Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet hp-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-pkt-hp-packet-md
-
[2]Kemper v. BNSF Railway Co., No. 126,956 (Kan. Ct. App. filed 2026-01-23; published; full text also at kscourts.gov document 733fa135-66e9-4b30-8f20-ff9e2441dfc7_126956) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion Part I factual recital (Navy service aboard USS Lynde McCormick 1965-69; VA 100% disability testimony; stipulated $40,903.46 VA payments 'as a result of his Navy exposures') and Conclusions
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published state appellate opinion in a FELA mesothelioma action names this hull as the decedent's Navy duty station: David Kemper joined the Navy in 1965 and 'served on the USS Lynde McCormick, a guided missile destroyer, first as a firefighter apprentice and later as a boiler technician,' leaving the Navy in 1969. The parties stipulated his mesothelioma was caused by asbestos exposure; BNSF's naval researcher testified the VA had awarded David a 100% disability benefit 'which indicated its acknowledgment that his mesothelioma was caused by his service in the Navy'; the estate stipulated he received 13 VA disability checks totaling $40,903.46 'as a result of his Navy exposures.' A jury (May 2023) found BNSF's negligence a contributing cause of death and awarded $1M to the estate plus $500K pecuniary damages to the widow; on appeal the court held FELA permits setoff of asbestos-trust and VA payments, affirmed the pecuniary award, denied nonpecuniary wrongful-death damages, and remanded.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1965-1969 (naval service); 2021-2026 (litigation)
- Population
- David Kemper, USN firefighter apprentice/boiler technician aboard DDG-8 1965-1969 (decedent, mesothelioma)
- Limitations
- Merits-stage record: jury verdict plus published appellate review - the strongest litigation posture this atlas records. The court establishes the decedent's service aboard this hull 1965-1969 in a boiler-room rating and that his mesothelioma was asbestos-caused (stipulated); Navy-service asbestos exposure itself is evidenced through the VA award recitals and stipulations, not independently adjudicated - the jury found BNSF's negligence 'a contributing cause,' not that asbestos aboard DDG-8 caused the disease. Establishes no ACM inventory, quantities, or exposure of other crew.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-958/DDG-8, 'Operational and Building Data' (originally classified DD-958, reclassified DDG-8 1957-04-23; building dates; sale 1994-06-20 to Consolidated Minerals for power-barge conversion; returned to Navy control 1999-03-23; sunk as target off California 2001-02-24) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 'Operational and Building Data' and 'Fate' blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- This hull was ordered 1957-03-28 as destroyer DD-958 and reclassified guided-missile destroyer DDG-8 on 1957-04-23 - before keel laying (1958-04-04). The VERIFY/PRIMARY datasets' 'USS Lynde McCormick / DD-958' entry is this same ship consolidated here under canonical DDG-8, not a second vessel; DD-958 was a paperwork designation never carried into construction, launch, or commission. NavSource building data further carries her 1994 sale to Consolidated Minerals for power-barge conversion, 1999-03-23 return to Navy control, and February 2001 sinking as target off California.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1957-2001
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer photographic-history archive compiling official ship data (secondary-quality provenance); the 1957-04-23 reclassification date is corroborated by multiple independent listings (Wikipedia infobox, navalcovermuseum designation list, seaforces type line 'planned as DD 958; built as DDG 8'). DANFS text itself does not recite the DD-958 designation. Sinking day-of-month conflicts across sources (14 vs 24 Feb 2001) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-02
-
