Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 700-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: UNVERIFIABLE
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-621-lst621-pkt-700-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-621 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hull-data block, campaign table, postwar-service, commanding-officers, and final-disposition sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource identifies USS LST-621 as an LST-542-class tank landing ship laid down 15 March 1944 at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, Illinois; launched 2 June 1944; and commissioned 21 June 1944 with Lieutenant Charles E. Watkins, USNR, in command. It records initial assignment to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and later reassignment to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater within LST Flotilla Thirty-Five, LST Group One Hundred Four, LST Division Two Hundred Seven; participation in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto from 2 April to 7 May 1945; Occupation and China service in the Far East for the periods 9-25 September 1945 and 10-29 December 1945; decommissioning on 10 June 1946; striking from the Naval Register on 31 July 1946; and sale for scrapping on 30 March 1948 to Kaiser Co., Inc., Seattle, Washington. It records one World War II battle star and commanding officers LT Charles E. Watkins USNR (21 June 1944 - 18 March 1946), LTjg. Martin Solomon USNR (18 March - May 1946), and ENS Donald E. Emerson USNR (May - 10 June 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked personnel
- Limitations
- The live hull page supports identity, service chronology, command, awards, and disposition. It contains no asbestos, insulation, hazardous-material, exposure, or causation information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-621-lst621-01
-
[3]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'LST-621' (published 2015-08-03); live NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-10-02, so the archived copy was used [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-621 entry body text, Wayback Machine capture 2025-12-09
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The archived NHHC DANFS entry records that LST-621 was laid down on 15 March 1944 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 2 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Josephine F. Madura; and commissioned on 21 June 1944 with Lt. C. E. Watkins in command. It records Asiatic-Pacific theater assignment with participation in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April and May 1945, occupation duty in the Far East until late December 1945, decommissioning on 10 June 1946, striking from the Navy list on 31 July 1946, sale on 30 March 1948 to the Kaiser Co., Inc., Seattle, Wash., for scrapping, and one battle star for World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked personnel
- Limitations
- Archived capture of the official DANFS entry; the live history.navy.mil URL 404s at research time. DANFS omits the initial Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater assignment that NavSource records and names the launch sponsor, which NavSource does not. The entry contains no asbestos, insulation, hazardous-material, exposure, or causation information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-621-lst621-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-621 specifications block [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications and propulsion blocks
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource reports LST-621 specifications of 328 feet overall length, 50-foot beam, 1,625 tons light displacement, 4,080 tons full-load displacement, 2,366 tons beaching displacement, 11.6 knots trial speed, 13 officers and 104 enlisted, and troop accommodations for 16 officers and 147 enlisted. It identifies two General Motors 12-567A 900-hp diesel engines, single Falk main reduction gears, three diesel-drive 100-kW 230-volt DC ship's-service generators, two propellers producing 1,700 shp, and twin rudders.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops
- Limitations
- The specification block identifies machinery and accommodations but says nothing about insulation, asbestos content, exposure, or present condition. It supports the diesel/no-boiler description only as a ship-design fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-621-lst621-03
-
[5]National Archives, Special List #44, by Ship Numbers [other_primary]
- Locator
- LST-621 row in the ship-number table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives' Special List 44 by ship number lists LST-621 with a begin date of 21 June 1944 (matching the commission date) and log coverage through 30 June 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Ship's company and shipboard operations
- Limitations
- The list establishes the existence and date range of a logbook record series; the underlying log pages were not retrieved and the list contains no asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-621-lst621-04
-
[6]NIOSH/CDC, 100 Years of Respiratory Protection History (served from the CDC archive domain; the original www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl URL returned HTTP 403/404 to automated retrieval on 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- World War II discussion under 100 Years of Respiratory Protection History
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NIOSH/CDC states that as the world entered World War II, the U.S. Navy's use of asbestos increased for insulation purposes for pipes in naval vessels, and that after the 1946 Fleischer et al. study the Navy continued to use asbestos with the warning that asbestos dust exposure is a hazard that cannot be overlooked in an occupational-hygiene program. This provides era context for a 1944-built Navy vessel, but it does not identify material installed aboard LST-621.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- World War II and postwar period
- Population
- U.S. Navy shipyard and shipboard workers, era context
- Limitations
- The source is not about LST-621 or the LST-542 class. It supports only era-level context, not a ship-specific asbestos finding, quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation conclusion.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-621-lst621-05
-
[7]U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979); live gao.gov product page returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval on 2026-10-02, so the archived product page was used [gao]
- Locator
- Product-page Highlights text, Wayback Machine capture 2025-04-02
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO's Navy asbestos review states that it examined the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs; the Navy's 1975 policy removed and replaced with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. The review is program-level context and does not identify material aboard LST-621.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and Navy asbestos program
- Limitations
- GAO reviewed Navy shipyard controls at Long Beach and Norfolk, not LST-621 or the Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. yard. It does not establish what products were aboard this hull, what was removed, or whether any person was exposed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-621-lst621-06
-
[8]National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Cartographic Branch; Other Records and their usefulness sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives asbestos-research guide identifies Navy engineering drawings as the principal route for determining whether a particular pre-1961 naval ship had asbestos material aboard, including hull-series material groups S39 (insulation and lagging) and S48 (piping) in RG 19. It also explains that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly establish asbestos presence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1961 records and later archival guidance
- Population
- Researchers of pre-1961 U.S. Navy vessels
- Limitations
- This is a research pathway, not a finding about LST-621. The cited guide does not say that this hull's S39, S48, or other engineering records contain asbestos information; no such records were retrieved for this batch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-621-lst621-07
-
[9]Batch-7141 source sweep: NavSource, archived NHHC DANFS, NARA, archived GAO product page, NIOSH/CDC archive, and CourtListener helper attempts [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search-ledger rows sl-uss-lst-621-lst621-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos record was located in the accessible authoritative research: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazardous-material disclosure, insulation drawing, material schedule, or product identification naming LST-621 was found, and the four authenticated CourtListener exact-name and exact-hull-number opinion and docket queries all returned zero results. This negative finding is limited by the dead live DANFS URL (archived copy used) and unretrieved NARA records.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Failure to locate a public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. This is an access- and coverage-limited negative finding, not evidence that the hull was asbestos-free and not evidence that an exposure claim is defeated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-621-lst621-08