USS LST-691

Evidence

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

1. [1]research packet 711-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-691-lst691-pkt-711-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, LST-691 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, European-theater assignment, southern France invasion, occupation duty, decommissioning, strike, sale, one battle star (live NHHC page, verified HTTP 200 with browser UA 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS LST-691 entry, full text

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 25 January 1944 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched 23 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Helen T. Briner; commissioned 12 May 1944. Assigned to the European theater, participated in the invasion of southern France August 1944; postwar occupation duty in the Far East until mid-December 1945; returned to the United States, decommissioned 14 May 1946, struck from the Navy list 19 June 1946; sold 4 November 1946 to Hughes Bros., Inc., of New York, N.Y. One battle star for World War II service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Construction trades (Jeffersonville, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46)

   Limitations

   Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. Does not state the commanding officer, unit assignments, or any detail of the southern France operation; the Pacific/occupation period is one clause ('occupation duty in the Far East until mid-December 1945').

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-01

3. [3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-691 (10/16/160691.htm) - designation timeline, unit assignments, campaign table, spec block, CO table, awards, occupation-service periods, disposal [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/16/160691.htm header block, campaign table, awards display, specifications block, CO table, photo captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource documents for this hull: LST-542-class tank landing ship laid down 25 January 1944 at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN; launched 23 March 1944; commissioned USS LST-691 12 May 1944, LT John H. Monroe USNR in command. Assigned first to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater, later the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; campaign table lists the Invasion of Southern France, 15-26 August 1944 (one battle star). Pacific command assignment: LST Flotilla Thirty-Six (CAPT D. F. J. Shea USN), LST Group One Hundred Eight (LCDR W. R. Peeler USN), LST Division Two Hundred-Sixteen. Navy Occupation Service Medal periods 23 September-10 October 1945 and 10-20 December 1945. Decommissioned 14 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register 19 June 1946; sold 4 November 1946 to Hughes Brothers, Inc., New York, N.Y., 'fate unknown.' Radio call sign NFNT. CO table: LT John H. Monroe USNR 12 May 1944-March 1946; LTjg Paul M. Whitman USNR March 1946-14 May 1946. Awards display: American Campaign Medal; European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1); Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Medal (Asia clasp). Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, 3 x 100 kW 230 V DC diesel-drive generators; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted. Photo captions include 'USS LST-691 bound for Sicily in September 1944' (USS Vance DE-387 association collection) and the ship beached in southern France August-September 1944 (US Army photos RG-80-G-255864a/b).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Ship's company (~117) plus embarked troops (1944-46)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - build/campaign/disposal dates cross-check cleanly against DANFS and the NARA ship record; the photo captions' dates are contributor-supplied. Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-02

4. [4]NARA NAIDs 77528898 ('USS LST-691 - Rep of opers in the invasion of Southern France, 8/12-25/44,' 7 images, Roll A1914), 139739781 (same-title variant, 2 images, Roll A1163), and 139740323 ('Rep of Ops in the Invasion of Southern France, 8/15/44,' 1 image, Roll A1164) - RG 38 World War II War Diaries; digitized via Fold3 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 77528898 images 1-7 (cover letter image 2; chronology image 3; endorsements images 5-7); NAID 139739781 images 1-2 (duplicate report text); NAID 139740323 image 1 (boat officers' report)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The ship's own Southern France action report (cover letter 11 September 1944; readdressed submission 4 November 1944; all pages OCR-read this session) documents Operation Dragoon verbatim: 'On the 12 August 1944, at 1613 we got underway from Baie de Castellamare, Italy to join the convoy to the rendezvous. Our position in LST cruising disposition MD-1 was 34. Our assignment ... was in 85.20.2, Assault Group Convoy SM-1A, with Captain Parker, USN., Commanding, on LCI(L)(C) 952 (F).' D-Day 15 August: arrived outer transport area 0550, General Quarters 0530, LCVPs lowered 0615, bow doors opened and ramp lowered 0633, last amphibious DUKWs off 0649; 'Two splashes in vicinity of our ship indicated probable enemy mortar fire.' Ordered to Blue Beach 1435; beached 1530; unloaded 1554; 'Commenced backing off beach at 1642; swung into U.S. LST 656 damaging our # 2 davit, making it inoperative.' LCVPs hoisted 1712; underway for PTK 1922; 'No damage to ship other than collision with U.S. LST 656, no casualties, no guns fired.' Second lift: loaded 47 vehicles and 446 men at Ajaccio 18 August; beached Red Beach vicinity of St. Tropez 1921 on 19 August; retracted 0350 on 20 August; further round trips through 26 August. The assault boat officers' report (NAID 139740323, 11 September 1944): six assault boats (one boat and its crew transferred from USS LST-997) formed the fourth wave led to Red Beach by SC 534, hit the beach at H-30 under light enemy machine-gun fire; on retraction mortar shells landed within ten yards, one man suffered 'a minor skin injury on the arm due to shell fragments' and one boat hull 'was pierced by several small fragments'; one LCVP stayed with the Beachmaster of Red Beach as traffic-control boat. Endorsement chain: ComLSTFlot 20 first endorsement (R. D. Higgins, 16 November 1944) - 'the ship performed all of her assignments in a most satisfactory manner ... no mechanical failures worthy of note'; amphibious-force second endorsement noting the report's forwarding delay; U.S. Eighth Fleet third endorsement (21 January 1945, Spencer S. Lewis, Chief of Staff) - 'USS LST 691 was part of Red LST Unit which landed troops on Delta Red beach on D-day. By 25 August, she had made two troop and vehicle lifts from Ajaccio to the Assault Area.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-08-12 to 1944-08-26; endorsements to 1945-01-21

