Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 843-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-985-lst985-pkt-843-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-985 (build dates, sponsor, commissioning, postwar occupation/China service, decommissioning, striking, disposal) - live NHHC page verified working this session [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full record (short LST-format entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 3 January 1944 at the Boston Navy Yard; launched 25 February 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Charles E. Schofield; commissioned 7 April 1944. Following World War II, LST-985 performed occupation duty in the Far East and saw service in China until mid-March 1946. She returned to the United States and was decommissioned 11 June 1946 and struck from the Navy list 3 July that same year. On 13 October 1947, the ship was sold to William E. Skinner for scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1944; wartime crew and embarked troops
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, not materials or asbestos content - the entry is a short LST-format record with no wartime operations detail (theater service is implied only by the postwar occupation/China statement). Its decommissioning date (11 June 1946) conflicts with NavSource (6 June 1946) - see correction row ev-06 and gaps. Live NHHC page verified 2026-10-03 - unlike prior batches, no mirror fallback was needed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-985 (160985) - class, specification block, unit assignments, medal periods, commanding-officer table, and custodial chronology [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 10/16/160985, Specifications block, awards ribbon display, CO table, and chronology
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship; laid down 3 January 1944 at Boston Navy Yard, Boston MA; launched 25 February 1944; commissioned USS LST-985, 7 April 1944, LT James S. Alexander USN in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater - LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven (CAPT Riley), LST Group One Hundred Ten (LCDR C. Alexander), LST Division Two Hundred-Twenty. Postwar occupation and China service periods: Navy Occupation Service Medal 1 October 1945 to 19 March 1946; China Service Medal (extended) 2-23 September 1945 and 1 October 1945 to 19 March 1946. Decommissioned 6 June 1946; struck from the Naval Register 3 July 1946; sold for scrapping 13 October 1947 to William E. Skinner. Specification block: 2 General Motors 12-567A diesels (900 hp each), single Falk main reduction gear, 3 diesel-drive 100 kW 230V D.C. ship's service generators, twin propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders, 11.6 kt trial, endurance 24,000 miles @ 9 kt - a diesel plant with no boilers; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; armament fit 2 twin 40mm w/Mk 51 directors, 4 single 40mm, 12 single 20mm. CO table: LT Alexander (commissioning - February 1946); LTjg Walter L. Ridenour USNR (February - 29 April 1946); LTjg Joseph V. Gallagher USNR (29 April - 6 June 1946). Photographs: at anchor in the Whangpoo River off Shanghai, China, 17 February 1946; passing under the Golden Gate Bridge circa 1946 (US Navy photo NH 83648). Ribbons shown: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) - no battle stars displayed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Ship's company ~117 per spec block; embarked troops up to ~163
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archival page quoting Navy sources and NHHC photo captions; consistent with DANFS where they overlap except the decommissioning date (NavSource 6 June vs DANFS 11 June 1946 - see ev-06). Spec data are equipment descriptions only - no asbestos content stated or implied. Ribbon display lists no battle stars; wartime operations between commissioning (April 1944) and documented Pacific presence (1 May 1945 org chart) are not detailed in this or any located source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-02
-
[4]NHHC Online Reading Room, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' - fleet organization chart listing LST 985 under LST Division 220, LST Group 110, LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- US Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven, LST Group 110, LST Division 220
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Primary NHHC fleet-organization document names this hull: 'LST 985' appears in the Pacific Fleet organization as of 1 May 1945, under LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven > LST Group 110 > LST Division 220 (alongside LST 657, LST 1007, LST 1009, LST 1022, LST 1023) - corroborating NavSource's unit chain and placing the ship in the Pacific Fleet on that date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- wartime crew and embarked troops
- Limitations
- A fleet organization list - it documents assignment and presence as of 1 May 1945, not operations, material condition, or asbestos content. It does not date her arrival in the Pacific or detail any campaign participation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-03
-
[5]National Park Service, Charlestown Navy Yard: Historic Resource Study (Boston National Historical Park) - WWII launch chronology, vessel construction table, and NH-83648 photo caption naming this hull (full text via Internet Archive) [nps]
- Locator