[4]DANFS, Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) - specifications block plus service narrative, verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returns 404; hazegray mirror unreachable this session; seaforces.org mirror carries the identical DANFS text) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (seaforces.org verbatim mirror)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: specs 'dp. 3,190; l. 432'; b. 47'; dr. 21'; s. 30 k.; cpl. 364; a. 2 5", Tar. mis., ASROC, 2 tt.: cl. Charles F. Adams'. Laid down 4 April 1958 by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.; launched 28 July 1959 sponsored by Mrs. Lillian McCormick; commissioned at Boston 3 June 1961, Cmdr. Ernest S. Cornwall, Jr. Departed Boston 23 August 1961 for San Diego homeport (arrived 16 September); Pacific missile-range tests early 1962; first WestPac deployment sailed 19 November 1962, Yokosuka 6 December, 7th Fleet duty, returned San Diego 15 June 1963; overhaul and modification at Hunter's Point early 1964 increasing antiair-warfare capability; departed 5 August 1964 with CruDesFlot 11 for six months off Vietnam screening Bon Homme Richard, returned 6 February 1965; third WestPac from 1 March 1966 - shelling Vietcong positions in the Mekong Delta within a month, Yankee Station support through August, home 26 August; drydock overhaul at Long Beach 27 October 1966 - 23 March 1967; refresher training interrupted 27 May 1967 to aid a stricken crewman of '88 Pacific Comet'; departed 17 August 1967 for WestPac, extensive gunline and coastal-patrol action, returned to the west coast 6 April 1968. Entry ends 'more history wanted'; appended line: decommissioned 1 October 1991, stricken 20 November 1992, sunk as target off California February 2001.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1958-2001
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades 1958-61; Boston Naval Shipyard fitting-out 1961; crew (design complement 364); Hunter's Point and Long Beach Naval Shipyard workers during 1964 and 1966-67 availabilities
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; the text stops at 1969. The hazegray transcription of this same entry carries an obvious typo ('laid down 4 April 1968' for 1958) - corroborating sources unanimously read 1958. Mirror cited because the live NHHC DANFS page 404s (standing link-rot since batch-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-03
-
[5]Department of Veterans Affairs, 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' (July 1, 2019 list; verbatim PDF mirror at vfwfl.org, verified against the ussvance.com 2021 mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- VA ships list, Category II, DDG-series block (DDG-8 entry between DDG-7 Henry B. Wilson and DDG-9 Towers)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The VA's official ships list names this hull: 'USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) operated on Cua Ham Loung River and Mekong River Delta during April 1966 and Mekong River Delta during March 1969' - a Category II entry (ships operating temporarily on Vietnam's inland waterways), under which veterans aboard during those windows are eligible for the presumption of Agent Orange herbicide exposure. The April 1966 entry corroborates the DANFS Mekong Delta gunline narrative.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1966; 1969; list published 2019
- Population
- Crew aboard during April 1966 and March 1969 inland-waterway operations
- Limitations
- Documents the VA's herbicide-exposure determination, not asbestos; listed here as an official government exposure-recognition record for this hull. Evidence is the VA's documentary review of ship operations; individual exposure still requires service-aboard proof during the listed windows. Mirror cited (verbatim official text); the live va.gov list page was not retrievable this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-04
-
[6]U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 'The Surface View: Operation Praying Mantis' (May 1989) - first-person account by the Middle East Joint Task Force commander; corroborating USNI Naval History 'One Day of War' (April 2013) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Proceedings May 1989 article (SAG Bravo composition and Sassan attack sequence)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- On 18 April 1988, during Operation Praying Mantis - described by the task force commander as the largest U.S. Navy surface action since World War II - this hull served in Surface Action Group Bravo (Merrill DD-976, Lynde McCormick DDG-8, Trenton LPD-14). After a five-minute evacuation warning, Merrill and Lynde McCormick cleared the Iranian-held Sassan oil platform with 5-inch naval gunfire set for airbursts; a Marine raid force then assaulted and demolished the platform.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1988-04-18
- Population
- Crew aboard during the April 1988 deployment
- Limitations
- Combat-history context only - no asbestos or materials content. The Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation reported for this action rests on the ship's secondary history page, not the USNI account; the engagement itself is confirmed by the commander's published first-person narrative.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-05
-
