Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 705-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-653-lst653-pkt-705-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-653 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, occupation duty, decommissioning, strike, disposal to South Korea (live NHHC page, fetched via Firecrawl; bare curl returns 404 - UA-gated, re-verified HTTP 200 with browser UA 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-653 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 17 November 1943 at Ambridge, Pa., by the American Bridge Co.; launched 23 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. C. C. Smith; commissioned 1 April 1944, Lt. (jg.) H. C. Beasley, Jr., in command. 'Following World War II, LST-653 performed occupation duty in the Far East until early February 1946. The ship was decommissioned on 3 February 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 5 March 1947. On 31 May 1947, LST-653 was sold to the government of South Korea.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Construction trades (Ambridge, 1943-44); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; the LST-653 entry is a stub entry with no campaign detail (no shipyard, battle-star, or itinerary content) and no asbestos or material content. Decommissioning location not stated; Korean receiving entity and later fate not described.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-653-lst653-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-653 (10/16/160653.htm, last updated 9 January 2015) - designation timeline, unit assignments, SCAJAP Q039, spec block, commanding-officer list, awards, disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160653.htm header block, unit line, occupation-service table, specifications block, CO table, disposal line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-542-class tank landing ship laid down 17 November 1943 at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA; launched 23 January 1944; commissioned USS LST-653 1 April 1944, LTjg Herbert C. Beasley, Jr., USNR in command. WWII assignment Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven (CAPT. Riley), LST Group One Hundred Eleven (LCDR. A. H. Tutt), LST Division Two Hundred Twenty-One. Navy Occupation service periods: 2 September-18 November 1945 and 23 December 1945-3 February 1946. 'Decommissioned, 3 February 1946 and assigned to Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE) Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q039.' Struck from the Naval Register 5 March 1947; sold to the government of South Korea 31 May 1947; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' Spec block (LST-542 standard): 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 reduction gear, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, 3 x 100 kW DC generators; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; radio call sign NFIT. CO list: LTjg Beasley USNR 1 Apr 1944-Nov 1945; LTjg William H. Low USNR Nov 1945-3 Feb 1946. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (no battle stars shown), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Medal with Asia clasp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Ship's company (~117 spec) plus embarked troops (1944-46); SCAJAP Japanese crew as Q039 (1946-47); Korean service population unknown
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates and the Flotilla/Group/Division chain cross-check cleanly against DANFS, the NHHC fleet-organization document, and the COM LST GR 111 war diaries (A. H. Tutt signature). The SCAJAP Q039 designation is NavSource-only this session (no primary corroboration located) - consistent with USNI's documented SCAJAP program but carried as secondary-sourced. Contains no asbestos content. No images of the ship exist on the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-653-lst653-02
-
[4]NHHC Navy Department Library, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (live NHHC page, fetched via Firecrawl; bare curl returns 404 - UA-gated, re-verified HTTP 200 with browser UA 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, 'LST GROUP 111 / LST DIVISION 221' table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official NHHC fleet-organization document for 1 May 1945 places LST 653 in LST Division 221 under LST Group 111, LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven, within Landing Craft Flotillas, Pacific Fleet - corroborating the NavSource unit chain (Flotilla 37 / Group 111 / Division 221) and confirming Pacific Fleet assignment by 1 May 1945. Division 221 listed: LST 546, LST 547, LST 600, LST 653, LST 683 (group flagship), LST 915.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Ship's company under Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet assignment
- Limitations
- Administrative placement on 1 May 1945 - the document confirms unit membership, not the hull's physical position or operation on that date (the parent group's war diary records its ships still stateside/en route in April-May 1945 - ev-04). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-653-lst653-03
-