- HRS launch chronology entry 'Feb. 25 USS LST-984 and USS LST-985 launched'; vessel construction table row; NH-83648 caption (index pp. 1113, 1167, 1169)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NPS historic resource study of the builder yard documents this hull three ways: (1) launch chronology - 'Feb. 25 USS LST-984 (LST-984) and USS LST-985 (LST-985) launched'; (2) the yard's vessel construction table - LST-985: 1944 Jan 3 / 1944 Feb 25 / 1944 Apr 7, matching DANFS laid-down, launch, and commission dates; (3) photo caption - 'USS LST-985 (LST-985) ... entering San Francisco Bay in late 1945 or early 1946' (NHC NH-83648), the same Naval Historical Center image NavSource captions as 'passing under the Golden Gate Bridge, circa 1946.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1944
- Limitations
- An NPS yard-level study that corroborates this hull's build dates and provides a third-source caption date ('late 1945 or early 1946') for the Golden Gate photo; it contains no ship-material or asbestos information for this hull. Cited via Internet Archive full text (the study's archive.org OCR); page references per the study's index: 1113, 1167, 1169.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-04
-
[6]NARA Catalog file unit 'LST-985, 4/7/44-6/1/46' (NAID 126585574) - ship's muster rolls spanning her entire commissioned career, 217 digitized images, Record Group 24 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/126585574 - File Unit detail page, Dates/Part-of/Copy sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives holds this hull's digitized muster rolls: file unit 'LST-985, 4/7/44-6/1/46' (NAID 126585574), 217 images available online, part of 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities' (NAID 594996), Record Group 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel); access and use unrestricted; digitized under the NARA-Ancestry partnership; microfilm copy roll 5029 at College Park. Coverage runs commissioning day (7 April 1944) through 1 June 1946 - personnel-level documentation of every man assigned, with reporting and transfer dates. Also located: COM LST GR 110 war diaries (her assigned group) for 4/6-6/30/44 (NAID 78569233), 4/1-30/45 (140050567), 9/1-30/45 (77562719), and 10/1-11/18/45 (140087940).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- all crew members who served aboard 4/1944-6/1946 (named in rolls)
- Limitations
- Record existence and catalog description verified; the 217 images were not individually reviewed and transcription is 0/217 complete - the rolls document crew rosters, not materials, and no asbestos content should be expected. Whether LST-985's monthly deck logs (Logbooks series NAID 594258) are also digitized could not be confirmed: catalog keyword search within the series returns fuzzy token matches with no hull-titled units surfacing in returned results. No dedicated LST-985 war-diary file unit surfaced; group-level COM LST GR 110 diaries exist for four periods overlapping her assignment.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-05
-
[7]Decommissioning-date discrepancy: DANFS entry (11 June 1946) vs NavSource chronology and commanding-officer table (6 June 1946) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS lst-985 entry (11 June 1946); NavSource 160985 chronology + CO table (6 June 1946); NARA NAID 126585574 coverage ends 6/1/46
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Source discrepancy documented: DANFS states LST-985 'was decommissioned on 11 June 1946'; NavSource's chronology reads 'Decommissioned, 6 June 1946' and its own commanding-officer table ends LTjg Gallagher's command 6 June 1946 - internally consistent for NavSource. The NARA muster-roll coverage ends 1 June 1946 and cannot distinguish; no deck-log or decommissioning-order image was located to adjudicate.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1946-06
- Limitations
- Unresolved five-day discrepancy between two sources (DANFS 11 June vs NavSource 6 June + CO-table endpoint). Both dates carried in the decommissioned field; not independently adjudicated against the ship's decommissioning instrument. No asbestos content in either source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-06
-
[8]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan) + NavSource spec block for this hull - consolidated era/design analysis [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table; NavSource 160985 specification block (this hull)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-powered amphibious ship built at Boston Navy Yard in the peak asbestos year 1944: NO boilers or steam plant - the steam-lagging pathway does not apply; plausible asbestos applications on this type concentrate in diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, gaskets and packing throughout the engineering spaces, electrical insulation/cable, deck coverings (incl. tank-deck surfaces), accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings on winches and the stern-anchor windlass.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1944; wartime crew; scrapping-yard workers 1947-48
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation spec, or survey exists in the public record for this ship; she was sold for scrapping in 1947 before any asbestos-management regime existed, so no abatement or survey was ever likely performed. Does not establish presence, absence, or quantity of ACM aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-07
-
[9]Corn JK, Starr J. 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding.' Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700120402
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that WWII-era U.S. shipyards extensively installed asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, and gaskets in naval and merchant construction - the era and program context in which this hull was built (1944, Boston Navy Yard).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (study scope); applied 1944-1948