   Population

   Ship's company and boat crews; embarked assault troops (August 1944)

   Limitations

   Primary ship-produced operational record; documents events, times, and forces verbatim, not materials - the reports do not itemize insulation, do not say 'asbestos,' and do not record the #2 davit repair. OCR is rough on carbon-copy pages; all load-bearing passages (D-Day timeline, collision, endorsements, boat report) re-verified against the displayed scans.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-03

5. [5]NARA ship-titled war diaries NAIDs 633444953 (May 1945), 101736075 (June 1945), 77478116 (July 1945), 77505206 (August 1945), 77542624 (September 1945), 77560081 (October 1945), 140084212 (November 1945) - RG 38 World War II War Diaries; digitized via Fold3 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAIDs as listed; key passages: May convoy departure 633444953 p.1; flag strike 140084212 p.1; typhoon reversal 77560081 p.1; Yokohama arrival 77542624 p.1

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Seven consecutive monthly ship war diaries (all 9 images OCR-read this session; each signed by J. H. Monroe, Lt., USNR, Commanding Officer; P. M. Whitman, Ens., USNR, Navigator on the May diary) document the ship as 'Group 108, Flotilla 36, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Flagship for Commander LST Group 108' (Lt. Cmdr./Cmdr. Peeler, 73432, USN, aboard): Pearl Harbor unloading/loading 1-17 May 1945; departed 18 May as O.T.C. of four-ship convoy task unit 13.12.5 for Kwajalein (arrived 30 May). June: Kwajalein->Eniwetok 12-14 June with 100 pontoon sections and 97 bags of mail; Eniwetok->Saipan independently 18-22 June; Saipan->Tulagi 24 June as vice-commodore of eight-ship convoy (ComLSTGr 92 in USS LST-876 commodore), arrived 5 July. July: Tulagi->Segand Channel, Espiritu Santo as commodore of five LSTs (arrived 10 July), loaded heavy Seabee equipment; ->Russell Islands (arrived Sunlight Channel 16 July), loaded side pontoons; ->Eniwetok (28 July); ->Guam (departed 30 July). August: Guam 4-5 August, rerouted Saipan; Apra Harbor, Guam, 7-8 August unloading heavy construction equipment and exchanging the starboard offshore pontoon section for an onshore section (Platoon No. 10, Company A, Construction Battalion aboard); Saipan 9-22 August; 20-ship LST convoy to Leyte under ComLSTFlot 35 (arrived San Pedro Bay 29 August). September (occupation lift): Leyte Gulf->Cebu (5 September)->Mangarin Bay, Mindoro (9-13 September), loaded Company 'C', 763rd Tank Battalion; ->Batangas, Luzon (15-19 September), unloaded battalion 17 September, loaded 340 tons equipment and 46 enlisted of U.S. Army Service Force; departed 20 September for Tokyo Bay under ComPhibGroup 9 order A910-45, arrived 29 September, unloaded at Yokohama. October: departed 3 October in 17-ship convoy (16 LSTs, ComLSTFlot 6 in LC(FF) 1080, TU 32.6.15, COMDESRON 7 in USS Benson DD-421 O.T.C.) for Manila; ordered back to Tokyo Bay 4 October 'due to stormy weather'; redeparted 6 October; Manila Bay 16 October; Batangas 19 October, loaded 291 enlisted and 20 officers of the First Cavalry Division, Eleventh Corps (20 October); exchanged four used LCVPs for four new from U.S. Army Base 'R' Batangas (25 October); departed 26 October TU 36.6.15 for Tokyo. November: arrived Tokyo Bay 4 November, unloaded 1st Cavalry Division; 'At 1830 Commander PEELER ... lowered his flag. This ship ceased being flagship for LST Group 108. Commander LST Flotilla 36 has assumed the duties'; anchored 5-10 November; departed 11 November for Saipan, arrived 17 November; anchored through 30 November - 'Started screening of high point personnel from the ship on 28 November 1945.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945-05-01 to 1945-11-30

