Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 733-packet.md (3 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (thin sourcing
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (thin sourcing
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-837-lst837-pkt-733-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-837 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Okinawa service, occupation/China duty, decommissioning and disposal (live NHHC page) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-837 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 15 September 1944 at Ambridge, Pa., by the American Bridge Co.; launched 3 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. H. G. Jetter; commissioned 29 November 1944, Lt. G. R. Keller, USNR, in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April 1945. Post-war occupation duty in the Far East and service in China until mid-March 1946; returned to the United States, decommissioned 28 June 1946, struck from the Navy list 15 August 1946. Sold 6 February 1948 to Madison B. Wright for non-self-propelled operation. Earned one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. The live NHHC DANFS page returned the full entry on 2026-10-03 - no transcription mirror needed (contrast the BATCH-01 standing NHHC link-rot defect).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-837 - designation timeline, unit assignments, campaign/occupation tables, CO roster, specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160837.htm header, campaign/occupation tables, CO list, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and details for this hull: LST-542 class; laid down 15 September 1944 at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA; launched 3 November 1944; commissioned USS LST-837, 29 November 1944, LT George R. Keller USNR in command; international radio call sign NHSP. Unit assignments: LST Flotilla Twenty-Three (CAPT W. W. Weeden Jr. USN), LST Group Sixty-Eight (CDR G. H. Dana USN), LST Division One Hundred-Thirty-Five. Campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation, assault and occupation 18-29 April 1945. Occupation and China service periods: 25 September-20 October 1945 and 18 November 1945-10 March 1946. Decommissioned 28 June 1946; struck 15 August 1946; one battle star; sold 6 February 1948 to Madison B. Wright for non-self-propelled operation; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' COs: LT Keller (29 Nov 1944-Feb 1946); LTjg Richard E. Basile USNR (Feb-28 Jun 1946). Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full load / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft o.a.; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted; troops 16 officers/147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; 2 GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk reduction gear, three 100 kW 230V DC generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders; armament 2 twin 40mm, 4 single 40mm, 12 single 20mm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- American Bridge trades (1944); crew (1944-46); embarked troops
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation - milestone dates track DANFS/NVR but it is not a primary registry; campaign/occupation periods and unit assignments are corroborated by the NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization (ev-04) and the 1948 Navy decorations register (ev-05). Contains no asbestos content. 'Fate unknown' is the compiler's summary, not a government disposition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-02
-
[4]MARAD Vessel History Database, LST-837 (Detail 9530) + vessel status card image cards/4B7_01.png [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov ShipHistory/Detail/9530; status card image cards/4B7_01.png; TAMU newspaper sn84009780 (1948-09-21); Justia 1965 Fifth Circuit case list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD Vessel History Database entry for this hull: General Type 'Naval Combatant', Specific Type 'LST Tank Landing Ship', MARAD Type 'Military', official Fate 'Sold - No Further Info'. The attached vessel status card image records the disposal under a 'Navy Surplus' heading: operator 'Madison B. Wright', form of agreement 'Pur.' (purchase), 'Date and Time Delivered 2/6/48', 'Basis to U.S.M.C.', and a handwritten allocation notation reading 'SP act 1936'. The card documents the government-to-private transfer of this hull on 6 February 1948 - corroborating the DANFS sale and contradicting the 'Scrapped 1947' disposition in the shipbuildinghistory.com Ambridge yard table (see ev-10). The buyer is identifiable in contemporary records as a Jennings, Louisiana, marine operator: a 1948 newspaper describes 'Madison B. Wright, Jennings, La.' as 'vice president and general manager of the Zegler Towing Co.' (Texas A&M newspaper collection sn84009780, 21 Sep 1948), and a 1965 Fifth Circuit caption styles him 'Madison B. Wright, D/b/a Wright Towing Company' - consistent with the documented non-self-propelled (barge) use.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1948
- Population
- Madison B. Wright receiving/transfer crews (1948)
- Limitations
- Primary government record of disposal - documents sale and delivery to a private operator but nothing after 2/6/48; no record of conversion details, later owners, or breaking. The 'SP act 1936' handwriting is ambiguous (likely disposal-authority shorthand) - transcribed as written. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-03
-
