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-69-lst69-pkt-710-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), LST-69 entry - live page retrieved 2026-10-02 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text, single paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LST-69 was laid down 7 September 1942 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched 20 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs. S. F. Crum; commissioned 20 May 1943; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the Gilbert Islands operation November-December 1943; sank 21 May 1944 as a result of fire and accidental explosion at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; struck from the Navy list 18 July 1944; earned one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Limitations
- DANFS is terse for LSTs - it does not name the commanding officer, the Coast Guard manning, the Aleutians/Kiska service, or the berth and casualty detail, each of which required separate sources. Establishes identity, milestones, and loss; contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-69-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-69 (10/16/160069) - live page retrieved 2026-10-02 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page chronology block, campaign table, specifications block, and photo-caption identifiers
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents: US Coast Guard manning; commissioning 20 May 1943 under LT Robert T. Leary, USCGR (in command May 1943-May 1944); assignments to LST Flotilla Thirteen (Group Thirty-Seven, Division Seventy-Three) and LST Flotilla Five, CAPT G. B. Carter (Group Fifteen, CDR V. K. Busck, Division Thirty); Gilbert Islands operation 13 November-8 December 1943; destroyed by ordnance explosion and sank in West Loch, Pearl Harbor, 21 May 1944; struck from the Naval Register 18 July 1944; one battle star. Page also carries the BuShips-consistent spec block (2 x GM 12-567A 900-hp diesels, Falk reduction gear, 1,700 shp, 11.6 kt trial; 13 officers + 104 enlisted; 16 + 147 troops) and NARA/USCG-captioned photographs placing this hull beached at Kiska (Operation Cottage, August 1943), loading 7th USAAF trucks at Funafuti 24 December 1943, and unloading at Tarawa 31 December 1943 (NARA IDs 205585342, 205585330, 80-G-26706, 193850962, 193850965, 193851523; USCG IDs 924435, 0924434, 92343-2, 3237).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Limitations
- NavSource is a reputable volunteer-run naval-history archive, not a government source; its spec block and photo captions carry NARA/USCG identifiers and are consistent with DANFS on every shared fact. Kiska presence rests on photo captions, not a campaign listing - the hull's one documented battle star is for the Gilbert Islands operation. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-69-02
-
[4]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'Pearl Harbor Ablaze Again: The West Loch Disaster' (Adam Bisno, PhD, NHHC Communication and Outreach Division, May 2019) - live page retrieved 2026-10-02 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Article body, sections 'The First Three Explosions,' 'Drifting Infernos,' 'The Aftermath,' 'Lessons'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's official narrative of the 21 May 1944 West Loch disaster names this hull directly: 29 combat-loaded LSTs were berthed in West Loch for the Saipan invasion when LST-353 exploded at berthing station T-8; Pharmacist's Mate William L. C. Johnson was on LST-69's tank deck at the first explosion and escaped to rescue men from the water; LST-43, LST-179, and LST-69 drifted as 'floating infernos' toward the Naval Ammunition Depot, stopping 500 feet short; six LSTs, three LCTs, 17 amphibious tractors, and 8 howitzers were lost; Samuel Eliot Morison's count of 163 dead and 396 injured is cited with the caveat that precise Army/Navy/Coast Guard/Marine Corps counts were impossible; the cause of the first explosion was never determined.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- LST crews and embarked troops at West Loch; salvage personnel
- Limitations
- Disaster-level narrative - establishes the loss context and names this hull among the burning/drifting ships, but does not state LST-69's exact berth assignment or per-ship sinking time, and carries no asbestos information. Casualty figure is fleet-wide (Morison count), not per-hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-69-03
-
[5]Commander, Navy Region Hawaii (CNRH), 'West Loch Disaster' history page - live page retrieved 2026-10-02 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article body text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Navy Region Hawaii official account: on 21 May 1944, 34 ships gathered in West Loch to load ammunition and supplies for the Saipan invasion; LSTs were closely nested along six berths; at 3:08 p.m. an explosion rocked LST-353; a chain reaction left six LSTs sunk and several more severely damaged; 163 men were killed and 396 wounded; it was Pearl Harbor's second-greatest disaster in casualties; the LSTs got underway for Saipan only one day late and the invasion proceeded on schedule; the rusted hulk of LST-480 off Waipio Peninsula is the sole visible remainder, marked by a 1994 National Park Service wayside exhibit placed jointly with the U.S. Navy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- LST crews and embarked troops at West Loch
- Limitations
- Official .mil regional history page - establishes the official loss toll and that no wreckage other than LST-480's remains in the loch, but does not name all six sunken hulls or state this hull's berth or post-salvage disposition. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-69-04
-
