Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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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-934-lst934-pkt-836-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-934 - construction at Bethlehem-Hingham, Asiatic-Pacific operations, occupation/China service, decommissioning, State Department transfer, striking, battle stars [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-934 entry (single-paragraph entry, operations list, closing disposition lines)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 29 June 1944 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc.; launched 29 July 1944; commissioned 25 August 1944. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the Palawan Island landings (March 1945), Visayan Islands landings (March and April 1945), Mindanao Island landings (April 1945), and the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (June 1945). Postwar occupation duty in the Far East and China service until early May 1946. Decommissioned 13 May 1946 and transferred to the State Department the same day; struck from the Navy list 19 June 1946. Earned two battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Bethlehem-Hingham, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not record her post-State-Department disposition. The commissioning date conflicts with NavSource (2 August 1944) - DANFS carried as controlling, variant in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-934-lst934-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-934 - milestone timeline, campaign table, medal display, specifications, commanding-officer roster, photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160934.htm header block, Asiatic-Pacific campaign table, postwar medal table, specifications block, CO roster, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 29 June 1944 at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA; launched 29 July 1944; commissioned USS LST-934 on 2 August 1944, LT. Robert W. Cumming Jr., USNR, in command (CO roster: Cumming to February 1945; LTjg. William J. Conroy, USNR, February-December 1945; LTjg. Robert G. Dillard, USNR, December 1945-March 1946; LTjg. Galon W. Hall Jr., USNR, March-13 May 1946). Campaign table dates Palawan Island landings 1-2 March 1945, Mindanao Island landings 18 March and 29 March-1 April 1945, Visayan Island landings 17-23 April 1945, Okinawa Gunto assault and occupation 12-30 June 1945; medal display includes China Service Medal (extended) and Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp (16 September-10 December 1945 and 19 December 1945-13 May 1946). Decommissioned 13 May 1946, transferred to the State Department the same day; struck from the Naval Register 19 June 1946; final disposition 'fate unknown.' A contributor photograph documents her moored at the pier at Palawan, Philippine Islands, 1 March 1945, as USS LST-666 beaches.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Bethlehem-Hingham, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS but its commissioning date (2 August 1944) conflicts with live DANFS (25 August 1944); the CO roster is credited to researchers Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves, not a primary roster document. The specifications block is generic LST-542 class boilerplate (it lists GM 12-567A engines; BuShips SDB-1945 v2 assigns 12-278A to this hull's block - see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-934-lst934-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945), LST design table + roster (shipscribe.com scan, text layer); consolidated with era amphibious-ship construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table + roster (engine-variant annotation for hull block 932-979)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for diesel-powered LSTs: the BuShips official design table documents this hull's machinery plant - two GM diesel engines (~1,700 shp, 2 shafts via Falk reduction gear, 11.6 kt), with hull block LST932-979 (which includes LST-934) assigned the GM 12-278A engine variant. No boilers are fitted on the type, so the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway does not apply; the asbestos-relevant applications for this design and era were engine and exhaust lagging and gaskets, machinery packing, thermal and accommodation insulation, deck coverings, and winch/crane brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (service); 1945 (source)
- Population
- Construction trades (Bethlehem-Hingham, 1944); crew (1944-46); any post-transfer operators (1946+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-934. Names era-standard applications for the type, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. BuShips data documents the design block; it contains no asbestos statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-934-lst934-03
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[5]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency mass-production program (1,051+ LSTs at 17 yards, including the Bethlehem-Hingham emergency yard) under which this LST-542-class hull was built in mid-1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, this class, or this yard, and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-934-lst934-04
-
[6]DANFS, LST-991 - documents the State Department to UNRRA transfer pattern for the same China-service cohort of LSTs [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-991 entry, closing disposition sentence
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Sister-ship disposition pattern, context only: DANFS records that LST-991 'was transferred to the State Department for further transfer to the United Nations Refugee and Relief Administration (UNRRA) in China.' LST-934 was likewise decommissioned and transferred to the State Department in the Far East in May 1946 after China service - the same disposition channel used for the class's China-service cohort.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1946
- Limitations
- Names a different hull. Documents the disposition CHANNEL, not this ship's outcome: no located source establishes that LST-934 went to UNRRA, was sold, or was scrapped - NavSource records her fate as unknown. Must not be cited as this hull's disposition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-934-lst934-05
-
[7]Will Buckley, 'The Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard in World War II,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute) 35(3), June 2021 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History June 2021 article, yard history narrative
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: Bethlehem-Hingham was a purpose-built emergency yard on 150 cleared acres at Hingham, MA, operating December 1941-1945; workforce passed 15,000 by the end of the first year and exceeded 23,500 daily, including over 2,700 women. The yard built Evarts, Edsall, Cannon, and Buckley-class destroyer escorts and LSTs, earning two Army-Navy E awards; it claimed records including a destroyer escort in 23 days and five LSTs in 50 hours.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades, ~23,500 daily at peak (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context only - documents the size and tempo of the construction workforce population at this hull's builder; the article contains no asbestos or material statement and does not establish materials aboard any hull. Bethlehem-Hingham is not an entry in shipyards.json (37 yard_ids checked).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-934-lst934-06
-
[8]NARA Catalog search, '"LST-934"' (209 hits): COM LST GR 66 (Commander, LST Group 66, under LST Flotilla 22) war diaries covering 1944-12 through 1945-11 name this hull among group vessels [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog q="LST-934" item-level results; COM LST GR 66 war diary file units (NAIDs 77464490, 139807469, 139779900, 139855292, 140087911, 140083785, 139963856, 77511344, 83534049)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA catalog returns 209 file-unit hits for "LST-934," dominated by the Commander LST Group 66 war diary series (file units for 12/1-31/44, 1/1-31/45, 3/1-31/45, 6/1-30/45, 7/1-31/45, 8/1-31/45, 9/1-10/31/45, 11/4-30/45, and 9/16-11/30/44) covering the exact span of this hull's combat and occupation service - group-level operational records that name member vessels. RG 24 deck logs for the hull are the companion lead.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (record coverage)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the war diaries are group-level records naming the hull as a member; their page-level contents were not retrieved this session and may or may not contain material, maintenance, or crew detail for this ship. Deck logs were not separately surfaced in the catalog search. No asbestos content established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-934-lst934-07
-
[9]Batch-7477 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page; NavSource 10/16/160934; NVR ship-detail attempt; NARA catalog; CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket (both blocked); firecrawl web sweeps (asbestos terms, fate/China terms); Wikipedia cross-check; historycentral DANFS mirror; USNI yard article; shipyards.json yard_id check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-934-lst934-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming USS LST-934 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Her post-Navy fate is undocumented ('fate unknown'), so no scrapping or foreign-service record exists to check. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - API returned daily-quota throttle (~7.5 h wait) on both opinion and docket indexes; logged as blocked, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content (gorilaw.com, asbestos.com, swmwlaw.com, mesotheliomatreatmentcenters.org, mesotheliomahope.com listicles) asserting asbestos on LSTs generally without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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). NARA war diaries, deck logs, yard records, and State Department/UNRRA disposition files are undigitized or unretrieved leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-934-lst934-08