USS LST-651

Evidence

12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).

1. [1]research packet 704-packet.md (1 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-651-lst651-pkt-704-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, LST-651 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Okinawa Gunto campaign, occupation duty, decommissioning, strike, sale to Consolidated Builders (live NHHC page; UA-gated - bare curl returns 404, verified HTTP 200 with browser UA 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS LST-651 entry, full text

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 24 July 1944 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 16 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Mary Margaret Graham Aubry; commissioned 4 November 1944. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April 1945. Postwar occupation duty in the Far East until mid-January 1946. Decommissioned 23 January 1946; struck from the Navy list 5 December 1947; sold 26 May 1948 to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle, Wash., and subsequently scrapped. One battle star for World War II service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1948

   Population

   Construction trades (Chicago Bridge & Iron, Seneca IL, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46)

   Limitations

   Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. Decommissioning location not stated; the SCAJAP/Q023 interlude between decommissioning and disposal appears only in NavSource, not DANFS. The 1948 entry is a sale to a named buyer 'and subsequently scrapped' - no breakup date or site given.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-651-lst651-01

3. [3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-651 (10/16/160651.htm) - designation, unit assignments, campaign table, award block, spec block, commanding-officer table, SCAJAP/Q023 line, photos [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/16/160651.htm header block, campaign and medal tables, SCAJAP line, specifications block, commanding-officer table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource documents for this hull: LST-542-class tank landing ship laid down 24 July 1944 at Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, IL; launched 16 October 1944; commissioned USS LST-651 4 November 1944, LTjg. Ralph B. Rowe USNR in command. Assigned administratively to LST Flotilla Twenty-Three (listed '(flagship)', CAPT. W. W. Weeden Jr. USN), LST Group Sixty-Seven (CDR V. A. King USN), LST Division One Hundred Thirty-Three. Campaign: assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto 1-29 April 1945. Medal-qualifying occupation service 6-23 September 1945 and 18 December 1945-18 January 1946. Decommissioned 23 January 1946 and assigned to COMNAVFE Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q023; struck from the Naval Register 5 December 1947; transferred to the Maritime Administration 26 May 1948; sold same date to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle, WA, subsequently scrapped. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk reduction gear, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, 3 x 100 kW 230 V DC generators; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; radio call sign NFIP. CO table: LT. Ralph B. Rowe USNR 4 Nov 1944-5 Dec 1945; LTjg. Robert L. Newdick USNR 5 Dec 1945-23 Jan 1946. One battle star.

   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); SCAJAP Japanese-manned period 1946-47 (NavSource)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates cross-check cleanly against DANFS and the NARA ship-produced records. The '(flagship)' annotation conflicts with the ship's own April 1945 war diary, which places ComLSTFlot 23 Capt. Weeden aboard LC(FF)-790; both carried as written (see gaps). The SCAJAP/Q023 line is NavSource-only - corroborated in general terms by a veteran's account but by no second registry source. Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-651-lst651-02

4. [4]NARA NAID 140004140, 'USS LST-651 - Rep of ops in the invasion & occupation of Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Is, 4/1-29/45' (ship's action report, micro serial 122302, signed Ralph B. Rowe; RG 38 WWII War Diaries via Fold3; 26 images) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 140004140 images 1129-1154 (downloaded and read 2026-10-02): Parts I-II summary/preliminaries, Part III chronological account 1-29 April, Parts IV-VIII ordnance/damage/comments/personnel/conclusions, signed p. 26

