Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]DANFS, McKean II (DD-784) - live NHHC page (verified live 2026-09-27; published Apr 12, 2024) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS entry, spec block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 15 September 1944 at Seattle, Wash. by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc.; launched 31 March 1945 (sponsor Mrs. Thomas G. Peyton); commissioned at Seattle 9 June 1945, Cmdr. William D. Kelly. Spec block: 2,425 t; 390'6"; beam 40'11"; draft 18'6"; 35.0 kt; complement 336; armament 6x5-inch, 16x40mm, 10x20mm, 5x21-inch TT, 2 DCT, 6 DCP; class Gearing. Three months occupation duty off Japan (departed 22 Sep 1945). Korea: Inchon invasion; discovered the first reported minefield of the war off the Chinnampo River; Taiwan Strait patrol Nov 1950-Jan 1951; TF 95 bombardment/blockade at Wonsan, Songjin, Chinjou; returned Long Beach Apr 1951; one battle star. Long Beach Naval Shipyard 20 Jun 1952; reclassified DDR-784 18 Jul 1952; seven-month radar-picket conversion; DesDiv 131. WestPac 1953, 1956 (Australia), 1957, 1959 (Taiwan Straits), 1960, Jan-Jul 1962 (AAW/ASW with Hancock, Taiwan Patrol), May-Sep 1963. Reclassified DD-784 1 Dec 1963; FRAM I conversion at Long Beach Naval Shipyard 7 Feb-9 Nov 1964. Vietnam: Seventh Fleet South China Sea 5 Aug 1965; screened Attack Carrier Striking Group; gunfire support Dec 1965 including the 15 Dec 1965 five-hour defense of the My Trang outpost (praised by Maj. Gen. Lam, 2nd Vietnamese Infantry); returned Long Beach 13 Jan 1966. Second tour: Gulf of Tonkin SAR Dec 1966-Apr 1967; over 4,000 rounds of 5-inch fired on gun-line support; Australia/NZ; Long Beach 8 Jun 1967. Mare Island overhaul 20 Jul-10 Nov 1967. Entry narrative ends 1969.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Todd Pacific Shipyards construction trades 1944-45; wartime/postwar crew (design complement 336); yard workers at Long Beach Naval Shipyard (1952-53, 1964) and Mare Island (1967)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, specifications, and yard periods - not materials or asbestos content. Entry ends in 1969: decommissioning, striking, and Turkish transfer are not covered by this source. The hazegray mirror transcription misprints the 1952 yard entry as '1962'; the live NHHC text reads 20 June 1952 and is carried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mckean-dd784-01
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[2]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-784 USS McKean (Wayback capture; live navsource.org unreachable 2026-09-27) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-784 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource operational/building data for this hull: laid down by Todd Shipyards, Seattle, 15 Sep 1944; launched 31 Mar 1945; commissioned 9 Jun 1945; 'Completed FRAM upgrade November 1964'; stricken 1 October 1981; 'To Turkey November 2 1982 and cannibalized for spare parts.' Photographic record additionally documents a Mare Island overhaul 29 Jan-30 Apr 1954 (Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum photo caption), Long Beach Navy Yard presence circa 1960s, and Seattle moorage October 1980 - consistent with Naval Reserve Force duty in the Pacific Northwest late in her career.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1982
- Population
- Mare Island yard workers 1954; NRF-era crew 1970s
- Limitations
- NavSource is a reputable volunteer-maintained compilation, not an official record. Its own entry lists the decommissioning date as unknown ('(?)'); secondary sources (NavalCoverMuseum, Wikipedia) read 1 October 1981. The reported July 1987 Harpoon-missile sinking in Antalya Bay appears in Wikipedia/reunion-association sources but not in NavSource's fate line - carried as unverified detail. NVR does not cover ships disposed before 1987, so no official register record exists for the striking/transfer dates.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mckean-dd784-02
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[3]Founds v. Foster Wheeler LLC, E.D. Pa. No. 2:11-cv-67265 (MDL-875, transferred from N.D. Cal.), ECF No. 71 (Memorandum/Order on defendant Puget Sound Commerce Center's motion for summary judgment, filed 2014-01-29); Oneal v. Crane Co., S.D. Fla. No. 0:13-cv-61510, ECF No. 238 (Order on defendants' summary-judgment motions, filed 2014-10-19) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener docket index: Founds ECF 71 (gov.uscourts.paed.433181.71.0); Oneal ECF 238 (gov.uscourts.flsd.424317.238.0)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Two qualifying asbestos personal-injury dockets contain 'USS McKean' in indexed CourtListener document text: (1) Founds v. Foster Wheeler LLC (E.D. Pa. 2:11-cv-67265, asbestos PI, filed 2011-08-08, terminated 2014-03-18) - the matching document is ECF 71, a 13-page order granting in part and denying in part the summary-judgment motion of defendant Puget Sound Commerce Center, Inc. (formerly Todd Shipyards Corporation - corporate successor family of this hull's builder); the same document ALSO matched the 'DD-784' hull-number sweep, a pattern consistent with a 'USS McKean (DD-784)'-form naming in the decedent's work/vessel history; (2) Oneal v. Crane Co. (S.D. Fla. 0:13-cv-61510, asbestos PI, filed 2013-07-12, terminated 2014-11-13) - the matching document is ECF 238, a 15-page order resolving Foster Wheeler and Crane Co. summary-judgment motions; plaintiff James A. Oneal's Navy boiler-room career ran 1958-1980, a window during which DD-784 was active.