Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 743-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-madera-county-lst905-pkt-743-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), Naval History and Heritage Command, 'Madera County' entry (published online 2015-08-05) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS online entry, 'Madera County', paragraphs 1-4
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official biography: LST-905 (dp. 1,625; l. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 14'2"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 119; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm.; cl. LST-511) was laid down by the Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., 19 November 1944; launched 30 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Paul Gulling; commissioned 20 January 1945. Fitted out at New Orleans; departed for the Pacific February 1945 via Pearl Harbor; departed Hawaii 16 April for the Marianas; joined the Okinawa convoy at Guam; arrived Okinawa Gunto 8 June and remained until the 28th; operated in the western Pacific until returning to the United States in 1946; deactivated 11 September 1946 and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet; named Madera County 1 July 1955 while inactive; recommissioned (retaining reserve status) 30 March 1963 with volunteers from the Pacific Fleet's Amphibious Force; new home port Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Va., under Commander Atlantic Reserve Fleet for on-call Atlantic-Caribbean support; extensive amphibious training and shipyard periods 1963-65; stood by at Cape Kennedy 22 March 1965 for the recovery phase of the first manned Gemini shot; Dominican Republic crisis operations April-June 1965 (debarked Army units at Puerta de Andres 8 June); three more Caribbean deployments (13 August-15 September, 25 October-10 November, 18 November-8 December 1965); assigned active status 11 December 1965 and overhauled; departed Hampton Roads 11 February 1966 for the western Pacific, entering Subic Bay 1 May; logistic support of Vietnamese operations - ammunition and construction materials to Qui Nhon, Da Nang, Chu Lai, and Nha Trang, with calls in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan and upkeep periods at Sasebo in July and December 1966; continued this role through 1969. Awarded one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Ship's company ~119 (DANFS cpl. figure); embarked troops
- Limitations
- DANFS covers the ship's career through Vietnam but gives no 1969 decommission date, no transfer/stricken dates, and names only the single WWII battle star (Vietnam campaign stars come from NavSource). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. Live page retrieved via Firecrawl 2026-10-03 - default user-agent fetches returned HTTP 404 (NHHC access quirk, same pattern as Batch-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-madera-county-lst905-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Madera County (LST-905) page 160905 (last updated 2020-12-24) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 160905: specifications block, campaign tables, commanding-officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record: 542-Class Tank Landing Ship laid down 19 November 1944 at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA; launched 30 December 1944; commissioned 29 January 1945, LT. Paul W. Thompson, USNR, in command. WWII assignment: LST Flotilla Thirty-Two, LST Group Ninety-Five, LST Division One Hundred Ninety; Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation) 8-28 June 1945. Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) periods 20 September-1 November 1945 and 15 November-2 December 1945. Decommissioned 11 September 1946; Pacific Reserve Fleet; renamed USS Madera County (LST-905) 1 July 1955; recommissioned in reserve 30 March 1963; recommissioned in active status 11 December 1965. Vietnam campaign record: ten campaign stars (Vietnamese Counteroffensive through Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970, per campaign table). Decommissioned, date unknown; transferred (leased) to the Republic of the Philippines 29 November 1969, renamed RPS Ilocos Norte (LT-98); struck from the Naval Register 15 September 1979; sold to the Philippines 1 March 1980; struck by the Philippine Navy 1992, fate unknown. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (3), Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Dominican Republic), Vietnam Service Medal (10), RVN Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (8), Philippines Liberation Medal. Specifications: 1,625 t. light / 4,080 t. full load / 2,366 t. beaching; 328' o.a.; 50' beam; 11.6 kts (trial); endurance 24,000 miles at 9 kts; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted, troops 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; two General Motors 12-567A 900-hp diesel engines, single Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V D.C. ship's-service generators, two propellers at 1,700 shp, twin rudders; diesel fuel 4,300 bbls. Photographic record places the ship beached at Okinawa June 1945 (alongside LST-990), on the Mekong River 1967, in the Mekong Delta circa late-summer 1969 (photographed from USS Hickman County, LST-825), and upriver at Saigon.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1992
- Population
- 13 officers + 104 enlisted ship's company; 16 officers + 147 embarked troops
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled ship-history archive, not a federal record - its launch (30 December 1944) and commissioning (29 January 1945) dates conflict with DANFS (30 November 1944 / 20 January 1945); both variants carried via the correction row. Philippine hull number rendered LT-98 here vs LT-87 in other secondary sources. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-madera-county-lst905-02