[7]navysite.de USS Lynde McCormick (DDG 8) ship-history page (post-1969 service narrative, homeport, decommissioning, power-barge fate) + Maritime Reporter 'Major Navy Contracts' (Dec. 1986: NASSCO San Diego $3.65M SRA modification for this hull completing Jan 1987) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- navysite.de ddg8 'History' and 'General Characteristics' sections; Maritime Reporter Dec 1986 contract-award listing
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary-source service record bridging the DANFS gap (DANFS text ends 1969): commissioned at Boston Naval Shipyard 3 June 1961; continued Vietnam gunline deployments into the early 1970s; October 1973 Yom Kippur War response with Hancock task group; July 1985 Persian Gulf deployment under Commander, Middle East Force during the Iran-Iraq tanker war; sixteenth and final WestPac/Persian Gulf deployment from 15 September 1989 with the New Jersey (BB-62) battleship battle group (PACEX 89; escort for the first battleship patrol into the Persian Gulf); decommissioned at San Diego 1 October 1991; stricken 20 November 1992; stripped of weapons, electronics and superstructure above the main deck and converted (intended) into a power barge; returned to Navy through the purchaser's default; disposed of as a target 24 February 2001. Trade press additionally documents a 1986-87 Selected Restricted Availability at National Steel and Shipbuilding, San Diego.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1969-2001
- Population
- Crew 1969-1991; NASSCO and private-yard workers during 1980s availabilities
- Limitations
- navysite.de is an unofficial ship-history compilation - secondary provenance, used here only for the post-DANFS narrative, with the 1988 action independently confirmed by USNI (ev-05) and the 1973 WestPac presence by an NHHC archive document (ev-07). Navysite's launch date '8 July 1959' is a typo (DANFS/NVR read 28 July); several of its anecdotal entries (Sasebo explosion; December 1967 counter-battery straddle; 'only gun ship' Nha Trang claim dated 'early 1969') are unverified and not carried as record facts - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-06
-
[8]NHHC Command Operation Reports archive (history.navy.mil): USS Navasota (AO-106) 1973 Vietnam COR - scanned deck-log-extract PDF recording 'USS McCormick (DDG-8)' in underway-replenishment events 10 and 15 August 1973 (Gulf of Tonkin operations) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVASOTA 1973 COR PDF, August 1973 underway-replenishment log lines (history.navy.mil content/dam archive)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An official NHHC-hosted command operation report independently places 'USS McCormick (DDG-8)' on station in the Gulf of Tonkin in August 1973 (underway replenishment from Navasota on the 10th and 15th), consistent with the secondary account of her 1973 Middle East/Yom Kippur-era deployment. The NHHC COR archive is the open archival lead for this hull's own command operation reports, which are not digitized in located sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973-08
- Population
- Crew aboard during the 1973 WestPac deployment
- Limitations
- Third-ship COR referencing this hull in passing - documents presence, not activities aboard or materials. The hull's own CORs and deck logs (NARA RG24/RG38) were not retrieved; the reference demonstrates the archive path exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-07
-
[9]MPRSA general permit 'Transport of Target Vessels,' 40 C.F.R. 229.2, and EPA letter R.H. Wayland III to E. Munsell (Aug. 2, 1999) interpreting the permit's PCB-removal requirements (recounted at 78 Fed. Reg. 20640, Apr. 5, 2013; see also EPA/Navy SINKEX Determination and Agreement documents at epa.gov) [federal_register]
- Locator
- 78 Fed. Reg. 20640 (Apr. 5, 2013) permit text and preamble recounting the Aug. 2, 1999 letter; EPA SINKEX Determination documents (epa.gov)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- This hull was sunk as a target off California in February 2001. Navy SINKEX dispositions at that time operated under the MPRSA general permit (40 C.F.R. 229.2) as interpreted by EPA's 2 August 1999 Wayland-Munsell letter: before sinking, the Navy was required to inventory each target vessel for PCBs; qualified personnel had to remove transformers and capacitors containing 3 lb or more of dielectric fluid, use reasonable efforts to remove smaller PCB devices, and drain/flush PCB-containing hydraulic, heat-transfer and machinery systems; items removed were reported to EPA in an annual report. The permit requires removal 'to the maximum extent practicable' of materials that may degrade the marine environment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1999-2001
- Population
- Salvage/strip-out and SINKEX-prep personnel, 1994-2001
