Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 609-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LST-731 | Hull: LST-731 | Designation: LST, later LSTH-731 | Class: LST-542 class
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-pkt-609-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-731 (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-02) - construction, sponsor, commissioning, WWII campaigns, designation changes, disposal [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative (full entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 27 December 1943 at Pittsburgh, Pa., by the Dravo Corp., Neville Island; launched 12 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Ackerman; commissioned 30 March 1944, Ens. K. S. McCann, Jr., in command. WWII Asiatic-Pacific service: capture and occupation of Guam (July-August 1944) and assault and occupation of Iwo Jima (February-March 1945). Redesignated LSTH-731 on 15 September 1945; performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-February 1946. Decommissioned 2 June 1950; redesignated LST-731 on 6 March 1952; named Douglas County (LST-731) after counties in 12 states on 1 July 1955; struck from the Navy list 1 November 1958. Earned two battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1958
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction trades (1943-44); crew and embarked troops (1944-50)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS entry ends coverage at the 1958 striking - the intermediate 1946-1950 service window is not narrated. Current-format DANFS page carries no spec block.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Douglas County (LST-731) ex-USS LST-731 - designation timeline, unit assignments, campaign dates, specifications, commanding officers, disposal (live page, verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160731.htm header, campaign/occupation tables, spec block, CO list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship; laid down 27 December 1943 at Dravo Corp., Neville Island, Pittsburgh PA; launched 12 February 1944 (sponsor Mrs. Adolph J. Ackerman); commissioned USS LST-731 30 March 1944, Ens. Kenneth S. McCann, Jr. in command. Asiatic-Pacific assignments: LST Flotilla Twenty-One (CAPT. W. H. Brereton), LST Group Sixty-One (CAPT. R. M. MacKinnon), LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Two. Campaign table: Marianas operation, Guam 22 July-15 August 1944; Iwo Jima operation 19 February-16 March 1945. Redesignated Landing Ship Tank (Hospital) LST(H)-731 on 15 September 1945. Occupation service periods in the Far East: 2 September-15 December 1945 and 26 December 1945-17 February 1946. Decommissioned 2 June 1950; laid up in the Reserve Fleet; reverted to LST-731 6 March 1952; named Douglas County (LST-731) 1 July 1955; struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1958; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' Awards block: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - Iwo Jima, 19 February-16 March 1945), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Spec block: 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam, 1,625 t lt / 4,080 t fl / 2,366 t beaching, 11.6 kt trial, complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted, troops 16 officers + 147 enlisted, 2 LCVP, 2 x GM 12-567A diesels (900 hp each), single Falk main reduction gear, 3 x 100 kW diesel-driven generators, 2 propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders. CO list: ENS. K. S. McCann Jr. (30 Mar 1944-Nov 1945); LT. Paul H. Lane USNR (Nov 1945-5 Jan 1946); LTjg. Don G. Parkinson USNR (5 Jan 1946-?).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1958
- Population
- Dravo construction trades (1943-44); crew/embarked troops (1944-50)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates track DANFS where they overlap. Photo caption dating is approximate ('circa'). 'Fate unknown' means no disposal record is displayed. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-02
-
[4]NHHC photographic catalog NH 79021, 'USS LST-731 (later: USS DOUGLAS COUNTY)' - caption 'In San Francisco Bay, California, circa early 1946, with LCT-971 on board'; courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974 (live page, verified 2026-10-02) [museum_official]
- Locator
- NHHC NH 79021 catalog entry and caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC-held photograph places this hull in San Francisco Bay circa early 1946 with LCT(6)-971 loaded on her main deck - consistent with a return to the U.S. West Coast after Far Eastern occupation duty ended mid-February 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- circa early 1946
- Population
- Crew (1946)
- Limitations
- Photographic presence documentation only: establishes location (San Francisco Bay, circa early 1946) and deck cargo (LCT-971), not activity, status, or material condition. Caption date is 'circa.' No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-03
-
[5]Air Sea Rescue Bulletin, Vol. 3, Nos. 2-6 (1946), Air Sea Rescue Agency, Washington D.C. - published by the U.S. Coast Guard for the ASR Agency (Google-digitized text, archive.org item AirSeaRescueBulletinV3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Air Sea Rescue Bulletin v.3 (1946), Hawaiian tsunami rescue-operation narrative, closing attribution sentence
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official agency publication names this hull in a documented operation: the 1-3 April 1946 rescue response to the tsunami that struck the Hawaiian Islands (Aleutian earthquake tsunami) is described as 'a cooperative effort by the [forces] of the Hawaiian Sea Frontier, Utility Wing, Seventh Emergency Rescue Squadron, LST-731, and coordinated rescue units' - air and surface craft saved more than 100 persons. Places LST-731 in Hawaiian operational service in April 1946, between the end of Far East occupation duty (mid-February 1946) and the San Francisco Bay photograph (circa early 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1-3 April 1946
- Population
- Crew (April 1946); rescued persons
- Limitations
- Ship-named participation in a rescue operation, not an exposure record and not a ship-history narrative - it does not date her arrival/departure, describe her material state, or state her commission status. OCR of the digitized text is rough; hull number 'LST-731' is legible in the closing unit list. The April 1946 Hawaiian tsunami context is documented in the bulletin's own narrative (tidal wave struck the Hawaiian Islands, 1-3 April operations, Hilo/Oahu damage). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-04
-