[5]NARA war diaries, Commander LST Group One Hundred Eleven: NAID 140006457 'COM LST GR 111 - War Diary, 4/1-30/45' (serial 057, dated 20 May 1945, signed A. H. Tutt; 1 image) and NAID 140040007 'COM LST GR 111 - War Diary, 5/1-31/1945' (serial 059, dated 5 June 1945, signed A. H. Tutt; 1 image), RG 38 World War II War Diaries [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 140006457 image 1 (serial 057, paragraphs 1(a)-1(b)); NAID 140040007 image 1 (serial 059, paragraph 1); https://catalog.archives.gov/id/140040007
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Parent-unit war diaries (both downloaded and read in full this session) document the group's spring-1945 status. April 1945 diary verbatim: '(a) Effective 1 April 1945 LST Group 25, Flotilla 9 redesignated as LST Group 111, Flotilla 37 ... (b) Ships of this group in Norfolk Navy Yard for overseas availability. After procurement of supplies and loading reported to Commander Amphibious Training Command, U.S. Atlantic Fleet for onward routing.' May 1945 diary verbatim: 'Ships of this Group enroute for duty with Amphibious Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet.' LST-653 is a documented member of this group (NHHC fleet organization 1 May 1945, Div. 221), so the April 1945 Norfolk Navy Yard overseas availability is a documented pre-deployment yard event for her unit - a wartime repair/outfitting event inside the Navy's asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-04 to 1945-05
- Population
- Ship's company plus Norfolk Navy Yard trades during overseas availability (spring 1945)
- Limitations
- Group-level documentation: the diary speaks for 'ships of this group' and does not name LST-653 individually - hull membership is established by the separate 1 May 1945 fleet-organization document, and individual ships may have completed availabilities on different schedules. The diaries do not itemize work content, materials, or contractors and do not say 'asbestos.' Norfolk Navy Yard availability scope for this hull specifically is not established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-653-lst653-04
-
[6]NARA NAID 126623849, 'LST-653, 4/12/44-2/1/46' (RG 24, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities; microfilm roll 4710, filmed 3-3-47; 154 digitized images, Ancestry partnership scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 126623849 images ~50 (Nov 1944 Report of Changes) and ~148 (Recapitulation quarter ending 1 Jan 1946); reel leader image 1 'START OF REEL NO.7293' dated 3-3-47
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's digitized muster rolls cover the full commissioned period (April 1944-February 1946). Spot-read pages this session: the Report of Changes for the month ending 30 November 1944 records men 'Rec'd from ATB Camp Bradford, Norfolk, Va.' and 'Rec'd on board from ATB Camp Bradford, NorVa.' (entries dated 11-13, 11-22, and 11-26-44), plus one man 'Declared a Deserter from 27 October 1944 AOL from ATB Little Creek, Virginia' - placing the ship in the Norfolk amphibious-training-base area through late November 1944. The Recapitulation Sheet for the quarter ending 1 January 1946 shows: brought forward 93, gain 19, loss 40, 'Remaining on board and carried forward' 72, operating allowance 74 - actual onboard strength below the 117-man spec complement during post-war occupation service.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-04-12 to 1946-02-01
- Population
- Ship's company (~72-93 aboard documented at 1945-46 muster points)
- Limitations
- Archival lead with spot verification: 154 images exist; a small sample was read directly (November 1944 report of changes and the 1 January 1946 recapitulation - displayed pages verified, not OCR alone). The rolls do not state ship position at muster dates beyond the transfer-activity entries read; the full roll is an open source for individual-name and itinerary reconstruction. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-653-lst653-05
-
[7]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan, verified live HTTP 200); NavSource LST-653 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, 2026-09-16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160653.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, 900 hp each, Falk reduction gear, twin screws, 1,700 shp - 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 1943-44 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 - applied both in initial construction at American Bridge (Ambridge, Ohio River wartime yard) and in the parent group's documented April 1945 Norfolk Navy Yard overseas availability (ev-04).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943-44); ship's company (1944-46); Norfolk Navy Yard trades (spring 1945 availability); SCAJAP Japanese crew (1946-47); Korean service population (1947-?)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package was located for LST-653. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution. The Norfolk availability is documented at group level; the April-May 1945 diaries do not itemize materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-653-lst653-06
-
[8]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 (1943-44), Pacific service, the group's documented spring-1945 Norfolk Navy Yard overseas availability, occupation service, SCAJAP repatriation operation (1946-47), and 1947 foreign sale.
