Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 710-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-688-lst688-pkt-710-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-688 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Asiatic-Pacific campaigns, postwar disposition (live NHHC page, retrieved via Firecrawl render) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-688 service narrative (single-page entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 17 January 1944 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched 5 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. James R. Collier; commissioned 27 April 1944. WWII Asiatic-Pacific operations: capture and occupation of the southern Palau Islands (September-October 1944); Leyte landings (October-November 1944); Lingayen Gulf landing (January 1945); assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (May-June 1945). Postwar occupation duty in the Far East (DANFS text reads 'until early February 1956' - a typo for 1946, see correction row). Decommissioned 5 August 1946; struck from the Navy list 25 September 1946; sold 17 September 1947 to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle, Wash., for scrapping. Earned four battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Jeffersonville Boat & Machine construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); Consolidated Builders scrapping workers (1947-)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Contains the internal '1956' typo corrected in ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-08. Live NHHC page verified via Firecrawl render this session (plain curl is bot-blocked by the DoD edge - curl 404/406 is not a real dead link).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-688 (10/16/160688.htm) - designation line, campaign table, occupation-service window, specifications, commanding officers, photo captions (live navsource.net page via Firecrawl render) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160688.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, CO list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource page for this hull (LST-542 class): laid down 17 January 1944, Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN; launched 5 March 1944; commissioned USS LST-688, 27 April 1944, LT. Harold A. Brock, USNR, in command. Campaign table: Western Caroline Islands operation / southern Palaus 6 Sep - 14 Oct 1944; Leyte landings 18 Oct - 6 Nov and 19 - 29 Nov 1944; Lingayen Gulf landings 4 - 18 Jan 1945; Okinawa Gunto assault 16 May - 30 Jun 1945 (LST Flotilla Fourteen, CAPT E. A. Seay; LST Group Forty, CDR G. Reith; LST Division Eighty). Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) window 2 September 1945 - 11 February 1946. Decommissioned 5 August 1946; struck from the Naval Register 25 September 1946; sold for scrapping 17 September 1947 to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle, WA. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted, troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three 100 kW 230 V DC diesel-drive ship's-service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp; call sign NFNH. CO list: LT Harold A. Brock USNR (27 Apr 1944 - 30 Nov 1945); LTjg Edgar H. Knapp USNR (30 Nov 1945 - 19 Jan 1946); unnamed (19 Jan - 5 Aug 1946). Photo captions: commissioning ceremony 27 April 1944 at Jeffersonville with LST-694 in background; at anchor in San Francisco Bay off Naval Station Treasure Island circa 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Jeffersonville construction trades (1944); ship's company 13 officers / 104 enlisted + embarked troops (1944-46); scrapping workers, Consolidated Builders Seattle (1947-)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation tracking NVR/DANFS milestones - not a primary registry; no asbestos or material content. Live page verified via Firecrawl render this session (curl UA is 406-blocked; navsource.org is dead - .net is the canonical domain per batch citation policy). The 1947 scrapping predates modern ACM-handling regulation; no hazmat or material record for the breakup was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-02
-
[4]NARA Catalog, RG 24 muster-roll file unit 'LST-688, 4/27/44-6/30/46' (naId 126482409, 408 digital objects, Ancestry-scanned); RG 38 WWII War Diaries series (naId 4697018) monthly volumes for USS LST-688, Sep 1944 - Dec 1945 (Fold3-scanned, e.g. naId 139965733 'War Diary, 3/1-31/45'); WWII action reports 'Rep of Landing Ops on Angaur Is, Palau Is, 9/17-25/44' and 'Rep of contact with enemy aircraft while in Resupply Echelon enroute to Lingayen Gulf, Luzon Is, Philippines on 1/12/45' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog naId 126482409 (muster rolls); naId 4697018 series, e.g. naId 139965733 (war diary Mar 1945); action-report file units returned under catalog query "LST-688"
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Hull-specific primary records exist and are digitized in the National Archives Catalog: muster rolls covering commissioning through disposal window (27 Apr 1944 - 30 Jun 1946, 408 scans, RG 24); monthly war diaries September 1944 through December 1945 plus a Nov-Dec 1945 combined volume (RG 38, Fold3 scans); and at least two action reports (Angaur landing operations 17-25 Sep 1944; enemy-aircraft contact in the Lingayen resupply echelon 12 Jan 1945). These are the open ship-specific evidentiary track for this hull - personnel presence and operational detail at daily/monthly granularity.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company enumerated in muster rolls (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: record existence verified via the NARA Catalog API this session (222 hits on 'LST-688'); individual documents were not reviewed for asbestos-relevant content - war diaries and action reports describe operations, not material composition. The muster rolls document the crew population aboard. No asbestos content asserted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945), LST design table + machinery data (shipscribe.com scan); consolidated with class-profile era inference (lst-1-class profile, ev-lst-1-class-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table; class profile ev-lst-1-class-01/-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for diesel-powered LST-542-class hulls: the BuShips 1945 machinery table shows the LST plant as two GM 12-567A diesels (1,700 shp) with no boilers - removing the steam-lagging pathway that dominates steam-ship exposure. Asbestos-relevant applications aboard a 1944 diesel LST were engine exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. The hull was built at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine, one of the inland 'cornfield' yards mass-producing LSTs to wartime BuShips design.