Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[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-697-lst697-pkt-711-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-697 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Asiatic-Pacific campaigns, occupation/China service, decommissioning, striking, and disposal (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-697 entry (full entry text; published 2015-08-03)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 6 March 1944 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched 1 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Josephine B. Kieren; commissioned 30 May 1944, Ens. Lo Presti in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater: Morotai landings (September 1944); Leyte landings (November 1944); Lingayen Gulf landing (January 1945); Visayan Island landings (March and April 1945); Tarakan Island operation (April and May 1945). Postwar occupation duty in the Far East and China service until mid-December 1945. Decommissioned 12 July 1946; struck from the Navy list 28 August 1946; sold 14 October 1947 to William E. Skinner for scrapping. Earned five battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- JBM construction trades (1944); crew and embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. Decommissioning date conflicts with NavSource (12 July vs 30 June 1946) - see ev-02 and gaps. Buyer named only as 'William E. Skinner'; scrapping location and date of breaking are not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-697-lst697-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-697 - flotilla/group/division assignment, campaign dates, occupation/China medal periods, commanding-officer list, specifications, NARA-captioned photography (live navsource.net page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160697.htm - header block, campaign table, occupation/China medal table, CO table, specifications block, photo-caption block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: LST-542 class; laid down 6 March 1944 at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN; launched 1 May 1944; commissioned USS LST-697, 30 May 1944, ENS. Vincenzo Lopresti, USN in command. Assigned LST Flotilla Eight (CAPT E. Watts), LST Group Twenty-Three (CDR T.C. Linthicum), LST Division Forty-Six. Campaigns: Morotai landings 15 September 1944; Leyte landings, Tacloban/San Pedro Bay, 19-29 November 1944; Lingayen Gulf landing, San Fabian, 4-18 January 1945; Visayan Island landings 28 March - 1 April 1945; Tarakan Island operation 27 April - 5 May 1945. Navy Occupation Service Medal periods 23 September - 25 October 1945 and 16 December 1945 - 10 April 1946; China Service Medal (extended) 12 November - 15 December 1945. Decommissioned 30 June 1946 (conflicts with DANFS 12 July 1946 - see gaps); struck 28 August 1946; sold 14 October 1947 to William E. Skinner for scrapping. CO list: ENS Vincenzo Lopresti (30 May - 27 June 1944); ENS James E. Tanner, USNR (27 June 1944 - March 1946); LTjg William L. Desonia, USNR (March - 30 June 1946). Photo captions document the hull enroute to and unloading at Leyte (October 1944), beached at Halmahera, San Fabian, Morotai, and Tarakan, and entering San Francisco Bay carrying 10 captured kamikaze warheads that began leaking, requiring her to sail 3 miles astern of the homeward-bound flotilla (contributed caption, 'LST Home Port web site'). Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt; complement 9 officers/120 enlisted; troop berthing 14 officers/131 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900hp diesels, single Falk reduction gear, two propellers 1,700 shp, three diesel-driven 100kW generators.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- JBM construction trades (1944); crew 9 officers/120 enlisted plus embarked troops (1944-46); shipbreakers at undocumented 1947-48 breaking
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its milestones generally track DANFS but the decommissioning date conflicts (30 June vs 12 July 1946 - unresolved, DANFS date carried in the record fields). Photo captions are contributor-sourced (NARA/Australian War Memorial/LIFE attributions shown); the kamikaze-warheads caption rests on an unattributed 'LST Home Port web site' credit. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-697-lst697-02
-
[4]NARA catalog file unit NAID 80662621, 'Philippine Islands - Leyte - Invasion', RG 111 (US Army Signal Corps), local ID 111-SCA-2857 - 221-image album including the LST-697 photographs mirrored on NavSource (live catalog page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog NAID 80662621 file-unit page; NAID 80664214 per NavSource caption transcription
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds a 221-image Signal Corps album, NAID 80662621 ('Philippine Islands - Leyte - Invasion', local ID 111-SCA-2857), which contains LST-697 photographs NavSource mirrors - including the 18 October 1944 bridge view enroute to Leyte (SC 198933) and the 22 October 1944 White Beach unloading scene showing LST-623, LST-1027, and LST-697 (SC 260576). A second NARA-identified photo (NAID 80664214, SC 339350) shows troops waiting in LST-697's tank deck at Getaison Point, White Beach, 22 October 1944. These are physical-presence records establishing the hull at Leyte during the assault phase - archival leads for operational documentation, not material or work records.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Crew and embarked Army units at Leyte (October-November 1944)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: photographs establish presence, not conditions or materials aboard. The catalog metadata page was verified live, but the album image-level contents were not individually reviewed (221 images; NavSource mirrors a subset). RG 24 deck logs for this hull are not publicly digitized (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-697-lst697-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (January 1945), LST design table + roster (shipscribe.com scan, text layer) - per the LST-1-class profile record [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table + roster (LST-542 block); class profile ev-lst-1-class-01/-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST: the BuShips 1945 design table for the LST-542 group (this hull's block) specifies 2 x General Motors 12-567A diesels (~1,700 shp, 2 shafts via Falk reduction gears) - a diesel plant with NO boilers, which removes the steam-lagging pathway. Asbestos-relevant applications aboard a 1944 diesel LST were concentrated in engine-room/exhaust lagging and gaskets, thermal and acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, and winch/windlass brake linings - the insulation product classes of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and the LST program built inside the federal asbestos-allocation window for naval shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- JBM construction trades (1944); crew and embarked troops (1944-46); undocumented 1947-48 breaking crew
- Limitations
- Class/design inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package located for LST-697. Names era-standard application categories, not confirmed installed products; no quantity, no manufacturer attribution. The BuShips table documents the design plant, not asbestos content; the asbestos character of 1944 insulation stocks is established at era level (see ev-05), not per hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-697-lst697-04
-
[6]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 (1944) and service era (1944-46).