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The ship's own Okinawa action report (all 26 pages read this session) documents verbatim: task organization - unit of Yellow Unit (Com LST Group 40) under Tractor Group Baker TU 53.3.2 (Com LST Flot 6), Northern Tractor Flotilla TG 53.3, Northern Attack Force TF 53 (ComPhib Group Four), Joint Expeditionary Force (ComPhibsPac); the Northern Tractor Flotilla comprised 47 LSTs, 4 LCIs, 11 LSMs. Rehearsals off Guadalcanal east of Savo Island 1-7 March; logistics at Hutchison Creek, Florida Island; convoy to Ulithi 12-21 March; underway for Okinawa 25 March. Arrived on schedule morning of 1 April; launched LVTs and both pontoon causeways and LCT-1049; beached to unload across Yellow, Blue, Red, and Green beaches and Okaneku in Nago Wan; ran two round-trip lifts of 6th MarDiv/7th Field Depot personnel and equipment Hagushi-Nago Wan (27 miles). Documented damage/repair events aboard: USS Smith (DMS 23, as printed) 'gouged starboard side at frame 23 with their bow anchor' while coming alongside for ammo 3 April ('a few stantions, oil pipes and fog curtain pipe knocked off and dent in side three inches deep and three feet long'; 88 rounds of 5-inch x 38 naval ammo transferred - the war diary records the same event at 44 rounds, both carried as written); grounded on uncharted reef off Okaneku 9 April (retracted next morning); collided with USS LST-810 while dragging anchor in a gale 11 April (after gun tub sprung; dent in magazine C-103-M per war diary); screws damaged in beaching operations (only 9 knots available by 25 April); smoke generator caught fire from overheating 7 April (diary) and 12 April (report); decks littered with shrapnel and three stray .50-cal bullets found embedded 15-16 April. Air actions: helped destroy attacking planes on 1 April (119 rds 40MM, 600 rds 20MM); fired on Betty 12 April (44 rds); Zeke suicide dive on the ship broken off and splashed ~1/4 mile off the port quarter 15 April (171 rds 40MM, 526 rds 20MM - 'It appeared also that a suicide attack on the ship was avoided'); further firing that evening. Part V: 'No battle damage occurred on this ship except for a few bullet holes presumed to be from friendly craft.' One plane credited destroyed, six assists, two engaged without observed result. Part VII: no action casualties; epilepsy/neurosis cases and elevated colds, 'cat fever', and rheumatic fever attributed to sleep deprivation. Departed 29 April with a cargo of empty brass 5-inch shell cases for Ulithi.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945-03-01 to 1945-04-29 (report covers operation)

   Population

   Ship's company; embarked 6th MarDiv HQ/7th Field Depot troops and Seabee passengers (April 1945)

   Limitations

   Primary ship-produced record; all 26 pages OCR'd and load-bearing passages re-verified by direct image reads. Documents operational, damage, and ship's-force repair events verbatim; contains no asbestos or material content and does not identify which materials were worked during repairs. The report's own summary line says 'Northern Attack Force 51' while Part II correctly specifies TF 53 (ComPhib Group Four) - internal inconsistency carried as written. Passenger count for the 9 April Nago Wan lift reads 612 here vs. '800 passengers' in the ship's war diary - both as written.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-651-lst651-03

5. [5]NARA NAID 139999794, 'USS LST-651 - War Diary, 4/1-30/1945' (ship's monthly war diary, micro serial 121815, signed Ralph B. Rowe; RG 38 WWII War Diaries via Fold3; 7 images) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 139999794 images 0273-0279 (downloaded and image-read 2026-10-02): cover/submission page and daily narrative 1-30 April with CO signature

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The ship's April 1945 war diary (all 7 pages image-read this session; tesseract OCR unusable on this scan so every page was read directly) is the precise damage-and-repair log for the Okinawa month. Documents verbatim: 1 April cargo - 400 passengers, 2 pontoon causeways, LCT-1049, 17 LVTs, 150 tons rations, 50 tons miscellaneous gear, 1,000 rounds 5-inch x 38 naval ammunition with powder, 100 drums gasoline, wheeled vehicles; approach in Division 4 position 4 following USS LST-950 under ComPhibPac OpPlan A1-45 / CTG 53.3 attack order. 3 April - USS DM-23 came alongside for ammo transfer and caused damage 'being small hole in starboard bow door, one fire curtain pipe, 2 vent pipes broken off, and dents and tears in gunwhale at frame 23' (44 rounds powder and projectiles transferred). 4 April - beached Blue 1, 'severe jolts could be felt as hull was alternately lifted from and dropped onto coral'; post-retraction soundings all dry 5 April. 6 April - four Japanese planes shot down in sight plus two friendly planes downed by friendly fire. 7 April - 'small fire started on fantail by smoke machine extinguished in about a minute, no damage.' 9 April - loaded '800 passengers and 35 vehicles and organizational gear' for Nago Wan (action report gives 612); grounded on submerged uncharted reef; retracted 0517 next morning after kedging out stern anchor. 10 April - beached Okaneku 'under hazardous conditions... lack of charts and the large number of coral heads make a beaching at Okaneku an operation almost certain to result in minor damage.' 11 April - dragged anchor in 35-knot gale; 'The stern collided with bow of USS LST 810. The after gun tub was sprung up and dent put in magazine C-103-M.'; administratively shifted to CTG 53.7 'Capt. W.W. Weeden, Jr. in LC (FF) 790'. 13 April - ensign at the dip in memoriam of President Roosevelt; unloading interrupted 2.5 hours for demolition work on beach approaches. 15 April - Zeke dove on the ship, taken under fire, crashed ~1/4 mile off port quarter; 'reasonable certainty that guns on this ship were responsible'; 326 rds 40MM and 626 rds 20MM expended across the evening raids. 18 April - operational/logistics control shifted to CTU 51.22.3 Capt. Brereton USN (ComLSTFlot 21). 24 April - 'Inspection of screws revealed both screws nicked and bent on blade tips.' 25 April - moored alongside APA-212 (USS Montrose) ~3 hours provisioning. 29 April - departed Okinawa per ComLSTGr91 Movement Order 2-4-5, TU 51.29.25, position 4 section 1, convoy of 30 LSTs, 2 LSMs, 1 AK; OTC Cdr. J.H. Hotes USN in USS LST-854. 30 April summary: 'the ship received damage to hull such that five compartments were filled with water. One of these has since been repaired by ships force. Both screws were damaged beyond the ability of the ships force to repair thus reducing speed to 9 knots... the ships material readiness for sea is as before the invasion except as noted.' 15 beachings made during the month.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945-04-01 to 1945-04-30

