USS LST-684

Evidence

13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).

1. [1]research packet 709-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-684-lst684-pkt-709-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, LST-684 (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02 after an initial transient 404; identical text confirmed against the 2014 Wayback capture of the legacy history.navy.mil URL linked from NavSource) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC DANFS ship-history page for LST-684 (Published: Mon Aug 03 2015)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Documented for this hull: 'laid down on 13 December 1943 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched on 12 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Florence M. Sussman; and commissioned on 3 April 1944, Lt. P. B. Welch, Jr., USNR, in command.' WWII Asiatic-Pacific operations: capture and occupation of Guam (July and August 1944), assault and occupation of Iwo Jima (February 1945), assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (April through June 1945). 'Following the war, LST-684 performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-November 1945. She returned to the United States and was decommissioned on 25 November 1945 and destroyed on 22 March 1946. LST-684 was struck from the Navy list on 5 June 1946. LST-684 earned three battle stars for World War II service.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943-1946

   Population

   Jeffboat construction trades (1943-44); crew and embarked troops (1944-45); 1946 demolition/disposal crews

   Limitations

   Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not state the destruction mechanism, the destruction location, or a build specification block. Live NHHC page returned a transient 404 on first fetch this session, then served correctly - cited URL verified live at access time.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-684-01

3. [3]NARA RG 38 WWII War Diaries: 'USS LST-684 - War Diary, 2/1/45 to 3/31/45', NAID 633409098 (Fold3 scan, Roll A1547; 9 images, read firsthand) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 633409098, images 0675-0683 (Feb diary pp. 1-5, Mar diary cover + pp. 1-2)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Ship's own war diary (signed P. B. Welch, Jr.), verbatim entries: 1 February 1945 underway Pearl Harbor to Eniwetok in Tractor Group Baker (TG 51.13; Capt. Brereton CTG 51.13 in USS Gregory; CDR Lief in LST-713); logistics Eniwetok 3-5 February; Saipan arrival; 14 February 'moved into Tanapag Harbor for emergency repairs to bow door and ramp gear'; 15 February underway for Iwo Jima; 19 February (D-Day) arrived off the Eastern Beaches ~0733 at 6,000 yards, bow doors opened, ramp lowered, unloading begun, that afternoon LCT(6)-1028 launched with an 11-degree starboard list; 21 February 'one LCVP was beached and lost on beach' and port bow-door casualty ('cable on backside of door parted... shearing off bolts in guide plate and guide bracket and bending piston rod approximately 1 and 1/2 inches'), door lashed open, unloading continued; 23 February beached at high water on Yellow Beach at full speed (1659), fired on enemy aircraft during Flash Red 1923-2010 (expended 1,226 rounds 20mm and 330 rounds 40mm), 'at 1925 received one mortar hit, starboard side of truck ramp, main deck, bow' (hole in ramp frame 30"x19", hole in main deck 29"x12"), 'at 2353 received hit by a 75 MM shell, amidships, starboard side, at compartment A-215-L, five feet below main deck' (hole in hull 10"x3.5", two porcelain basins destroyed, urinal and connecting pipes destroyed, longitudinal bulkhead in head split 24"x3", second bulkhead hole 21"x11") - 'no personnel casualties'; completed discharge and retracted 24 February; Saipan 28 February. March: repairs to hull and deck machinery Tanapag Harbor 1-3 March; Guam 8-13 March combat-loading the Second Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion (18 officers, 315 enlisted) at North LST landing, Apra Harbor; convoy Guam-Saipan 51 (escort commander USS Raby DE-698), arrived 15 March; 26 March underway for Okinawa Jima with T.U. 51.13.4, OTC in LST-244.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945-02-01 to 1945-03-31

   Population

   Ship's company (~129 per spec block) + embarked Army/Marine units

   Limitations

   Contemporaneous operational record; no asbestos or material content. The repair entries (bow door/ramp, post-Iwo 'repairs to hull and deck machinery') do not state scope of insulation disturbance, if any. Header confirms organization 'Flotilla 21, Group 61, Division 122, U.S. Pacific Fleet'. No April 1945 diary was located in the digitized set - the Okinawa assault-phase month is covered only by DANFS/NavSource.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-684-02

