Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 696-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-597-lst597-pkt-696-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-597 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Pacific campaign list, decommissioning, strike, disposal (live NHHC page, fetched via Firecrawl) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-597 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 12 July 1944 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 28 August 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Bernice C. Palmer; commissioned 19 September 1944. Asiatic-Pacific operations: Palawan Island landings (March 1945), Visayan Island landings (March and April 1945), assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (June 1945). Occupation duty in the Far East until early March 1946; decommissioned 5 March 1946; struck from the Navy list 29 September 1947; sold 31 May 1948 to the Bethlehem Steel Co., of Bethlehem, Pa., for scrapping. Two battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Evansville, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. States no yard, repair, or conversion events; commissioning location not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-597-lst597-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-597 (10/16/160597.htm, last updated 19 December 2014) - class designation, campaign dates, occupation-service window, spec block, awards display, photographs, disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160597.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, awards display
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-542-class tank landing ship laid down 12 July 1944 at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 28 August 1944; commissioned USS LST-597, 19 September 1944. Campaign table (Asiatic-Pacific): consolidation and capture of southern Philippines - Palawan Island landings 1-2 March 1945; Visayan Island landings 26-28 March, 2-4, 10-11 and 20 April 1945; Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation 21-27 June 1945. Occupation Service in the Far East 15 January - 5 March 1946; decommissioned 5 March 1946; struck from the Naval Register 29 September 1947; sold for scrapping 31 May 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA. Two battle stars. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt trial; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 2 propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders, 3 x diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V DC generators; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; radio call sign NEZQ. Awards display: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation (Asia clasp), Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Liberation Medal (1). Photographs: beached at Cebu City and Palawan Island (~1 March 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Ship's company (~117) plus embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates cross-check cleanly against DANFS. The 15 January 1946 occupation-window start is NavSource's formal service periodization; DANFS says only 'until early March 1946.' Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-597-lst597-02
-
[4]NARA NAID 139997745, 'USS LST-597 - Rep of ops in the invasion of Cebu Is, Philippines 3/26-27/45' (RG 38, World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories; micro serial 120836; the ship's own action report, serial 001, dated 11 May 1945, signed by CO W.H. Irving) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 139997745, images 0493-0496 (downloaded and read 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own action report (all four pages read, this session) documents the Cebu operation under CTG 78.2 Operation Plan 3-45: E-day postponed 25 to 26 March 1945; 350-ton combat load (150 tons ammunition, 200 tons vehicles) plus twelve LVTs; 451 Army enlisted and 53 officers of the Americal Division embarked 20 March at Dulag, Leyte; rehearsal at Hinunangan Bay 23 March (one LVT lost to bilge-pump failure, no personnel losses); sailed 24 March as LST column guide position #41; anchored 2,000 yards off Green Beach, Talisay, Cebu, 0746 on 26 March, LVTs launched 0752-0759; LCVPs under Ensigns A.E. Collazo (1st wave) and D.M. Ghormley (2nd wave) led the waves - first wave beached 0828 under occasional enemy small-arms fire, no casualties; mortar fire 500 yards off starboard beam 1600; submarine contact reported by USS Boise 1615, withdrew to Bohol Strait overnight; beached Slot 2, Green Beach, Talisay, 0738 on 27 March (stopped 100 yards short of dry ramp by shallow water); all vehicles unloaded by 1000, ammunition 100 percent by 1900, via LCM ramp-to-ramp and DUKWs; 1927 a Japanese aircraft dropped two bombs 150 yards off starboard beam between beached LSTs 941 and 1035 - no damage or casualties; departed 1930 for Leyte Gulf via routes Shakespeare and Cariboo; 28 March Commander LST Group 70, embarked in this ship, assumed OTC of the convoy. Routing establishes the ship's unit chain: CTU 78.2.51 (ComLSTGrp 70), CTU 78.2.5 (ComLSTFlot 24), CTG 78.2 (ComPhibGrp 8), Commander Seventh Amphibious Force, Commander Seventh Fleet.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- March 1945
- Population
- Ship's company plus 504 embarked Americal Division troops (March 1945)
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced document (signed by CO W.H. Irving), limited to the Cebu operation window 16-28 March 1945 - not a service-long history. Contains no asbestos or material content; the 'Americal Division' spelling is the report's own.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-597-lst597-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan); NavSource LST-597 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, 2026-09-16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160597.htm specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this hull: the LST-542 class ran a diesel plant (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, 1,700 shp total, Falk reduction gear, twin screws - 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 1944 diesel landing ship of this type were the era-standard set - diesel-exhaust and machinery-space lagging, gaskets and packing, accommodation thermal insulation, deck coverings. Unlike sister hull LST-243, no conversion or yard availability is documented for LST-597 in the sources read; construction at a wartime inland yard (Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron, Evansville) and the 1948 Bethlehem Steel scrap sale are the documented material-touching events.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- MVB&I construction trades (1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46); 1948 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package was located for LST-597. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution. SDB 1945 v2 link verified live 2026-10-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-597-lst597-04
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[6]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 construction (1944), her Pacific service, 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-597-lst597-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced helper), opinion and docket indexes [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-597-lst597-06 through -08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located in the opinion index: exact-phrase "LST-597" returned 0 opinion hits; "LST 597" + asbestos returned 0 opinion hits. The docket-index query for "LST-597" could not be completed - the fleet pacing gate stayed spent across four spaced attempts this session and is logged as blocked (not a negative result). Numbered-hull name collisions: none located in the results returned.
- 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; here even the docket index went unchecked (pacing-gated), so coverage is opinion-index-only. A zero opinion result means no located opinion naming this hull, not proof none exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-597-lst597-06
-
[8]Batch-7113 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource; NARA catalog + ship-produced action report; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; CourtListener API (opinion index; docket query gated); NIOSH HHE search; NVR; secondary web sweep; Wikipedia registry check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-597-lst597-01 through -14
- 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-597 was found in the public sources searched. The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational (the ship-produced Cebu action report) and confirms wartime amphibious service with no documented yard availability or conversion; 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 sits 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-597-lst597-07
-
[9]NARA catalog, "LST-597" - 158 records (156 file units + 2 items; 156 digitized), dominated by the unit-level COM LST GR 70 war-diaries run and task-unit operation reports; plus the RG 24 muster-roll index file unit covering this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov "LST-597" and "USS LST-597" result sets; NAIDs as listed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A unit-level primary archive exists for this hull and is digitized: 158 NARA records responsive to "LST-597" (156 file units + 2 items; 156 available online), dominated by COM LST GR 70 war diaries (9/18/44-1/31/45 NAID 139868624; 2/45 NAID 139920572; 4/45 NAID 101775959; 5/45 NAIDs 140062519 and 83527424; 6/45 NAID 83561438) and task-unit operation reports for the Palawan and Cebu landings (CTU 78.2.5 NAID 139937275; CTU 78.2.51 NAID 77508031; CTU 78.2.16 NAID 77508206). The ship-produced action report (NAID 139997745) is the single ship-authored record located. Muster-roll coverage for this hull runs through the RG 24 Index to Muster Rolls file unit NAID 118967604, 'USS LSM-144 to USS LST-1005' (2,968 images).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company (1944-46); researchers
- Limitations
- Archival-lead row: the COM LST GR 70 diaries and the task-unit reports were catalog-searched but not read this session - they may contain additional LST-597 movement/repair detail; no monthly ship-filed war diary or war history for this hull was located in the digitized series (see gaps); the muster-roll index is an index, not the rolls themselves.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-597-lst597-08