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- Litigation 2011-2014; alleged exposure mid-20th century
- Population
- Founds decedent (work history under adjudication); James A. Oneal (USN boiler-room service 1958-1980)
- Limitations
- Docket-text-level hits only: 'USS McKean' appears somewhere inside each indexed document but RECAP full text was not retrieved this session (helper covers the search endpoint only; pulls deferred under fleet pacing) - whether the hull is named as a plaintiff exposure site, a yard work site, or a list reference is UNVERIFIED. Both are merits-motion-stage documents in asbestos litigation, not adjudicated exposure findings as to this hull even if named as a service site. Name collision possible but unlikely to be the Wickes-class McKean (DD-90), sunk 1943, given the exposure windows.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mckean-dd784-03
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[4]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 1029785 (decision date 2010-08-10; Docket No. 06-07 866, appeal advanced under 38 C.F.R. 20.900(c)) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BVA decision text, INTRODUCTION and REMAND recital paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A BVA decision recites administrative confirmation that the appellant served aboard USS McKean (DD-784) while the ship was in the waters of the Republic of Vietnam on documented periods in 1965: August 9 - September 11, September 30 - October 19, October 28 - November 26, and December 9-21, 1965; the claim (prostate cancer alleged as due to Agent Orange) was REMANDED for further development. The decision also records that NARA and the Naval Historical Center confirmed deck logs and muster rolls are the permanently retained administrative records for this hull's Vietnam-era period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- Service periods 1965; decision 2010
- Population
- Vietnam-era crew aboard DD-784 1965
- Limitations
- Agent Orange adjudication record, not an asbestos or materials record - it documents that this hull operated in Vietnam waters on official records but says nothing about asbestos content or exposure. The service dates are recited from a CURR/records response, not adjudicated findings. Remand posture only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mckean-dd784-04
-
[5]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VBA), 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' ship list (mirrored PDF; VA adjudication reference) [other_primary]
- Locator
- VA ship list, Category I section (ships operating on Vietnam's inland waterways), DD-784 line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The VA's official Vietnam herbicide-exposure ship list records: 'USS McKean (DD-784) operated on Mekong and Saigon River Deltas during March 14-15, 1967' - an official government record placing this hull on Vietnam's inland waterways (brown-water operations) on those dates, qualifying crew for presumptive herbicide exposure under 38 C.F.R. 3.307(a)(6)(iii).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1967 (operations); list maintained through 2021 update
- Population
- Crew aboard DD-784 on 1967-03-14/15
- Limitations
- Agent Orange adjudication aid, not an asbestos or materials document. URL cited is a verbatim mirror of the VA list hosted by VFW Florida (the va.gov eligibility page that previously carried it no longer lists hulls inline). Establishes inland-waterway service dates only; nothing about shipboard materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mckean-dd784-05
-
[6]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) [court_record]
- Locator
- Omnibus opinion pp. 12, 19, 31 (OCR of scanned ECF 171), per class-profile verification 2026-09-16