4. [4]NARA RG 38 WWII War Diaries: 'USS LST-684 - War Diary, 5/1-31/45', NAID 140040677 (Fold3 scan, Roll A1653; 4 images, read firsthand) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 140040677, images 0348a-0351

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Ship's own war diary for May 1945: 1-3 May underway Kossol Roads, Palau Islands, to Leyte-Samar in convoy GI 23; anchored San Pedro Bay 3 May; 7 May 'pursuant to C.T.U. 50.9.2 visual communication, entered drydock ARD 17, anchored in San Pedro Bay, for changing of propellers, installation of new bearings on both shafts, and to scrape and repaint bottom' - repairs completed 8 May, departed ARD-17 9 May; 10-19 May loading troops and equipment at Rizal Piers, Leyte (727th Signal Aircraft Warning Company - 12 officers, 225 enlisted - removed and replaced by Service Battery, 226th F.A. Battalion - 6 officers, 156 enlisted); 24 May underway for Okinawa Jima with LST Group 92 (CDR Winn in LST-876, OTC); 29 May arrived Okinawa, anchored 'H' anchorages off the west coast, reported to CTF 51, General Quarters twice on Flash Red; 31 May beached on White Beach One, Hagushi Beaches, unloading cargo and disembarking personnel.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945-05-01 to 1945-05-31

   Population

   Ship's company + embarked Army units; ARD-17 repair crews (7-9 May)

   Limitations

   Contemporaneous operational record; no asbestos or material content. The ARD-17 drydock availability (propellers, shaft bearings, bottom work) is a documented repair event but its cause and any insulation disturbance are not stated - no causal link to grounding or battle damage may be asserted. Establishes the ship was NOT at the Tarakan, Borneo landings (1-2 May 1945) - she was in convoy Palau-to-Leyte - which bears on the ev-06 caption claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-684-03

5. [5]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (official fleet organization document) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, LST Flotilla Twenty-One / LST Group 61 / LST Division 122 table

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   As of 1 May 1945 LST-684 is listed in LST Flotilla TWENTY-ONE (Capt. W. H. Brereton), LST Group 61 (Comdr. R. M. MacKinnon), LST Division 122, with commanding officer 'Lt. P. B. Welch, Jr. (USNR)' - corroborating the war-diary organization header and the NavSource flotilla/group/division attribution.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945-05-01

   Limitations

   Organization snapshot only; no asbestos content. Confirms administrative assignment, not physical location - her May 1945 war diary shows her at sea Palau-to-Leyte on that date.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-684-04

6. [6]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-684 (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/16/160684.htm - timeline, awards, specifications, commanding officers, photo captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource record for this hull: laid down 13 December 1943, launched 12 February 1944, commissioned 3 April 1944 (Lt. Paul B. Welch, Jr., USNR); assigned Asiatic-Pacific, LST Flotilla Twenty-One / LST Group Sixty-One / LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Two; campaign table with dates (Guam capture 22 July-15 August 1944; Iwo Jima assault 19-25 February 1945; Okinawa Gunto 2 April-7 June 1945); occupation service Far East 2 September-22 November 1945; decommissioned 25 November 1945; struck 5 June 1946; 'Final Disposition, destroyed, 22 March 1946'; three battle stars; ribbons American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific (3), WWII Victory, Navy Occupation (Asia clasp). Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full, 328' oa, 50' beam, 11.6 kts, complement 9 officers/120 enlisted, troops 14 officers/131 enlisted, 6 LCVP, diesel fuel 4,300 bbls, two GM 12-567A 900hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders, three diesel-drive 100kW 230V DC generators. Commanding officers: Lt. Welch 3 Apr 1944-21 Jun 1945; Lt.(jg) Harold W. Mears 21 Jun-24 Nov 1945. Photo captions: underway off invasion beaches 'at either Iwo Jima or Okinawa'; unloading across a pontoon pier at Okinawa.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943-1946