-
[4]DANFS 'Madera County' entry vs. NavSource page 160905 and contributor photographs (commissioning-party and christening photos dated 29 January 1945); mrfa.org Vietnam-LST table [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry paragraph 1; NavSource 160905 timeline + photo captions 1016090515/1016090516; https://www.mrfa.org/us-navy/us-navy-mobile-riverine-force/what-happened-to-the-lsts-of-vietnam/
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies recorded: (a) launch - DANFS and the DANFS-derived record say 30 November 1944; NavSource says 30 December 1944 and a contributor photo caption describes 'Christening by Mrs. Paul Gulling ... and launching, 29 January 1945' at the Dravo yard; the DANFS 30 November 1944 date is adopted as controlling. (b) commissioning - DANFS says 20 January 1945; NavSource says 29 January 1945 consistent with its commissioning-party photo; the DANFS 20 January 1945 date is adopted as controlling. (c) Philippine hull number - NavSource photographs and text carry LT-98; mrfa.org and other secondary sources carry LT-87. (d) 1969 transfer date - NavSource carries lease 29 November 1969; mrfa.org carries 26 November 1969; second decommissioning date itself is unrecorded (NavSource: 'date unknown').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1980
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies by adopting the official DANFS dates as controlling while preserving variants; does not affect identity or service record materially. No asbestos content in any source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-madera-county-lst905-03
-
[5]Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration / Compensation Service, 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' (2021 edition, VFW mirror of the VA document) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships List, Category I (p. 4 of the 2021 edition); VA press release https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-posts-online-list-of-ships-associated-with-presumptive-agent-orange-exposure/
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The VA's official ships list places 'All vessels with the designation LST [Landing Ship, Tank]' in Category I - ships operating primarily or exclusively on Vietnam's inland waterways - and states that all Veterans who served aboard such vessels are eligible for the presumption of Agent Orange herbicide exposure because their primary service was on the inland waterways of Vietnam. LST-905's in-country Mekong River/Bassac service is independently documented by NavSource photographs (Mekong River 1967; Mekong Delta circa late-summer 1969; upriver at Saigon). This is a federal exposure-environment record covering this hull by ship-type designation - for herbicide presumption, not asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1962-1975 presumption window; list edition 2021
- Population
- Vietnam-era LST crews (ship-type category incl. this hull)
- Limitations
- VA document establishes the herbicide-exposure presumption for the LST designation category; it is not an asbestos record and establishes nothing about asbestos presence aboard this or any hull. The list 'is evolving and is not complete'; coverage here is by type designation (all LSTs), not by an individual LST-905 entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-madera-county-lst905-04
-
[6]In re: Dravo LLC - Derivative Claims Against Carmeuse Lime, Inc., and Certain Affiliated Entities, 307 A.3d 146, 2023 PA Super 268, Nos. 1210 & 1284 WDA 2022 (Pa. Super. filed 2023-12-19); reversed by In re Dravo LLC, Nos. J-79A-2025 & J-79B-2025 (Pa. decided 2026-05-22) [court_record]
- Locator
- Pa. Super. slip op. J-A15029-23/J-A15030-23 at 2-3 (Stipulation of Undisputed Facts paras. 4-7) and holding; Pa. slip op. J-79A-2025 at 2-3 (holding and factual background)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published Pennsylvania appellate record documents asbestos litigation against Dravo Corporation, this hull's builder: the stipulated record states that Dravo, a Pittsburgh-headquartered heavy-industry corporation whose businesses included 'manufacturing watercraft' and industrial heating equipment plus construction/engineering services in steel mills, chemical plants, and other industrial settings, 'had been sued in a number of lawsuits that sought damages due to alleged bodily injury caused by exposure to asbestos, where the exposure typically occurred during its operations from the 1940s through the 1980s' - an operations window covering this hull's 1944 construction. Dravo and Liberty Mutual created a 'cluster' for asbestos-related claims arising out of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh's county); hundreds of asbestos claimants asserted claims by the 2020 bar date in the 2018 Subchapter G dissolution proceeding. Disposition: the Superior Court (2023-12-19) reversed summary judgment for parent Carmeuse Lime and allowed the veil-piercing theory to proceed; the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (2026-05-22) reversed, holding veil piercing unavailable to plaintiffs whose tort claims against the dissolved LLC are otherwise time-barred under the LLC Act (15 Pa.C.S. sections 8871-8878) - a corporate-liability ruling that leaves the stipulated asbestos-claims history intact.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940s-1980s alleged exposure window; litigation record 2020-2026
- Population
- Dravo Corporation operations workforce and plaintiffs (builder-level context)
- Limitations
