Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 836-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-931-lst931-pkt-836-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-931 (NHHC live page, verified 2026-10-03; returns 200 with a browser user-agent - UA-gated) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-931 entry, full text (3 paragraphs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (verbatim): 'LST-931 was laid down on 13 June 1944 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc.; launched on 19 July 1944; and commissioned on 11 August 1944, Lt. E. L. Berenbach in command. During World War II, LST-931 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the assault and occupation of Iwo Jima in February 1945 and the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto from April through June 1945. On 15 September 1945, she was re-designated LSTH-931 and performed occupation duty in the Far East until late October 1945. The tank landing ship was decommissioned on 26 June 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 31 July that same year. On 12 June 1948, she was sold to the Walter W. Johnson Co. for scrapping. LST-931 earned two battle stars for World War II service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (Jun-Aug 1944); crew (Aug 1944-Jun 1946); embarked troops and casualties
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. DANFS's commissioning-CO attribution ('Lt. E. L. Berenbach in command') conflicts with the NavSource CO table (LT. Joseph A. Romig, USNR, commissioning CO 11 Aug - 9 Sep 1944; Berenbach relieving 9 Sep 1944) - carried as a gap, not resolved. DANFS does not state the decommissioning location or any post-sale fate detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-931-lst931-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST(H)-931 ex-USS LST-931 - timeline, flotilla assignment, campaign ribbons, spec block, commanding-officer table, photographic record, 'Tonight at Iwo Jima' document link (live, verified 2026-10-03; page last updated 5 May 2024) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160931.htm header block, campaign table, CO table, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: 542-class tank landing ship; international radio call sign NVSH; laid down 13 June 1944 Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard Inc., Hingham MA; launched 19 July 1944; commissioned USS LST-931 11 August 1944. Asiatic-Pacific assignment: LST Flotilla Twenty-One (CAPT. W. H. Brereton USN), LST Group Sixty-One (CAPT. R.M. MacKinnon USN), LST Division One Hundred Twenty-One. Campaigns: Iwo Jima operation - assault and occupation of Iwo Jima 19-28 February 1945; Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation 1 April - 7 June 1945. Redesignated Landing Ship Tank (Hospital) LST(H)-931, 15 September 1945. Occupation service in the Far East 2 September - 28 October 1945. Decommissioned 26 June 1946; struck from the Naval Register 31 July 1946; sold for scrapping 12 June 1948 to Walter W. Johnson Co.; two battle stars. CO table: LT. Joseph A. Romig USNR (11 Aug 1944 - 9 Sep 1944); LT. Eugene L. Berenbach USNR (9 Sep 1944 - Dec 1945); LT. William H. Evers USNR (Dec 1945 - May 1946); LTjg. Walter F. Schlatter USNR (May 1946 - 26 Jun 1946) - with an inline editor's note flagging that DANFS lists Berenbach as first CO. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; 24,000 mi at 9 kt; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 x General Motors 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three 100 kW 230V DC diesel-drive generators, 2 propellers 1,700 shp; 2 LCVP. Photographic record: nine LSTs incl. LST-820, LST-926, LST-944 and LST-931 moored at Okinawa 1945; NHHC photo NH 83647 (San Francisco Bay, circa 1945-46, courtesy D. M. McPherson 1975).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (Jun-Aug 1944); crew (Aug 1944-Jun 1946); embarked troops; combat casualties and medical staff in the LST(H) role; Walter W. Johnson Co. shipbreakers (1948)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS/NVR practice but the spec block is unattributed on-page. Contains no asbestos content. Its CO table conflicts with DANFS on the commissioning commanding officer (Romig vs Berenbach) and the page itself flags the discrepancy in an HTML comment - carried in gaps. Occupation-service window (2 Sep - 28 Oct 1945) slightly precedes the 15 Sep redesignation date - consistent with the hospital role preceding the formal designation (see ev-03/ev-04).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-931-lst931-02
-
[4]de Wolf, Edward H., 'Tonight At Iwo Jima' - typed firsthand account, 2 pp., held by the National Museum of the Pacific War / Admiral Nimitz Foundation via The Portal to Texas History (DPLA item 23bb3551acec8ffbb1eb772fdd44f127, metadata created-date 1945-02-19; enclosing letter dated 14 July 1945, Western Pacific; collection digitization maintained by Cleveland Public Library). Same scan imaged on NavSource as 10/16/pdf/160931a.pdf (contributor Jay de Wolf) - read and OCR'd directly this session. [museum_official]
- Locator
- Portal to Texas History ark:/67531/metapth1601957 (live, HTTP 200); DPLA item record; NavSource scan 10/16/pdf/160931a.pdf pp. 1-2
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific primary document: DPLA catalogs this as 'the account of Edward H. De Wolf, who served on LST (H) 931 at Iwo Jima, describing the scene in a front line hospital ship following the initial invasion of Iwo Jima.' Read from the scan: the covering letter (14 July 1945, Western Pacific) encloses 'a copy of a descriptive story I wrote of Iwo Jima... All information is accurate except for one little word in the last paragraph.' The account describes standing 'on the vast tank deck of a huge landing ship which has been converted into a front line hospital ship... close to the shore of bloody Iwo Jima,' canvas cots of casualties 'snatched from a narrow beach of black volcanic ash,' an operating room with surgeons working, and casualties dragged from the beach over assault-boat ramps - the hull functioning in the casualty-evacuation/hospital role during the February 1945 assault, months before the formal 15 September 1945 LST(H)-931 redesignation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-02 (action described); 1945-07 (letter date)
- Population
- Edward H. de Wolf (author, LST-931 crew); LST-931 crew; embarked medical staff and combat casualties at Iwo Jima (Feb 1945)
- Limitations
- Firsthand narrative, not an official record - a crew member's censored personal account written months after the action (the author notes it was 'toned down' for censorship). Confirms the hospital role and casualty population aboard this specific hull; contains no material-content or asbestos information. The scan ends mid-sentence (2-page document as scanned); the 'one little word' inaccuracy the author flags is unidentifiable from the document itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-931-lst931-03
-