- 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-653-lst653-07
-
[9]U.S. Naval Institute (Scot Christenson), 'The Strange Navy That Shipped Millions of Japanese Home' - SCAJAP repatriation program history (fetched via Firecrawl; returns HTTP 403 to bare curl - UA-gated, verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-02) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI article text ('SCAJAP gave Japan 85 LSTs and 100 Liberty ships'; Japanese crews; Q-series pennant discussion)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Program context for this hull's documented SCAJAP Q039 assignment (NavSource, ev-02): the Navy established the Shipping Control Authority, Japanese Merchant Marine (SCAJAP) under COMNAVFE, and 'to hasten repatriation, SCAJAP gave Japan 85 LSTs and 100 Liberty ships that had been slated for decommissioning,' operated by Japanese crews - the documented program into which this decommissioned hull was placed in February 1946. SCAJAP was dissolved 1 April 1952; this hull was sold out of it to South Korea 31 May 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1952
- Population
- SCAJAP Japanese crews of ex-US LSTs (1945-52)
- Limitations
- Program-level background only - the article does not name this hull or any Q-number; the ship's own Q039 designation rests on NavSource (secondary). No asbestos or material content. A SCAJAP LST at Inchon photo caption (Sept 1950) documents the fleet type, not this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-653-lst653-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced helper), opinion and RECAP docket indexes [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-653-lst653-07 through -10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying litigation located naming this hull: exact-phrase "LST-653" returned 0 in the opinion index and 0 in the RECAP docket index; the asbestos-qualified opinion query '"LST 653" asbestos' returned 0. The unquoted query "LST-653" returned 102 opinion hits - all tokenization noise on page-one review (statute/address/exhibit numbers in unrelated criminal and civil cases; no vessel or asbestos content).
- 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. The quoted exact-phrase results (0/0), the asbestos-qualified zero, and noise-only unquoted hits establish no located docketed case or opinion naming this hull, not proof none exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-653-lst653-09
-
[11]The American Legion Magazine, Vol. 129 No. 6 (December 1990), ship-reunion notices - ARCHIVED COPY (live archive.legion.org URL returns 403/404 to direct fetch; cited from Wayback capture 2025-05-01) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- American Legion Magazine Vol. 129 No. 6 (Dec 1990), reunion-notices section; Wayback PDF text extraction
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The December 1990 American Legion Magazine carries a ship-reunion listing verbatim: 'USS LST-653 (WWII) (May-Niagara Falls, NY) Charlie Price, 375 Main St., Goshen, NY 10924 (914) 2947091' - documenting an organized crew-reunion community for this hull as of 1990 (a May reunion at Niagara Falls, NY). Verified verbatim by downloading the archived PDF and extracting text (page-level listing, file position ~line 7845 of text extraction).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1990
- Population
- USS LST-653 WWII veteran reunion community (as of 1990)
- Limitations
- Documents a surviving veteran community, not exposure - a reunion notice is evidence that crew lived to organize reunions; it says nothing about health outcomes and no asbestos or material content. Live archive.legion.org URL dead/blocked this session - archived copy cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-653-lst653-10
-
[12]Batch-7176 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945; NavSource; NARA catalog (muster rolls + COM LST GR 111 war diaries read in full); BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; USNI program article; American Legion 1990 archive; CourtListener API (opinion + docket); NIOSH HHE search; NVR; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-653-lst653-01 through -19
- 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-653 was found in the public sources searched. The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational (parent-unit war diaries and muster rolls) and confirms a group-level April 1945 Norfolk Navy Yard overseas availability - a relevant pre-deployment yard event - 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 a documented group-level Navy-yard availability 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-653-lst653-11