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A published federal omnibus opinion recites that 'an engineering drawing for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class), within which the USS Harlan Dickson fell, specifies the use of amosite felts and asbestos cloths' and quotes an expert report estimating 'a partial tally of the weight of the asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging products in the fire ... and engine rooms of a ship belonging to the USS Allen M. Sumner (DD 692) and USS Gearing (DD 710) classes of destroyers is 30.3 tons.' USS McKean (DD-784) is a Gearing-class member - the recited drawing covers machinery shared by the Sumner/Gearing design family.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940s design era; opinion 2018
- Population
- Gearing-class fireroom/engineroom crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Litigation-record recital of an expert report (McCloskey) and a Navy engineering drawing at CLASS level - not a hull-level record for DD-784 and not an adjudicated quantity; the opinion itself treated related exposure conclusions as partly speculative. Underlying exhibits were not in the RECAP index per the class-profile research of 2026-09-16. Does not establish material presence on this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mckean-dd784-06
-
[7]ibiblio HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-45' DD-784 spec block ('High-pressure super-heated boilers, geared turbines with twin screws, 60,000 h.p.') + Gearing-class profile technical data (4 B&W boilers, GE geared turbines) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio DD-784 spec block; DANFS yard-period entries; class-profile technical table
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: a Gearing-class destroyer built 1944-45 by Todd Pacific Shipyards (Seattle) with four Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers and GE geared turbines (60,000 shp) at the peak of Navy asbestos use implies boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, and accommodation insulation as standard applications. Documented yard periods that plausibly disturbed machinery-space insulation under era practice: Long Beach Naval Shipyard radar-picket conversion (Jun 1952-Jan 1953), Mare Island overhaul (Jan-Apr 1954), FRAM I conversion at Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Feb-Nov 1964), Mare Island overhaul (Jul-Nov 1967).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1981
- Population
- Todd Pacific construction trades 1944-45; crew 1945-1981; yard workers at LBNSY and Mare Island
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no hull-level material record exists for DD-784. Yard periods are documented events; their insulation scope is not hull-documented. Establishes no quantities and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mckean-dd784-07
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy from 1975 removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades aboard ships unless a yard period disturbed it. Context for interpreting this hull's documented 1952-53 conversion, 1954/1967 overhauls, and 1964 FRAM I modernization as disturbance-relevant events.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not class- or hull-specific; fieldwork yards were elsewhere. Full text blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403) - content via product-page description per standing note from BATCH-01/class-profile research.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mckean-dd784-08
-
[9]This record's search ledger: NHHC DANFS, NVR, NavSource, CourtListener exact-name and hull-number sweeps, VA records, NARA catalog, GAO, shipyards dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-mckean-dd784-01 through -13
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey, abatement contract, material inventory, museum disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding naming DD-784/DDR-784 was found in the sources searched. CourtListener exact-name opinion search returned zero hits; exact-name docket search returned two asbestos PI dockets containing the ship name at summary-judgment stage whose hull-role is unverified (ev-03, archival leads). Hull-number sweep: one opinion hit (Portland Copper & Tank Works, 43 T.C. 182 (1964)) is a token-level name collision - non-qualifying; five docket hits resolve to the same Founds document plus MDL-875 tag-along notices and non-asbestos complaints (FOIA 'Cancer Step Outside the Box'; Sony v. Cox copyright) - token collisions, non-qualifying. 'USS McKean' name-collision surface is moderate (the sunk DD-90/APD-5 namesake; McKean County PA; FCI McKean; judicial surnames) but no qualifying litigation collision was found among the located hits.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record does not prove absence - BuShips contract specifications, FRAM work packages, and deck logs likely sit in undigitized NARA series (RG 19 Ships' Data/material schedules; deck logs). The two indexed litigation references (ev-03) remain unresolved at document level; RECAP full-text pull deferred under fleet pacing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mckean-dd784-09