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Jeffersonville construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); scrapping workers (1947-)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-688. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; establishes no quantity and no exposure for any individual. Note: class profile cited shipscribe path styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf, now 404; live URL verified this session is www.shipscribe.com/pubs/SDB1945v2.pdf (HTTP 200).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-04
-
[6]NARA research guide, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' - RG 19 BuShips correspondence filed by hull code and QM/shipyard code [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided-topic page, 'Beginning Research' + RG 19 entry lists (A1 1266 series; UD 1001-1015; UD 1017 series)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official research guide documents that asbestos in U.S. Navy materiel 1941-1961 is a frequently-requested research topic, and prescribes the records pathway: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) General/Confidential/Secret correspondence 1940-1961 is filed by hull designation - this hull would be filed 'LST688' - with class correspondence under the class namesake and yard correspondence under QM/Jeffersonville Boat & Machine. This is the documented path to any BuShips material/equipment correspondence bearing on this hull's construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1961 (guide coverage); page live 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Research-pathway documentation, not a materials record: establishes that asbestos research for this era Navy is a recognized topic and where hull-specific records would sit in RG 19 - it does not locate or quote any LST-688 file. No asbestos content asserted for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-05
-
[7]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 - a policy era spanning this hull's entire construction (1944) and service life (1944-46).
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 (authenticated), searched 2026-10-02: type=o "LST-688" = 0 results; type=r "LST-688" = 0 results; type=o "LST 688" = 0 results; type=r "LST 688" = 0 results [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py authenticated queries, all four count=0 (search_ledger sl-uss-lst-688-lst688-05 through -08)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No litigation located: CourtListener opinion search (type=o) and RECAP docket search (type=r) returned zero hits for both "LST-688" and "LST 688" - no opinion, docket, or case caption naming this hull was found in the repository's coverage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Repository-coverage negative, not proof that no claim was ever filed: state-court, MDL-875 district-court, and VA/BVA claims naming this hull would not all be indexed in CourtListener; unindexed pleadings and settled claims are outside its coverage. The hull-number-only name reduces name-collision noise (all hits would have been this ship), making the zero result cleaner than for named hulls.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-07
-
[9]Batch-7214 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page; NavSource 10/16/160688.htm; NARA Catalog API ('LST-688', 222 hits incl. muster rolls/war diaries/action reports); NARA asbestos research guide; BuShips SDB 1945 v2 (shipscribe); CourtListener API x4 queries (all zero); NVR check; GAO product page; Firecrawl web sweeps for ship and builder asbestos [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-688 narrative ('early February 1956' sentence); NavSource occupation-service table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the live DANFS entry for LST-688 states the ship 'performed occupation duty in the Far East until early February 1956.' The year is a typo for 1946 - the ship decommissioned 5 August 1946 per the same DANFS entry, and NavSource's Navy Occupation Service Medal window for this hull is 2 September 1945 - 11 February 1946, consistent with a February 1946 return.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Limitations
- Corrects an internal inconsistency in the DANFS source itself, not a material claim. The corrected end-of-occupation month (February 1946) is corroborated by the NavSource medal-eligibility table; DANFS gives no further detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-08
-
[10]Batch-7214 search ledger (this record): all repositories above [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-688-lst688-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LST-688 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Unlike most Tier-2 hulls this ship HAS a deep digitized record set at NARA (muster rolls, 15+ war-diary volumes, action reports) - the digitized files document operations and crew, not material composition. The only 'asbestos aboard' material surfaced by web sweeps is law-firm marketing content (mesotheliomahope.com, mesotheliomatreatmentcenters.org, asbestos-ships.com, and similar listicles) asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy; the mesotheliomatreatmentcenters.org 'LST 542' page even lists 'boiler room; steam pipes' for a diesel ship class with no boilers, illustrating why these sources are excluded.
- 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 - era inference places the hull inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use window (1941-61 per NARA; substitution not begun until early 1970s per GAO). Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-688-lst688-09