- Population
- WWII-era shipyard workers and crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level scholarship only; the source does not name this hull or class and does not establish that any specific material aboard this ship contained asbestos. The diesel plant (no boilers) narrows the exposure-relevant scope relative to steam vessels. Citation per batch-318 correction: 12(4):359-373, DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700120402.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-08
-
[10]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 the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 toward selective replacement in high-maintenance areas, with systematic substitution beginning only in the early 1970s. For this hull the entire policy history is post-disposal: she left the Navy list in 1946 and was sold for scrapping in October 1947 - no Navy asbestos-management regime ever governed her, and any ACM aboard at disposal passed to the scrapper in the pre-regulation era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (not this hull)
- Limitations
- Program-level Navy documentation that postdates this hull's existence by three decades - pure era context establishing only that no Navy asbestos-management program could have applied to her. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch this session); content via product-page description, consistent with prior batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-09
-
[11]National Park Service, Charlestown Navy Yard: Historic Resource Study - index entry 'asbestos removal, 672, 709' and post-closure hazardous-materials remediation record (DERP-FUDS era) for the builder yard [nps]
- Locator
- HRS index 'asbestos removal, 672, 709'; hazardous-materials remediation index block; Building 105/108 remediation text
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The NPS historic resource study for the yard that built this hull indexes 'asbestos removal' at pages 672 and 709 and documents post-closure hazardous-materials remediation across yard buildings (Building 105 Chain Forge MOA, underground fuel-tank removal 1994, DERP-FUDS-scope cleanups) - a documented hazardous-material history for the builder yard itself.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1980s-2000s (remediation); yard history
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard workers (post-closure remediation era)
- Limitations
- Yard-level and post-closure context only: the indexed asbestos references concern building remediation decades after the hull was built, not ship construction materials or this hull's outfit. Documents that the builder yard had asbestos-bearing structures, not that any specific material went aboard LST-985.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-10
-
[12]Southland Holdings project history, USS LST-267 (built at Southland predecessor American Bridge Co., Ambridge PA) - 'Final disposition, sold for scrapping on September 24, 1947 to Mr. William E. Skinner' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- southlandholdings.com/featured-projects/lst-267/ - LST-267 project history paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating context for the named buyer in this hull's disposal: Southland Holdings' own project history records that USS LST-267 was 'sold for scrapping on September 24, 1947 to Mr. William E. Skinner' - a different hull sold to the same buyer for scrapping nineteen days before LST-985's 13 October 1947 sale, establishing Skinner as a repeat purchaser of surplus LSTs for scrapping in fall 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1947
- Population
- scrapping-yard workers (1947-48, era context)
- Limitations
- Company-history page (not a government record) documenting a different vessel; it corroborates that William E. Skinner was actively buying surplus LSTs for scrapping in this window, but says nothing about LST-985 itself, the scrapping location, or conditions under which hulls were dismantled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-11
-
[13]Batch-7528 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live); NavSource 160985; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945; NPS Charlestown Navy Yard HRS full text; NARA catalog (muster roll NAID 126585574 + COM LST GR 110 war diaries); CourtListener API (blocked); CourtListener web-index sweep; prior class-level LST sweep (2026-09-16); MARAD; NVR; HyperWar OnlineLibrary; web litigation/marketing sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-985-lst985-01 through sl-uss-lst-985-lst985-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-985 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The full text of the NPS yard study's LST-985 index pages contains no asbestos material attribution to this hull; the only 'asbestos' references in that study are post-closure building remediation (index pp. 672, 709). CourtListener API was quota-blocked this session (daily quota exhausted, ~6.4 h to reset); coverage rests on the same-session site:courtlistener.com web-index sweep (zero results of any kind) and the prior dated class-level 'USS LST' asbestos sweep of 2026-09-16 (only an incidental reunion-notice mention of LST-579 in Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton, S.D.N.Y. 1:07-cv-04771 - not an exposure record).
- 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 - a 1944 hull scrapped in 1947-48 is era-consistent with unabated ACM at disposal, and no survey was ever likely performed. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Docket-level coverage is incomplete due to the documented quota block.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-985-lst985-12