[5]U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archives, image 9133167.jpg - catalog caption for USS LST-931 (live, verified 2026-10-03) [museum_official]
- Locator
- photos.usni.org content/9133167jpg caption block, categories 'Ships and Submarines'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Institutional photo-catalog caption for this hull: 'LST-931 was commissioned on 11 August 1944. Along with LST-929, LST-930, and LST-1033, LST-931 was configured to handle combat casualties. The ships were stationed about one nautical mile offshore and served as evacuation control centers for casualties.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945 (Iwo Jima operation context)
- Population
- LST-931 crew; embarked casualties and medical staff; crews of LST-929, LST-930, LST-1033 (same casualty-control group)
- Limitations
- Photo-archive catalog caption - institutional secondary text, not a design or medical-fit document; it does not specify which operation the caption describes (context indicates Iwo Jima) or detail the conversion's material scope. Confirms a dedicated casualty-evacuation configuration for this hull and names the four-ship group; contains no asbestos or material-content information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-931-lst931-04
-
[6]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Tim Colton), Bethlehem-Hingham yard page - yard history + complete hull-number build table; corroborated by the LST production table lstpart3.htm (both live, verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Bethlehem-Hingham page: yard-history paragraph + build-table row '3401 | LST | 931'; lstpart3.htm row 'LST | 931 | Beth Steel | Hingham MA | 3401'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard-table row for this hull: yard number 3401, type LST, number 931, FY 1943, keel laid 13-Jun-44, launched 19-Jul-44, delivered 11-Aug-44 - 36 days on the ways, 23 days fitting out in the water, 59 total days; disposition column reads 'Scrapped 1947'. Yard context (as documented for the yard): Bethlehem-Hingham was built in 1941 for destroyer-escort construction with $35 million in Navy funding, 16 building ways, managed by Bethlehem's Quincy (Fore River) operation, peak employment over 23,000, closed and liquidated after the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham workforce (peak >23,000 yard-wide, 1941-45); this hull's build crew (Jun-Aug 1944)
- Limitations
- Colton's table is a respected secondary compilation built from official records - not itself a primary document. Its 'Scrapped 1947' disposition conflicts with the DANFS-documented 12 June 1948 sale date and is repeated identically across many table rows, suggesting an approximate/default value; DANFS date carried (see gaps). Yard-employment peak is a yard-level figure covering all production, not this hull's build crew specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-931-lst931-05
-
[7]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011, 13 April 1945), LST design table + roster (shipscribe.com scan, live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table + roster section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design data places this hull in the LST-542/931 design group of the LST-1-class series - the block named for this hull's own number range: 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam, ~2,366 t light / 3,960-4,080 t trial displacement, 11.6 kt, 2 x General Motors 12-567A diesels ~1,700 shp (the LST-932/979 and LST-1060/1080 blocks carried GM 12-278A engines instead); accommodations ~13 officers / 106 enlisted. Confirms the diesel-only machinery basis for this hull - no boilers, no steam plant.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945 (edition date)
- Population
- Design-level context for crew ~13 officers/~106 enlisted + troops
- Limitations
- Class/design-level official data - not a hull-specific record. The 13 April 1945 edition postdates this hull's August 1944 delivery but documents the design group she was built to. No asbestos or material-schedule content in the table itself. The 15 September 1945 LST(H) conversion is post-delivery outfit, outside this table's scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-931-lst931-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: BuShips SDB 1945 v2 machinery data (diesel LST, no boilers) + documented Navy-era asbestos practice (GAO HRD-80-2, ev-08) + class-profile consolidated inference (lst-1-class ev-lst-1-class-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Consolidated inference; class profile lst-1-class ev-lst-1-class-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST built June-August 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a ship of this type and period were GM diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings in a hull worked by ~117-man ship's company plus embarked troops - and, in this hull's documented case, casualties and medical staff during the casualty-evacuation fit. The diesel plant means no boiler/turbine lagging pathway - the exposure-relevant systems are engine-room and accommodation, not a steam plant.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); crew, embarked troops, medical staff and casualties (1944-46); Walter W. Johnson Co. shipbreakers (1948)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-931, including for the hospital-role outfit. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no individual exposure established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-931-lst931-07
-
[9]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; standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. This hull's entire construction and service era (1944-46) plus her 1948 scrapping precede that policy regime.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- 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 this session); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-931-lst931-08
-
[10]Batch-7474 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource LST(H)-931 page; 'Tonight at Iwo Jima' via Portal to Texas History + DPLA + NavSource scan (read directly); USNI Photo Archives caption; shipbuildinghistory yard table + LST production table; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation sweep; NARA deck-log lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-931-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LST-931 / LST(H)-931 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 (~27,419 s / ~7.6 h to reset) and enforced stand-down; logged as blocked, not a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no law-firm listicle content for this hull (clean result). The 1948 sale-for-scrapping predates ACM-handling regulation; no scrapping-contract or hazmat record located for the Walter W. Johnson Co. breakup.
- 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). Deck logs (RG 24), BuShips work packages including the LST(H) conversion records, and any scrapping-contract records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-931-lst931-09