   Population

   Crew (1944-45); embarked troops; 1946 disposal crews

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates track DANFS and the war diaries where checked. Spec block complement (9/120) conflicts with the class-level BuShips figure (13/~104-106) - conflict logged in gaps. The stricken line precedes the destroyed line chronologically on the page though the strike date (5 Jun 1946) postdates the destruction (22 Mar 1946). No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-684-05

7. [7]NavSource USS LST-585 and USS LCI(L)-625 (10/15/150625.htm) pages - photo caption note attributing a grounding assist to LST-684 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/16/160585.htm photo caption block (LSTs at Morotai, April 1945); same caption on 10/15/150625.htm

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   A NavSource caption on the LST-585 page (repeated on the LCI(L)-625 page), attached to a photo of LSTs loading at Morotai in April 1945, notes that USS LCI(L)-625 'arrived later to assist in the effort to move LST-684 out of the mud and into deeper water.' The adjacent verbatim excerpt is from the USS LST-584 Tarakan report (NARA NAID 296592936) and documents LST-584's own grounding at Tarakan 1-2 May 1945 - not LST-684's.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   circa 1945

   Population

   Crew during the grounding event (date/location unresolved)

   Limitations

   PARTIAL VERIFICATION: the LST-684 grounding assist rests on NavSource caption attribution, not a cited primary record. Her own May 1945 war diary (ev-03) places her in convoy Palau-to-Leyte on 1-3 May 1945 and drydocking 7-9 May - she was not at the Tarakan landings - so the date and location of this mud-grounding are unresolved (LCI-625's other campaigns - Leyte Nov 1944, Mindanao Mar 1945, Balikpapan Jun-Jul 1945 - overlap LST-684's Philippine operating area). No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-684-06

8. [8]shipbuildinghistory / navalmarinearchive, 'JeffBoat, Jeffersonville IN - Self-Propelled Vessels' production table (Tim Colton compilation, secondary) [other_primary]

   Locator

   JeffBoat self-propelled vessels table, LST-684 row; yard-history preamble

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Builder's production table row: 'LST 684 | US Navy | Landing Ship | 1,625d | 328 | 3-Apr-44 | Destroyed 1946' - corroborating the commissioning date and the destroyed disposition. Yard context: Jeffersonville Boat & Machine was organized 1938 by American Barge Line; in 1942 the Navy condemned the neighboring Howard Shipyard & Dock Co. and leased it to JeffBoat; the yard was a major LST builder with employment peaking at 13,000.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943-1946

   Population

   Jeffboat yard workforce (peak ~13,000) including LST-684 construction trades (1943-44)

   Limitations

   Respected secondary compilation for yard production lists, not a primary registry - carried as corroboration for DANFS dates, not an independent source. No asbestos content. Yard history is context only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-684-07

9. [9]Warship International Vol. 41 No. 3 (2004), 'Comments and Corrections: Ask Infoser' (International Naval Research Organization, via JSTOR) [other_primary]

   Locator

   JSTOR stable/44895725, Warship International 41(3) pp. 240-253, snippet

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Indexed snippet text reads 'LST-684 hulk destroyed 22 March 1946' in an LST-casualty corrections listing - corroborating DANFS's 'destroyed' date and characterizing the disposition as destruction of a decommissioned hulk rather than a combat loss or a sale.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1946

   Population

   1946 disposal crews

   Limitations

   Paywalled: JSTOR page requires login; content seen only as a search-index snippet. The snippet supports 'hulk destroyed' wording but does not state mechanism or location. An accessible copy could resolve the disposal detail - carried as an open lead, verification partial.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-684-08

10. [10]Era inference built on: BuShips Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945) LST design table (shipscribe scan) + NavSource hull specifications + era amphibious-ship construction practice [other_primary]

    Locator

    SDB1945v2 LST design table; NavSource 160684 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree)

    Finding type

    asbestos_application

    Finding

    A diesel-powered LST-542-class tank landing ship built 1943-44 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a ship of this type and period were engine and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, thermal and acoustic insulation in machinery spaces and accommodations, deck coverings/tile, and valve/pump packing. As a diesel plant she carried no boilers or steam propulsion piping - the boiler-room/steam-lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply (a boiler-room exposure claim for this class, circulated by marketing pages, is factually wrong for the design).