   Population

   Ship's company; embarked troops and Seabee passengers (April 1945)

   Limitations

   Primary ship-produced record read in full by direct image display (OCR failed on this scan). Documents damage, flooding, and ship's-force repair events aboard this hull verbatim; contains no asbestos or material content and does not identify what materials were disturbed in the flooded-compartment repair, collision damage, or machinery work. '800 passengers' (9 Apr) conflicts with the action report's 612 - both carried as written.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-651-lst651-04

6. [6]NARA NAID 126624237, 'LST-651, 11/4/44-1/23/46' (U.S. Navy muster rolls / NAVPERS 605-series microfilm, Ancestry partnership digitization; 348 frames) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 126624237 frames 00000-00347; cover + Dec 1944 forwarding sheet at 00002, commissioning RoC pages at 00010 (Camp Bradford line), Nov 1944 sailing RoC at 00040, sampled quarterly rolls 00080/00160, passenger-list form 00240, RoC 00300, decommissioning recapitulation 00344

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The ship's microfilmed muster-roll file (~18 of 348 frames downloaded and OCR/image-read this session) is the authoritative crew-population record for the entire commissioned career - the catalog title's 11/4/44-1/23/46 span matches the commissioning-to-decommissioning period exactly, confirmed by an archivist's handwritten 'Comm. 11-4-44 to 1-23-46 (Decom)' note on the December 1944 forwarding sheet. Documented details include: the Commissioning Report of Changes (4 November 1944) records the crew 'Received ... A.T.B. Camp Bradford, Va' - Amphibious Training Base Camp Bradford, Virginia (Norfolk area) - i.e., the crew was stateside-trained at the Atlantic amphibious base and traveled to the inland Seneca yard for commissioning; a sailing Report of Changes for the month ending 26 November 1944 covers 'Operations New Orleans, La... Panama City, Florida' (the down-the-Mississippi fitting-out transit); the 31 December 1944 quarterly roll forwarding sheet is signed by XO R. A. Costa, Lt. (jg), USNR, approved by CO Ralph B. Rowe, Lt. (jg), USNR, and 'Forwarded 1 January 1945 From San Diego, California' (received at BuPers 2 Feb 1945) - placing the ship on the U.S. West Coast at the end of December 1944; and the file ends with the decommissioning recapitulation sheet.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-11 to 1946-01

   Population

   Ship's company, full commissioned career 1944-46 (named individuals on rolls)

   Limitations

   Personnel records only - no asbestos, material, or space-allocation content. ~18 of 348 frames read; the unit was not exhaustively read. The San Diego forwarding line, Camp Bradford receiving line, and New Orleans-Panama City sailing lines were verified by direct image reads; individual names on rolls were not carried into this record.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-651-lst651-05

7. [7]WKTV Journal (Utica, NY), 'Shipmates during World War II remained buddies for life' (12 July 2018) - veteran-reunion feature on LST-651 gun crewmen Sid Lenger and David 'Goldie' Goldsboro [reputable_press]

   Locator

   wktvjournal.org article body (verified live HTTP 200, 2026-10-02)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   A named-veteran account naming this hull: Lenger (gunman) and Goldsboro (loader) manned one of LST-651's guns during the Battle of Okinawa; the piece describes the suicide-plane run on the ship broken by their gunfire (consistent with the 15 April event in the ship's own action report). Goldsboro recalled that 'at the end of the war [the ship] was given to the Japanese' - first-person corroboration, in lay terms, of the SCAJAP Japanese-manned period NavSource records as designation Q023 - and that the ship 'would be docked near the USS Missouri' at surrender time, when he crossed the gangplanks to watch the signing (consistent with Tokyo Bay presence inside the 6-23 September 1945 occupation window). The article also states 'Of the 139 who served on the LST 651, Lenger and Goldsboro are two of the remaining four who are still living' (2018).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945-1946 (events recalled); article published 2018-07-12