- Limitations
- Context only - program-level framework, not a ship-specific finding. DDG-8's own pre-sinking inventory and removal record is not located (EPA annual reports are the archival lead). The cited provisions name PCBs, oils, and debris-producing materials - asbestos is not enumerated; the record does not establish what hazardous material, asbestos or otherwise, remained aboard the stripped hulk when sunk.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-08
-
[10]DANFS specifications block (Charles F. Adams class, steam plant) + NVR-derived ship data (4 x 1,200-psi boilers; 2 geared turbines; 2 shafts; 70,000 shp); NARA RG19 General Information Books per-vessel material specifications as archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; NVR-derived data block (as reproduced on the ship's association stats page); Atlas shipyards.json (Defoe absent from 37 yard_ids)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: a Charles F. Adams-class guided-missile destroyer built 1958-1961 with a four-boiler, two-turbine steam plant falls inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era and would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, refractory materials, and deck coverings in and around the engineering plant. The Kemper record (ev-01) independently places a boiler-room rating aboard in 1965-69. Builder Defoe Shipbuilding (Bay City, MI) is absent from the Atlas yard dataset - yard-level asbestos context cannot be linked; NARA RG19 General Information Books per-vessel material specifications remain the archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1958-1991
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades 1958-61; engineering ratings and yard workers 1961-1991
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - this row is context, not a ship-specific finding; the ship-specific anchors are ev-01 (Kemper litigation) and ev-04 (VA list). Products named are normalized era applications, not documented contents of this hull; no hull-level material inventory is public. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 searches (authenticated, 2026-09-28): 'Lynde McCormick' type=o (2 hits); 'DDG-8' type=o (1 hit); 'Lynde McCormick' type=r (5 docket hits) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener type=o result lists (clusters 10812359, 6928596); type=r docket results (23-11187; MDL-875; 2:21-cv-09612; 3:08-cv-00228; 3:08-cv-03013)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-28). OPINION INDEX: 'Lynde McCormick' returned 2 hits - (1) Kemper v. BNSF Railway Co., No. 126,956 (Kan. Ct. App. 2026) = QUALIFYING asbestos litigation naming this hull (carried as ev-01: decedent aboard as firefighter apprentice/boiler technician 1965-69; stipulated asbestos-caused mesothelioma; VA service-connected; jury verdict affirmed in part); (2) Southwest Marine, Inc. v. United States, 4 Cl. Ct. 275 (1984) = OTHER LITIGATION - a bid protest over Navy overhaul solicitation N00024-83-R-8547 (non-asbestos), which incidentally documents this hull's scheduled Selected Restricted Availability 1984-05-21 to 1984-07-20 among four guided-missile destroyers. 'DDG-8' (type=o) returned only the same Southwest Marine opinion - hull-number opinion index clean. DOCKET INDEX: 'Lynde McCormick' (type=r) returned 5 dockets - 1 NAME COLLISION (Patrick Lynde Mccormick, Bankr. D. Colo. 23-11187, a person's bankruptcy); MDL-875 aggregate docket (phrase somewhere in mass filings); and three asbestos PI dockets in which the phrase sits in indexed filing text - Grant Cochran v. Air and Liquid Systems Corp. 2:21-cv-09612 (C.D. Cal., filed 2021-12-10, terminated 2025-02-18), Davis v. General Electric Co. 3:08-cv-00228 (N.D. Cal.), Redman v. A.W. Chesterton Co. 3:08-cv-03013 (N.D. Cal.) - the phrase's role in each (plaintiff service-history vessel list vs incidental mention) is UNRESOLVED from returned payloads. 'DD-958' queries and document-level RECAP pulls were fleet-pacing-blocked this session.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1984; 2026
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Kemper is the only qualifying hit and is merits-stage; the three asbestos PI dockets plausibly carry plaintiff ship-lists naming this hull (the identical Cochran docket surfaced unresolved in the uss-worden-dd352 batch sweep) but no filing was document-verified this session - logged as unresolvable, not qualifying. 'DD-958' index and the Cochran complaint pull were pacing-blocked; pleadings naming the hull without indexed hits are unexamined. Southwest Marine is other litigation (procurement); its SRA-window recital is a ship-specific historical fact carrying no exposure content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lynde-mccormick-ddg8-10