[5]NHHC, United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 - LST Group 68 / LST Division 135 listing [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC US Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, LST Group 68 / LST Division 135 entries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NHHC's published United States Pacific Fleet Organization as of 1 May 1945 lists LST 837 within LST Division 135 under LST Group 68 (Comdr. G. H. Dana, USN-Ret.), alongside LSTs 774, 804, 822, 836, and 891 - corroborating this hull's unit assignment and station during the Okinawa campaign window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- crew embarked during Okinawa campaign (Apr-May 1945)
- Limitations
- Administrative fleet-organization listing; documents unit assignment at 1 May 1945 only, not movements or material condition. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-04
-
[6]U.S. Navy, Decorations, Medals, Ribbons, Badges of the United States Navy, World War II (1948) - campaign-participation register (archive.org scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 1948 decorations register, LST participation table (LST 836-839 entries, code P34-1)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official 1948 Navy decorations register lists LST 837 in the campaign-participation table with ditto-marked dates identical to the preceding entry (LST 836: 18 Apr 45 - 29 Apr 45), operation code P34-1 (Okinawa Gunto) - consistent with NavSource's 'assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 18 to 29 April 1945' and DANFS's April 1945 credit; basis for the one battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- crew (April 1945)
- Limitations
- Campaign-participation credit only - documents dates and operation code, not hour-by-hour movements or material condition; no asbestos content. Retrieved as OCR text of the scanned 1948 publication via archive.org; table layout reconstructed from adjacent entries (LST 836/838/839).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-05
-
[7]Consolidated era inference - NavSource specifications for this hull (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, Falk gear, DC generators); NHHC DANFS LST-542 class entry ('built with a water-distilling plant and heavier armament than the earlier LST-1-class'); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 2 LST design table (class machinery data, via class profile); GAO HRD-80-2 documented Navy-wide asbestos applications (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; NHHC DANFS lst-542.html class entry; BuShips SDB1945v2 LST design table; GAO HRD-80-2 Enclosure I
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-542-class hull built September-November 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. The 542-group design added a water-distilling plant and heavier armament over the earlier LST-1 group (NHHC), with no change to the diesel machinery fit. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel LST of this period were machinery, equipment and piping thermal insulation (the application GAO identifies as the Navy's major shipboard asbestos use), engine-room and diesel-exhaust lagging for the GM plant, piping-system gaskets and packing, deck coverings/tile, electrical cabling and resistors, galley equipment, and equipment brakes and clutches. As a diesel vessel she carried no boilers or steam turbines - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam ships does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); Madison B. Wright conversion/barge crews (1948 onward)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package located for LST-837. Names era-standard applications documented Navy-wide, not confirmed installed materials on this hull. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution. Law-firm pages asserting boiler-room/steam-pipe asbestos on this diesel class are excluded sources (see ev-09).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - full report incl. Enclosure I (CNO response, 5 Jan 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 transmittal letter + Enclosure I (responses to questions 3-6); highlights page
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented Navy shipboard asbestos use and the substitution era: 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' aboard Navy ships; asbestos was further documented in piping-system gaskets and packing, Navy ship deck tile, electrical resistors and cabling, galley ranges, and ship equipment brakes and clutches - 'nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral.' Thermal-insulation specifications were revised to asbestos-free materials in 1973 and the Navy's substitution policy issued October 1975 - three decades after this hull's 1944 construction; some ships were still delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979 (retrospective documentation of the use era)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (Long Beach, Norfolk NSY fieldwork); program-level
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. The report's fieldwork and ship tables cover 1970s-era vessels (frigates, destroyers, nuclear submarines, LHAs) at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not WWII LSTs; the 87,634-lb figure cited for USS Paul F. Foster (DD-964) is a 1970s destroyer, not transferable. Full text retrieved this session via firecrawl (direct curl returned HTTP 403).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-07
-
[9]NARA Guided Topic: Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided-topic page - Beginning Research, Specification Files, and Other Records sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official research guide bounds its asbestos-in-materiel subject to 1941-1961 - a window covering this hull's entire September-November 1944 construction - and documents where hull-specific asbestos evidence resides: RG 19 Bureau of Ships correspondence filed by hull designation and Navy Filing Manual code (for this vessel, file code LST837), shipyard correspondence (private yards under QM/<company>), General Information Books, Board of Inspection and Survey reports, and specification/QPL files. It states explicitly that deck logs and muster rolls (RG 24) 'do not provide any information on the use of or presence of asbestos in Navy ships or ship components and therefore provide no direct evidence of asbestos.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1961 (guide scope)