   Population

   Ship's company (~117); embarked Army personnel per lift (May-November 1945)

   Limitations

   Primary ship-produced record; documents movements, loads, and embarked units, not materials - no diary page mentions asbestos, insulation work, or a shipyard availability; the only repair-adjacent entries are cargo-equipment handling (pontoon exchange) and the LCVP swap. One-day conflicts with the parent-unit war history (Batangas leg 14-15 vs 13-14 September; Manila arrival 16 vs 17 October; flag strike 4 vs 5 November) logged, unresolved.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-04

6. [6]NARA NAID 77706697, 'COM LST GR 108 - War History' (5 images, Roll A2106; RG 38, World War II War Diaries; digitized via Fold3) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 77706697 images 1-5; Group 108 commissioning passage image 1; Norfolk/NY loading and Canal transit images 1-2; typhoon passages images 4-5

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The parent-unit war history (all 5 images OCR-read this session) documents this hull as the LST Group 108 flagship and bridges the Atlantic-Pacific transit gap in the ship's own diaries: 'On 1 March 1945, Commander LST Group 108, Lieutenant Commander William R. PEELER, U.S. Navy, 73432, commissioned LST Group 108 of LST Flotilla 36, and hoisted his pennant aboard the U.S.S. LST 691 at Pier 42, New York, N.Y.' under Amphibious Training Command, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (parent: CAPT Daniel F. J. SHEA, USN, 1292, ComLSTFlot 36). Group 108 roster: LST Division 215 (LSTs 548, 550, 655(RF), 656, 659, 665) and Division 216 (LSTs 690, 691(GF), 920, 982, 988, 1019) - this hull the group flagship. The history then tracks the ship verbatim: loaded general cargo at Norfolk 8-21 March consigned to Pearl Harbor; loaded AMCU 8 (converted mine-detecting LCT) at New York; departed New York 22 March for Guantanamo Bay in a mixed convoy (arrived 29 March); departed 30 March for Cristobal, Canal Zone; proceeded via San Diego (arrived 15 April, departed 18 April) as OTC of five LSTs under Panama Sea Frontier orders; arrived Pearl Harbor 28 April 1945, reporting to Commander, Administrative Command, Amphibious Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet. It confirms each subsequent convoy movement in the ship's diaries and adds: the 20 September Tokyo convoy's OTC was Capt. J. W. Adams Jr., USN, 1510, in USS Benson (DD-421); the convoy 'was ordered to return to Tokyo Bay to avoid a typhoon' 3-5 October and encountered 'another typhoon passing to the west' 6-17 October with no ships damaged; Manila arrival dated 17 October (ship diary says 16 October - logged conflict); BuPers despatch 222141 of October 1945 relieved Peeler effective 21 October with ComLSTFlot 36 assuming additional duty as ComLSTGr 108; and on 5 November 'the staff of LST Group 108 was transferred to Commander LST Flotilla 36, in LST 284' and Peeler 'hauled down his pennant' (ship diary says flag lowered 1830 on 4 November - logged conflict).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945-03-01 to 1945-11-05

   Population

   Ship's company; ComLSTGr 108 staff embarked (March-November 1945)

   Limitations

   Unit-level record: events are stated 'in LST 691' because the group commander was embarked - it corroborates but does not independently re-derive the ship's own diary. Contains no asbestos or material content. Written after the fact (war history), so minor one-day divergences from the ship's monthly diaries exist and are logged.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-05

7. [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-691 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, 2026-09-16) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160691.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 construction at a wartime commercial yard (Jeffersonville Boat & Machine, January-May 1944) plus routine wartime maintenance fall inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (GAO HRD-80-2).

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Jeffersonville Boat & Machine construction trades (1944); ship's company (1944-46); post-sale handlers/scrappers (1946-, undocumented)

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or yard work package was located for LST-691. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution. The ship's digitized record contains no documented repair availability, so even the disturbance events that sibling-hull records carry (e.g., LST-668's Todd-Johnson availability) are absent here beyond the unrepaired-in-record #2 davit collision damage.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-06

8. [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 (1944), her Mediterranean and Pacific service, and her November 1946 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-691-lst691-07

9. [9]NIOSH EPHB 229-11a, Hudock, Johnston & Wurzelbacher, 'Pre-Intervention Quantitative Risk Factor Analysis for Ship Construction Processes at Jeffboat LLC, Jeffersonville, Indiana' (Nov 2000), with companion reports EPHB 229-11b/-11c (CDC Stacks, verified live) [other_primary]