    Verification

    inferred

    Role

    supporting

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-10-02

    Study period

    1943-1946

    Population

    Jeffboat construction trades (1943-44); crew and embarked troops (1944-45); ARD-17/repair personnel (1945); 1946 disposal crews

    Limitations

    Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-684. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no individual exposure.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-684-09

11. [11]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 entire construction (1943-44) and service era (1944-45).

    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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, consistent with prior batch findings) - content via product-page description.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-684-10

12. [12]NARA catalog search 'LST-684' - 188 results, predominantly RG 38 WWII War Diary file units for this hull (digitized, Fold3 scans) [other_primary]

    Locator

    catalog.archives.gov search 'LST-684' (188 hits, 187 available online); NAIDs listed in finding_value

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Her own monthly war diaries are digitized and publicly readable at NARA: file units located cover 12/44 (NAID 139793102), 1/45 (139895386), 2-3/45 (633409098), 5/45 (140040677), 6/45 (101726842), 7/45 (83558626), 8/45 (77505196), 9/45 (77542620), 10/45 (77589182) - the catalog returns 188 'LST-684' hits overall, mostly her diaries plus mentions in other ships' operational records. Months not located in the digitized set: April-November 1944 (shakedown + Guam campaign period) and April 1945 (Okinawa assault phase).

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-02

    Study period

    1944-1945

    Population

    Ship's company and embarked units, Dec 1944-Oct 1945 coverage

    Limitations

    Archival lead: two diaries (2-3/45, 5/45) were read firsthand this session (ev-02, ev-03); the remaining digitized months are an open primary-source corpus for crew-level detail. Absence of a digitized month does not prove no diary was filed. RG 24 deck logs for 1944-45 are not digitized - separate undigitized lead.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-684-11

13. [13]Batch-7210 search ledger (this record): DANFS live + Wayback; NARA war diaries (2 read firsthand); NHHC fleet organization; NavSource (live); Jeffboat production table; JSTOR snippet; NIOSH HHE index; GAO product page; CourtListener API v4 (o + r); secondary web marketing sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-684-01 through -13

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying litigation naming USS LST-684 was found in the public sources searched - and none is expected to exist for a hull destroyed March 1946, ~23 months after commissioning, before the asbestos-management era. CourtListener swept (authenticated API v4, 2026-10-02): '"LST-684"' opinions 0 results; '"LST 684"' opinions 0 results; '"LST-684"' dockets 1 hit - Cole v. Allstate Indemnity Co., W.D. Tenn. 1:15-cv-01268 (2015), an insurance-coverage dispute whose 'LST-684' match sits inside a scanned complaint exhibit (an insurance form/document code) - classified NAME COLLISION, not litigation; '"Jeffboat" asbestos' and '"Jeffersonville Boat" asbestos' opinions both 0 results - no yard-level asbestos opinion located either. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content (mesotheliomatreatmentcenters.org 'LST 542 and Asbestos Exposure' class page asserting boiler-room exposure - factually wrong for this boiler-free diesel class - plus mesowatch.org Jeffboat page and generic ship listicles including DE-684/De Long name collisions) - all excluded by source policy.

    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. CourtListener coverage limits: unhyphenated 'LST684' variant not queried (intermittent fleet pacing budget); the Cole v. Allstate docket hit was classified at snippet level - the scanned exhibit PDF was not pulled, but the case's insurance-coverage nature makes a ship reference implausible. RECAP-indexed text only; litigation filed under party names alone (no vessel string) is not visible to hull-number search. Undigitized deck logs, Jeffboat builder records, and any 1946 disposal-contract records are unfollowed leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-684-12