- Limitations
- Research-path documentation, not evidence about this hull: no RG 19 pull was made and no LST837 correspondence file is confirmed to exist. The guide establishes where a finding would live, not that one exists. NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be queried from this session; digitized deck logs cover post-WWII years only, so this hull's 1944-46 logs are not online.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-08
-
[10]NHHC photograph NH 79568, USS LST-837 - 'In San Francisco Bay, California, circa early 1946' (courtesy D.M. McPherson, 1974) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC photo catalog, NH 79568
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photograph NH 79568 documents this hull under way in San Francisco Bay circa early 1946 - placing her on the U.S. west coast between return from China service (mid-March 1946) and decommissioning (28 June 1946), consistent with the DANFS narrative.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1946
- Population
- crew (early 1946)
- Limitations
- Photographic presence record only; date is 'circa'. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-09
-
[11]Disposition cross-check: shipbuildinghistory.com American Bridge Ambridge table ('LST 837 ... Scrapped 1947') vs DANFS + MARAD status card (sold 6 Feb 1948, delivered 2/6/48, purchase) vs uswarships.jounin.jp secondary index ('became merchant ship Willie D.') [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Ambridge table, LST 837 row; MARAD card 4B7_01; uswarships.jounin.jp lst_lst-1_3.htm, LST-837 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: shipbuildinghistory.com's Ambridge production table gives this hull's disposition as 'Scrapped 1947'. That is contradicted by the primary record - the MARAD vessel status card shows delivery 2/6/48 to operator Madison B. Wright under form of agreement 'Pur.' (purchase), and DANFS records sale 6 February 1948 for non-self-propelled operation. A Japanese-language secondary index (uswarships.jounin.jp) further asserts the hull 'became the merchant ship Willie D.' - an unsourced claim with no USCG documentation or MARAD record located (MARAD has no 'Willie D.' entry); carried as unverified in gaps.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1947-1948
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating disposition error using primary documentation - not a material claim. The corrected record still ends at the 2/6/48 delivery: nothing after the private sale is documented; whether the hull was scrapped, worked as a barge, or renamed remains unresolved. 'Willie D.' is a single-source secondary claim, unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-10
-
[12]American Bridge corporate history ('manufactured 199 LSTs' at the Ambridge plant during WWII) + Southland Holdings featured-project page 'LST 837' (corporate successor's own record: 'Built by American Bridge Company at the Ambridge Manufacturing Plant in Ambridge, PA') [other_primary]
- Locator
- americanbridge.net/about/history/ 1940s section; southlandholdings.com/featured-projects/lst-837/
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The builder's corporate record corroborates this hull's origin: American Bridge (formed 1900, now a Southland Holdings company) states it 'manufactured 199 LST's' at its Ambridge plant during WWII, and the corporate successor's project-history page lists this hull by number - 'Built by American Bridge Company at the Ambridge Manufacturing Plant in Ambridge, PA. Launched November 3, 1944. Commissioned USS LST-837 on November 29, 1944' - with project completion dated December 1944.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Ambridge Manufacturing Plant construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Corporate self-published history - the narrative service history on the Southland page is copied from public sources (NavSource/DANFS); the genuinely first-party content is plant attribution ('Ambridge Manufacturing Plant', 'Performed as: American Bridge Company', 'Completion Date: December 1944') and the '199 LSTs' count. Not a government record. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-11
-
[13]Batch-7379 search ledger (this record): DANFS (hull + LST-542 class entry); NavSource; NHHC fleet organization; MARAD status card; 1948 Navy decorations register; NARA asbestos guided topic; GAO HRD-80-2 full text; shipbuildinghistory Ambridge table; American Bridge/Southland corporate pages; NHHC photo catalog; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener (blocked); NARA catalog (JS-blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-837-lst837-01 through -18
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for LST-837: no asbestos survey, insulation schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or verified litigation naming this hull was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated helper reported the fleet-shared daily quota exhausted (~9.6 h to reset); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos' content naming the hull or class is law-firm marketing material (generic ship lists; one LST-542-class page asserting boiler-room and steam-pipe asbestos on a diesel-powered class - factually wrong and excluded by source policy). No yard-level asbestos survey located for builder American Bridge Co., Ambridge.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (throttled, not run). RG 19 file code LST837, BuShips QM/American Bridge correspondence, and 1944-46 deck logs are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-837-lst837-12