- 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 or to the LST program specifically. Full text not retrieved - gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (confirmed 2026-10-02); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-697-lst697-05
-
[7]U.S. DOL Benefits Review Board, Burton v. Old JB LLC f/k/a Jeffboat LLC f/k/a Jeffboat, Incorporated, BRB No. 24-0045 (unpublished; decided 2025-08-14, affirming ALJ 2023-LHC-00423) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BRB No. 24-0045 decision pp. 1-3 (employment/exposure recital, MSD award, §20(a) discussion); Jeffboat lineage per caption + newsandtribune.com 2018 history (200 OK, verified 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Documented asbestos claim against this hull's builder-yard successor: the BRB caption confirms the Jeffersonville operation's lineage (OLD JB LLC f/k/a JEFFBOAT LLC f/k/a JEFFBOAT, INCORPORATED), and the decision records that decedent Bennie Burton worked at Jeffboat 'for thirty-one years, from 1964 until 1995, as a pipefitter and supervisor, during which time he was allegedly exposed to asbestos, welding fumes, and other toxic substances.' Two medical experts concluded the 'reported asbestos exposure contributed to his death.' The widow's LHWCA §909 death-benefits claim was awarded by ALJ summary decision on the §20(a) presumption after the employer failed to participate in discovery; the BRB affirmed (2025-08-14). The 200-year Jeffersonville yard - Navy-acquired from Howard Shipyards in 1942, operated as Jeffersonville Boat & Machine for wartime LST production (123 LSTs per secondary sources), renamed Jeffboat in 1957, closed 2018 - employed roughly 5,000 during WWII (newsandtribune.com photo caption, reputable press).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1964-1995 (exposure alleged); 2023-2025 (claim)
- Population
- Jeffboat/JBM yard trades - Burton cohort 1964-1995; WWII-era JBM workforce ~5,000 (press figure)
- Limitations
- Builder-yard context only, and post-war context at that: Burton's alleged exposure window (1964-1995) postdates this hull's 1944 construction by two decades and covers the barge-building era, not the wartime LST line. The award resolved on an unrebutted §20(a) statutory presumption after the employer defaulted - it is an uncontested benefits award, not a litigated asbestos finding. Unpublished BRB decision. Does not establish WWII-era yard conditions, materials aboard this hull, or any crew exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-697-lst697-06
-
[8]Batch-7224 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource (.net, live); NARA catalog NAID 80662621; CourtListener API v4 (opinion + docket); DOL BRB decision; GAO product page; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-697-lst697-01 through sl-uss-lst-697-lst697-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS LST-697 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated API v4, 2026-10-02): opinion search "LST-697" = 0 results; opinion search "USS LST-697" = 0 results; docket search "LST-697" = 1 incidental string match inside the W.R. Grace & Co. Chapter 11 bankruptcy mega-docket (Bankr. D. Del. 01-01139) - a document-text collision, not a case naming the vessel; classified name collision, not qualifying litigation. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing pages (mesowatch.org and similar jobsite listicles asserting asbestos aboard without primary sourcing - 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 - the hull was a 1944 mass-production amphibious ship built inside the Navy's documented asbestos era and broken up undocumented circa 1947-48. Deck logs, JBM build records, and any disposal contract file are undigitized leads. CourtListener no-hyphen variant ("LST 697") and remaining docket variants were pacing-blocked at ledger cutoff - logged, not run to ground (see search_ledger sl-08). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-697-lst697-07