[6]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, Chronology of Coast Guard History - live page retrieved 2026-10-02 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chronology entries 21 May (1944) and 20 November (1943)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The USCG Historian's Office chronology records under 21 May 1944: 'The Coast Guard-manned USS LST-69 exploded at Pearl Harbor. None of her crew were killed, but 13 were seriously injured.' Under 20 November 1943 it lists LST-69 among the Coast Guard-manned LSTs (LST-20, LST-23, LST-69, LST-169, LST-205) that participated in the Tarawa assault during the Gilbert Islands operation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- USCG crew of LST-69
- Limitations
- Establishes the official per-hull casualty figure for this ship's own crew (0 killed, 13 seriously injured) and confirms Coast Guard manning and Tarawa participation; contains no asbestos information. Chronology entries are one-line summaries without citations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-69-05
-
[7]Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Service Member Profile Pfc. Lawrence Galligan (USMC, lost aboard LST-179 at West Loch) - live page retrieved 2026-10-02 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Profile narrative + associated-service-members list (82 entries)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DPAA's official casualty-accounting profile names LST-69 among the LSTs involved in the 21 May 1944 West Loch explosion chain ('LSTs 39, 43, 69, 169, 353, and 480 involved in the disaster' plus LST-179 struck by debris) and documents that 82 associated service members remain unaccounted for under active pursuit (the DPAA West Loch Project); many remains were unidentifiable due to fire damage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-present (accounting effort ongoing)
- Population
- West Loch casualties - Navy, USMC, Army, USCG personnel
- Limitations
- Casualty-accounting record, not a ship history - DPAA's 'involved' list mixes sunken and damaged hulls (LST-169 survived; LST-179 is the sixth loss per NHHC). Establishes the ongoing identification effort and disaster scope only; contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-69-06
-
[8]United States LST Association, 'LST Memories: The Second Pearl Harbor Disaster' by Mel Barger (LST-555) - live page retrieved 2026-10-02 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article body text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The U.S. LST Association's published account: LST-69 was berthed in row T-8 alongside LSTs 205, 225, 274, 43, 179, 353, and 39; official reports gave 1508 for the first explosion with further explosions at 1511 and 1522, the last 'believed to have doomed LST-69'; storekeeper Don Kinney was blown overboard and wounded (no Purple Heart - non-enemy action); the court of inquiry report was classified and, per the article citing historian Howard Shuman, not declassified until 1 January 1960; fifteen former crewmembers returned to West Loch aboard a USCG cutter for the 45th anniversary on 21 May 1989; first crew reunion Toledo 1985, with former skipper Robert Leary attending.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944, 1985-1990
- Population
- LST-69 crew survivors
- Limitations
- Veterans-association publication - authoritative for its own events (the reunions) and consistent with NHHC on shared facts, but a secondary source: the 'doomed LST-69' attribution, the 1960 declassification date, and Kinney's belief that LST-69 lies on the loch bottom are not independently verified. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-69-07
-
[9]Era/design inference consolidated from the LST-1 class profile (class-f lst-1-class.class.json ev-lst-1-class-03) and NavSource spec block - diesel-powered LST, no boilers [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class profile technical data + NavSource spec block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST-1-class hull: with no boilers, asbestos-relevant applications concentrate in GM diesel engine and exhaust lagging, gaskets and valve packing, machinery-space thermal/acoustic insulation, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, deck coverings, and winch/crane brake linings - the standard fit of 1942-43 emergency-construction amphibious ships built in the period when asbestos was reserved for shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Construction trades (Jeffersonville, 1942-43); USCG crew (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-specific asbestos record exists for this hull, and none is claimed. The ship burned, exploded, and sank in 1944; whether any asbestos-containing material was installed aboard cannot be confirmed or excluded by the sources reviewed. Establishes no quantities and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-69-08
-
[10]Batch-7216 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC, NavSource, NHHC West Loch article, CNRH West Loch page, USCG Historian's Office chronology, DPAA West Loch Project, U.S. LST Association, NARA digitized deck-logs index, Naval Vessel Register, NIOSH/yard-level sweep, CourtListener [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-69-01 through sl-uss-lst-69-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or government investigation naming LST-69 was found in the public sources searched, and completed CourtListener sweeps returned zero qualifying litigation on the exact designation (opinion count 0; 12 docket hits all incidental - see search_ledger).
- 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 - the hull was destroyed and disposed of in 1944 and never received postwar survey work. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-69-09