after service in two previous invasions, Lieutenant Commander (then Lieutenant) Buck brought his LST, despite an unwieldy tow, across channel currents and unfavorable winds, to the designated place at the appointed time and successfully despatched his cargo on the beach.' Authorizes the Combat 'V'.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-06 (action); 1946-1947 (citation)

   Population

   LT./LCDR Edward R. Buck Jr., USNR (commanding officer)

   Limitations

   Single-page scanned award document - genuine citation text OCR-verified this session but contributor-hosted, not an official-registry copy. The 'two previous invasions' phrase independently corroborates the Sicily and Salerno landings in this hull's record. Contains no asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-04

6. [6]DANFS, 'Parle (DE-708)' - official NHHC biography of Ens. John Joseph Parle + National WWII Museum recipient profile [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC DANFS Parle (DE-708) full entry (live page); nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/john-joseph-parles-medal-honor (live 2026-10-02)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Ens. John Joseph Parle, USNR (born 26 May 1920, Omaha, Neb.; enlisted USNR 11 January 1942; commissioned Ensign 28 January 1943), was assigned to the Amphibious Force at Norfolk, then reassigned to the Northwest African Amphibious Force and attached to LST-375 as officer-in-charge of small boats during the invasion of Sicily, 9-10 July 1943: as an accidentally ignited smoke pot threatened to detonate a boat laden with high-explosive charges and ammunition - which would have disclosed the assault - he entered the craft, snuffed out burning fuses, failed to extinguish the pot, carried it in his bare hands and threw it over the side, and succumbed a week later from poisonous fumes and smoke inhaled; awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. The National WWII Museum's recipient profile adds that LST-375 carried men and equipment of the U.S. Third Infantry Division for the assault at Licata and that Parle was the only Navy member to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in the Mediterranean and Atlantic theaters (per the Naval Historical Center). Destroyer escort USS Parle (DE-708) was laid down 8 January 1944, sponsored by his mother Mrs. Harry V. Parle, and commissioned 29 July 1944.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943

   Population

   Ens. John Joseph Parle, USNR; LST-375 crew and embarked 3rd Infantry Division troops

   Limitations

   Vessel-history and personnel fact only - NOT an exposure record; this record makes no asbestos or toxic-substance claim for Ens. Parle or any individual (his fatal inhalation was a smoke-pot combustion event, unrelated to insulation materials). Museum profile is corroborative detail; DANFS is the backbone. Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-05

7. [7]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine vol. 28 no. 3 (June 2014), 'Lost to Enemy Action' - oral-history compilation sourced to WWII Oral Histories, RG 38, NARA College Park [reputable_press]

   Locator

   USNI Naval History June 2014, 'Torpedoed in the Channel' section (Stanley, LST-376); source note cites RG 38 WWII Oral Histories, NARA

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   In his NARA-housed oral history, LT.(jg) C. B. Stanley, commanding officer of sister LST-376, recounts the 9 June 1944 E-boat attack in the Channel that sank LST-314 and his own LST-376 (five LSTs in column; torpedoed four minutes apart), and estimates some ninety men rescued 'altogether from both the LST-314 and the LST-375.' The 'LST-375' in that sentence is most likely a slip for LST-376: LST-375 was neither sunk nor reported hit that night and survived the war. Carried as a documented mention of this hull's number in a primary oral-history account of her sisters' loss during the same Normandy operation in which she served.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-06-09

   Population

   Crews of LST-314 and LST-376 (lost 9 June 1944); LST-375 mentioned

   Limitations

   The hull-number mention is probable error in an oral recollection (or its transcription) - it does not establish that LST-375 was in that convoy column, was hit, or lost men; editors' own footnote attributes the sinkings to S-boats hitting LST-314 and LST-376. No asbestos content. Included for completeness because the number appears verbatim in a citable primary-source compilation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-06

8. [8]Corn JK, Starr J. 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding.' Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700120402