- Builder-level litigation history, not a hull or yard finding: the opinions do not attribute the alleged exposures to the Dravo shipyard at Pittsburgh (or to any vessel), do not name this hull, and do not adjudicate whether asbestos conditions existed aboard any Dravo-built ship. Exposure allegations are plaintiff allegations; the 2026 Supreme Court reversal concerns successor/parent liability, not exposure merits. Cited at pleading/discovery-history stage accordingly.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-madera-county-lst905-05
-
[7]LST-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, lst-1-class.class.json), consolidating Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. 2 (Jan. 1945) machinery data and era amphibious-ship construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- class-f/lst-1-class.class.json: propulsion_summary, class_notes, evidence rows ev-lst-1-class-01/-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference for the asbestos-relevant systems aboard this hull: LST-905 belongs to the BuShips LST542-931 design group with a diesel plant (2 x GM 12-567A) and no boilers, so the dominant steam-lagging pathway of steamships does not apply. For diesel LSTs of this design and era the asbestos-relevant applications concentrate in engine-room and exhaust lagging, machinery and piping gaskets, valve and pump packing, deck coverings, accommodation-space insulation, electrical insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings. WWII-era federal policy reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding, and period shipboard insulation, gasket, packing, and deck-covering products were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber. Documented maintenance events (1963-65 shipyard periods, post-December 1965 overhaul, Sasebo upkeeps July/December 1966) are the kind of industrial availabilities that disturbed era materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Construction trades (Dravo Pittsburgh, 1944); engineroom and repair crews; overhaul/upkeep yard workers (1963-66)
- Limitations
- Class/design inference, not a hull record: no LST-542 material schedule, asbestos survey, or abatement record specific to this hull was located (per the class file, no class-wide material schedule or ship-specific asbestos record exists for any member). Does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The asbestos scope of the documented yard periods is inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-madera-county-lst905-06
-
[8]U.S. General Accounting Office, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (1979-10-18) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the U.S. Navy used asbestos insulation aboard ships through the early 1970s and reviewed Navy programs to protect workers from asbestos exposure - the service-era program context for this hull's 1944-46 and 1963-69 active periods. Consistent with the Batch-01 treatment, gao.gov blocks automated fetches (HTTP 403); the product-page description is the accessed level.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940s-1970s program era; report 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crews (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level document; names no hull and no shipyard and establishes nothing about asbestos aboard this vessel. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov 403 to automated fetch); carried at product-page level only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-madera-county-lst905-07
-
[9]Batch-7448 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource 160905; NVR; VA ships list 2021; pacourts.us In re Dravo LLC (2023 Super. + 2026 Supreme); va.gov BVA decisions index; public court-index sweep; NARA guidance; CourtListener API v4 (blocked - quota) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-madera-county-lst905-01 through sl-uss-madera-county-lst905-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated/docketed exposure claim naming LST-905 or Madera County was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The CourtListener authenticated API was quota-blocked this session (daily limit; ~8-hour reset) and is logged as blocked, not as a negative result; the public court-index sweep (va.gov BVA, general web case indexes) returned no qualifying litigation naming the hull.
- 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-built hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and builder-level asbestos litigation exists for Dravo Corporation generally. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. The CourtListener gap stands open until a post-quota sweep runs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-madera-county-lst905-08
-
[10]NARA, ship deck logs guidance - U.S. Navy deck logs (RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel / Bureau of Navigation), NARA II College Park [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-log guidance page; RG 24 deck logs and muster rolls (NARA II, College Park); RG 19/RG 181 yard work-package records
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no reproduction spend authorized): LST-905/Madera County deck logs for 1945-46 (WWII/Okinawa/occupation) and 1963-69 (reactivation, Caribbean 1965, Vietnam in-country river operations) sit in NARA RG 24 at College Park, with muster rolls alongside; the 1965-66 overhaul and Sasebo upkeep work packages would be in Bureau of Ships-era yard records (RG 19/RG 181). Deck-log confirmation of in-river Mekong operations and of any recorded material disturbances is the ship-specific documentary path most likely to exist.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1969 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents in this hull's logs is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-madera-county-lst905-09