   Population

   Ship's company (wartime, named veterans); SCAJAP period implied

   Limitations

   Veterans' recollections reported by a local-news outlet - useful corroboration but not a ship-produced or registry source. The 'given to the Japanese' phrasing is a lay description of the SCAJAP arrangement, not a transfer of title (the ship remained U.S.-owned until the 1948 sale). '139 who served' is an unattributed article figure, not a verified complement. Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-651-lst651-06

8. [8]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan); NavSource LST-651 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, 2026-09-16) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160651.htm specifications block

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era inference for this hull: the LST-542 design group 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 - and the ship's own records document damage and ship's-force repair events aboard this hull (five flooded compartments with one repaired by ship's force; collision damage at frame 23 and at the after gun tub/magazine C-103-M; reef grounding; smoke-generator fires; screw damage beyond ship's-force capacity) inside the Navy's asbestos-use era.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1948

   Population

   Chicago Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944); ship's company/embarked troops (1944-46); ship's force conducting 1945 damage repairs; SCAJAP crews (1946-47); 1948 disposal/scrapping workers

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package was located for LST-651. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution. The documented repairs are ship's-force work of unitemized material scope - no yard availability is documented for this hull. SDB 1945 v2 link verified live 2026-10-02 (HTTP 200).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-651-lst651-07

9. [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 construction (1944), her Okinawa service and documented in-theater damage repairs (April 1945), the SCAJAP interlude (1946-47), and her 1948 disposal and scrapping.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   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-651-lst651-08

10. [10]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced helper), opinion and docket indexes [court_record]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-651-lst651-08 through -11

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    No qualifying asbestos litigation located: exact-phrase "LST-651" returned 0 in the opinion index and 0 in the docket index; "LST 651" asbestos in opinions returned 0; "USS LST-651" in opinions returned 0. No case naming this hull of any kind surfaced.

    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 qualifying result means no located docketed case/opinion naming this hull, not proof none exists.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-651-lst651-09

11. [11]Batch-7174 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource; NARA catalog + action-report file unit read in full + April 1945 war-diary file unit read in full + muster-roll file unit sampled/read; MARAD ShipHistory live search; CourtListener API (opinion + docket); NIOSH HHE search; NVR; secondary web sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-651-lst651-01 through -16

    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-651 was found in the public sources searched. The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational/personnel - a 26-page action report and a 7-page April 1945 war diary read in full, plus a complete commissioned-career muster-roll microfilm - which documents the hull's Okinawa service, an unusually detailed record of combat and operational damage with ship's-force repair events, crew population, the SCAJAP transition, and disposal, but no primary source read names asbestos aboard this hull. MARAD ShipHistory holds no record for this hull (control queries return same-class neighbors).

    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 the documented 1945 damage-and-repair history 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-651-lst651-10

12. [12]NARA catalog, "LST-651" - 146 file units (fuzzy relevance); ship-titled units digitized are the complete January-December 1945 monthly war-diary set (12 units), the Okinawa action report (NAID 140004140), and the commissioned-career muster-roll microfilm (NAID 126624237). Parent-unit records surfaced in the same result set include COM LST FLOT 23 war diaries (Dec 1944, Jan-Feb 1945) and COM LST GR 67 war diaries (Dec 1944, Jan and Apr 1945) - the administrative chain NavSource lists for this hull [other_primary]

    Locator

    catalog.archives.gov "LST-651" and "USS LST-651" result sets (146 and 44 file units); twelve war-diary NAIDs listed in finding_value

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Primary archive coverage for this hull is unusually complete: twelve ship-titled monthly war diaries covering every month of 1945 are digitized (January-December; NAIDs 139841186, 139911408, 633405575, 139999794, 140044982, 101736060, 83565378, 77505173, 77553695, 77590457, 140081553, 140084181), plus the Okinawa action report and the full-career muster file. The April 1945 diary was read in full this session; the remaining eleven were verified as holdings but not read - they cover the Pacific transit, post-Okinawa operations, the occupation period, and the lead-up to decommissioning. Parent-unit diaries for ComLSTFlot 23 and ComLSTGrp 67 are also digitized and would document the flagship's administrative chain around this hull. No WWII deck logs titled for this hull were surfaced in the digitized results; no ship-titled diary for Nov-Dec 1944 (commissioning/transit months) was surfaced - the muster file is the coverage for that period.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-02

    Study period

    1945-01 to 1945-12 (diary coverage); 1944-1946 (record span)

    Population

    Ship's company (1944-46); researchers

    Limitations

    Archival-lead row: only the April 1945 diary was read; the other eleven diaries' content is uncarried. Deck-log coverage may exist under non-ship-titled or undigitized arrangements not surfaced by title search; RG 24/RG 38 ship files at College Park are the open leads. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-651-lst651-11