[6]'Our Growing Mercy Fleet,' All Hands (Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin) item AH-4508, 1945 - LST(H) type description (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of the official USN periodical) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AH-4508-3, LST(H) paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official USN periodical describes the LST(H) type: 'it was at Iwo that LST(H)s made their debut - landing ship, tank, hospital... in reality a floating emergency ward'; LSTs lay close inshore as casualty screens; 'The operating rooms were located in the former troop quarters on the port side' with three operating tables and post-operative litter cases cared for forward in the tank deck. Documents what the hospital-LST designation meant in practice at the type level.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- LST(H) crews and augmented medical staff (type level)
- Limitations
- Type-level description keyed to the Iwo Jima-era debut of the LST(H) - this hull was redesignated LST(H)-731 only on 15 September 1945, after hostilities ended, and the located record shows no casualty-receiving combat employment for her. Whether the full tank-deck hospital fit described here was physically installed aboard this specific hull is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-05
-
[7]Sanders Marble (U.S. Army Medical Department Center of History and Heritage), 'Both Joint and Not: Medical Support at Okinawa, 1945,' Joint Force Quarterly / NDU Press - LST(H) definition and Okinawa employment [reputable_press]
- Locator
- JFQ/NDU Press article, medical-planning paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Defense-press scholarship defines the type this hull was redesignated into: the LST(H) was 'an ordinary landing ship, tank that had been augmented with medical personnel (some Army, some Navy) and equipment to provide blood transfusion and emergency surgery capabilities,' four provided to each landing corps at Okinawa; seaworthy enough to ferry patients out to hospital ships. Used at Okinawa to move patients around the island when rain slowed ground evacuation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- LST(H) crews and medical augmentees (type level)
- Limitations
- Type-level and Okinawa-context description; does not name this hull. This hull's LST(H) period (September 1945 - 1950 decommissioning, administratively until March 1952) was post-combat occupation service, not the assault-echelon casualty role described here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-06
-
[8]ExplorePAhistory.com (Pennsylvania state historical-marker program), Dravo Corporation [Steel] marker 1-A-254, dedicated 18 August 1995, Neville Island Blvd. and Grand Ave. (live page, verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ExplorePAhistory marker page, 'Behind the Marker' narrative
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- State-marker program documentation of this hull's builder: Dravo Corp. at Neville Island was the lead designer and builder of the LST type - the Navy's Bureau of Ships approached Dravo in January 1942 with a preliminary design; Dravo expanded the Neville Island yard with a 66-acre 'East Yard' and ran assembly-line production with prefabricated, welded sections; LST-1 was launched 7 September 1942; Dravo and associated yards sent over 670 LSTs down the Monongahela/Ohio/Mississippi rivers. Establishes the high-rate wartime construction environment in which this hull was built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction workforce (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context; does not name LST-731 (DANFS ties this hull to the yard) and contains no asbestos or material-content information. The '670 LSTs' figure aggregates Dravo and its associated yards - the Neville Island yard's own count (~145-150 per library sources) is not stated on the marker page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block for this hull's page (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, Falk reduction gear, no steam plant); LST-542-class design documented in the batch class profile (lst-1-class.class.json, BuShips SD-1945 v2 design data); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era program documentation (see ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; class profile design data; GAO program context
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-542-class tank landing ship built December 1943 - February 1944 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard asbestos applications aboard a diesel amphibious hull of this period were diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings, accommodation insulation, and valve packing. The diesel plant means no boilers and no boiler/turbine lagging pathway.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1958
- Population
- Dravo construction trades (1943-44); crew/embarked troops (1944-50); LST(H) medical augmentees (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-731/LST(H)-731. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity and no manufacturer attribution. Diesel propulsion narrows but does not eliminate the era pathway.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-08
-
[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 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 (1943-44) and service era (1944-58).
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-09
-
[11]Batch-6476 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource; NHHC photo catalog; USCG Air Sea Rescue Bulletin (archive.org); All Hands AH-4508 via HyperWar; NDU/JFQ; ExplorePAhistory; GAO product page; CourtListener API (partially run before fleet pacing); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-01 through -13
- 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-731 / LST(H)-731 / LSTH-731 / Douglas County was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener authenticated API returned zero results for "LST-731" in both opinions (type=o) and dockets (type=r), and zero for "LST(H)-731", "LSTH-731", and "USS Douglas County" in opinions; a qualified "Douglas County" + "LST" opinion query did return hits - the inspected results were state-court county-name collisions, and full enumeration of that result set could not be re-fetched before the fleet request budget throttled (logged honestly in search_ledger, not overstated). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos' material is law-firm marketing content targeting the Dravo yard generally (asbestos-ships.com, mesowatch.org, gpwlaw.com), asserting asbestos 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. CourtListener coverage was partial this session (fleet pacing): all hull-number spellings returned zero across opinions, bare hull number zero across dockets, and "USS Douglas County" zero across opinions; residual coverage gaps are docket-level queries for the named forms and full enumeration of the "Douglas County"+"LST" collision set - logged in the ledger. NARA RG 24 deck logs and any Dravo build/work-package records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-731-lsth731-10