   Locator

   CDC Stacks record cdc:174862; companion records cdc:174863, cdc:174864 (EPHB 229-11b/-11c)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   NIOSH conducted engineering/physical-hazards field surveys at Jeffboat LLC, Jeffersonville, Indiana (a Maritech/U.S. Navy-funded ergonomics program, 2000-2001): risk-factor analysis of ship-construction tasks including confined-space welding at the same Jeffersonville yard site where this hull was built in 1944. The reports address ergonomic and weld-fume hazards; they contain no asbestos assessment.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   2000-2001

   Population

   Jeffboat shipyard workers (2000-2001 study period)

   Limitations

   Successor-era occupational study, not an asbestos record and not a wartime record: it documents that the yard site remained an operating ship/barge builder in 2000, nothing about materials installed in 1944. Corporate succession from Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co. to Jeffboat LLC is consistent (same Jeffersonville yard) but is not established by the NIOSH record itself. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-08

10. [10]NARA catalog, 'LST-691' (~193 file units, fuzzy) and 'USS LST-691' (70 file units) searches; NARA Special List No. 44 (logbook coverage); Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships series (NAID 594996, RG 24) searched within results [other_primary]

    Locator

    catalog.archives.gov 'LST-691'/'USS LST-691' result sets; SL-44 PDF p. 52 row LST-691 (coverage 5/12/1944-6/30/1945); muster-series hits for LST-690/-1021/-997

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Primary archive coverage for this hull is strong for the combat operation and the Pacific period but bounded at both ends. Ship-titled digitized file units: three Southern France action-report units (August 1944), seven monthly war diaries (May-November 1945). The parent unit's war history and monthly COM LST GR 108 diaries (April-October 1945: NAIDs 633420834, 77464514, 83534113, 77520769, 77555243, 140083861) bridge at unit level. NARA Special List No. 44 lists Navy logbook coverage for LST-691 from 12 May 1944 through 30 June 1945 (the deck logs themselves are not digitized in the catalog). No ship-titled diary covers commissioning through April 1945 - fitting-out, shakedown, the Atlantic-Mediterranean transit, and the post-Dragoon Mediterranean tail (ship at Baie de Castellamare, Italy, 12 August 1944; still inside the Eighth Fleet endorsement chain January 1945; at Pier 42, New York, 1 March 1945) are undocumented in the digitized ship record. No ship-titled diary covers December 1945-May 1946 (homeward passage, decommissioning). No 'LST-691' unit surfaced in the RG 24 muster-roll search though sibling-hull rolls are digitized (e.g., 'LST-690, 5/6/44-5/1/46,' NAID 126481926).

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-02

    Study period

    1944-1946

    Population

    Ship's company (1944-46); researchers

    Limitations

    Archival-lead row: the RG 24 deck logs listed in Special List No. 44, any LST-691 muster rolls, RG 181 yard work-package records, and COM LST GR 108/LST FLOT 20 unit diaries beyond those identified were not read. The Escort Sweep Group 8th Amphibious Force muster unit (NAID 190559282) is unit-level, not ship-titled.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-09

11. [11]Batch-7218 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource; NARA catalog + 11 ship-titled/parent file units read in full (24 images); Special List No. 44; COM LST GR 108 war history; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; NIOSH EPHB Jeffboat reports; NVR; secondary web sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-691-lst691-01 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-691 was found in the public sources searched. The ship-specific documentation located is operational - action reports, monthly diaries, and the parent-unit war history - and none of the 24 pages read mentions asbestos, insulation work, or a shipyard repair availability.

    Verification

    partial

    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 yard inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era makes retained era materials plausible. The CourtListener sweep was incomplete at record freeze (fleet pacing gate); the litigation finding is open, not negative. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-10

12. [12]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced helper /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py), opinion and docket indexes [court_record]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-691-lst691-08 and -09; helper stderr diagnostics 'COURTLISTENER PACING ... momentarily spent' on six spaced attempts; cl-lst691-op.err

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    CourtListener sweep incomplete at record freeze: the required authenticated helper reported the fleet-wide pacing budget momentarily spent on each of six spaced attempts this session; no response payload was received for the opinion or docket indexes. No CourtListener result is classified as a litigation hit or as a negative result.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-02

    Study period

    2026-10-02

    Limitations

    This is an access/pacing gap, not a litigation negative. It establishes neither the presence nor the absence of any qualifying asbestos litigation, exposure, causation, or legal eligibility; the sweep is logged 'blocked' in the search ledger for a later session to complete.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-691-lst691-11