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that WWII-era U.S. shipyards extensively installed asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, and gaskets in naval construction - the era in which this hull was built (1942-43, at Bethlehem Steel's Quincy yard). For a diesel-powered LST with no boilers, the era-relevant applications concentrate in diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, gaskets and packing, deck coverings, accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings; the 1948-49 breakup is the presumed material endpoint.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1941-1945 (study scope); applied 1942-1949

   Population

   WWII-era shipyard workers (Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, 1942-43); wartime crew; breakup-yard workers (era context)

   Limitations

   Era-level scholarship plus class/type inference; the source does not name this hull or class and does not establish that any specific material aboard this ship contained asbestos. No ship-specific product is verified; the diesel plant (no boilers) narrows the exposure-relevant scope relative to steam vessels. DOI resolves to the Wiley article page (curl returns 403 bot-block; resolves normally in browser).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-07

9. [9]Oliver v. General Electric Co. et al., U.S. District Court D. Maryland, Civ. No. 1:16-cv-01057 (Fore River Shipyard worker asbestos-disease litigation) + Atlas shipyards.json yard records 'fore-river-shipyard' and 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' (dataset cross-reference) [court_record]

   Locator

   govinfo USCOURTS-mdd-1_16-cv-01057 PDF (verified live 200, 2026-10-02); shipyards.json yard_ids fore-river-shipyard, bethlehem-shipbuilding

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Builder-yard-level asbestos documentation: a federal court record states the plaintiff worked as a pipefitter's/drafting apprentice at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, 1967-1970 - the same yard (Bethlehem Steel's Quincy operation) that built this hull in 1942-43 - and sued over asbestos-related disease. The Atlas yard dataset carries documented asbestos product lists for the Bethlehem corporate family including the Quincy/Fore River yard (boiler and pipe insulation, turbines, fireproofing materials, gaskets, packing, electrical components, asbestos wire insulation, asbestos cement, asbestos-containing paint).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1942-1943 (build); 1967-1970 (litigated employment)

   Population

   Bethlehem Steel/Fore River Quincy yard workers (1942-43 build era; 1967-70 litigated window)

   Limitations

   Yard-level documentation, not a hull record: the litigated employment window (1967-70) post-dates this hull's construction by ~25 years and documents the yard's asbestos environment, not materials installed aboard LST-375. The Oliver record is a court pleading/order record - it documents litigation over alleged yard exposure, not an adjudicated finding on this ship. The shipyards.json entries are internal Atlas dataset records cited as cross-reference, not independent sources. No asbestos finding for this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-08

10. [10]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

    Finding type

    gov_survey

    Finding

    GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 toward selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. Neither policy could have applied to this hull - she was sold for scrapping on 31 December 1948, roughly 27 years before the first policy issued.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-10-02

    Study period

    1979

    Population

    Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (not this hull)

    Limitations

    Program-level Navy documentation for era fleet context only; the policies post-date this hull's disposal entirely, so no hull-specific application was possible. Product page and Highlights retrieved live 2026-10-02 (gao.gov was 403-blocked to automated fetch in earlier batches).

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-09

11. [11]Batch-6915 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS pages (LST-375; Parle DE-708); NavSource 160375 + hosted AAR and award-citation PDFs; CourtListener API v4 (opinion and docket searches); NVR; NARA catalog; LOC Veterans History Project; shipyards.json cross-check; GAO product page; USNI oral history; general web search [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-375-lst375-01 through sl-uss-lst-375-lst375-16

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LST-375 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener API v4 returned zero opinions for exact phrase 'LST-375' and zero for 'USS LST-375'; the unqualified 'LST-375' opinion query returned 130 hits consisting of name collisions on first-page inspection (docket-number and reporter '375' matches, 'LST'-token entity names) - none naming this hull. CAVEAT: the asbestos-qualified opinion query, the docket-index (type=r) query, and the 'LST 375' space-spelling query could not be run this session - the fleet-wide CourtListener request budget was spent (helper-enforced pacing); those sweeps are logged as blocked, not as negative results.

    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 1942-43-built LST is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener coverage is partial this session: two opinion sweeps completed (both null); the docket index and asbestos-qualified queries remain open.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-375-lst375-10