Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet gb-packet.md (9 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced DANFS text)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced DANFS text)
- Evidence ID
- uss-melvin-dd680-pkt-gb-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Melvin II (DD-680) (builder, dates, service narrative, stricken/sold closing line; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returns 404; hazegray canonical mirror unreachable in-session, text verified against a 2024-12-09 Wayback capture) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + namesake paragraph + service narrative + later-revision disposition line; globalsecurity.org mirror; Wayback capture 20241209090602 of hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd680txt.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: the second Melvin; laid down 6 July 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 17 October 1943, sponsored by Miss Gertrude C. Bailey, grandniece of Lt. (j.g.) J. T. Melvin (killed aboard USS Alcedo 5 November 1917); commissioned 24 November 1943, Comdr. Warner R. Edsall in command. Bermuda shakedown; sailed for the Pacific 1 February 1944 (Pearl Harbor 4 March); Marshalls antisubmarine patrols and blockade of enemy-held atolls; Saipan with TG 52.17 from 31 May - sank submarine RO-36 night of 13-14 June, engaged and sank a merchantman, then 23 days of counter-battery fire, call fire for marines, and Tinian bombardment; Guam screening 22 July - 7 August; southern Palaus 8-21 September; unopposed Ulithi occupation with TG 33.19; staged at Manus for Leyte. With TG 79.11, screened the Dulag assault shipping; entered Leyte Gulf after midnight 20 October (transcription reads '20 December' - see limitations) and joined DesRon 54's torpedo attack opening the Battle of Surigao Strait - Eastern Attack Group with REMEY (DD-688) and MCGOWAN (DD-678), launching torpedoes soon after 0300, scoring on FUSO, which exploded and sank at about 0338. Resupply convoy escort to the Philippines into December; Lingayen Gulf assault from 11 January 1945; TF 38/58 fast-carrier screen from 10 February - aided the damaged SARATOGA (CV-3) on 21 February, splashing three attackers, and escorted her to Eniwetok; Okinawa campaign - 61 days at sea on carrier screen, fire support, and picket; Kyushu/Ryukyu raids; July-August strikes on Honshu and Hokkaido; detached 10 August for TF 92 anti-shipping sweep and bombardment of Paramushiro (completed 12 August); occupation duty with minesweepers off northern Honshu; departed 12 October, arrived San Francisco 4 November. Decommissioned San Diego 31 May 1946 into the Pacific Reserve Fleet; recommissioned 26 February 1951; DesRon 24, Newport, Atlantic Fleet - east coast and Caribbean service with Mediterranean deployments 22 April - 8 October 1952 and 22 April - 6 June 1953; decommissioned 13 January 1954 at Charleston, S.C.; reassigned 1960 to the Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Later revision closes: 'stricken 1 December 1974, and sold for scrap 14 August 1975.' Ten battle stars for WWII service. Specs block: Fletcher class; 2,050 t.; 37 k.; cpl. 319.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 319)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Two transcription dates are internally inconsistent - 'soon after midnight 20 December' entering Leyte Gulf (20 October per the contemporaneous DesRon 54 action report) and 'the early hours of the 26th' for the torpedo attack (night of 24-25 October per the same report) - carried in gaps. Specs-block length reads 'l. 314'6"' - a transcription artifact for the Fletcher-standard 376'6"; dimensions are not carried in this record. Live NHHC page 404s; transcription mirrors cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-dd680-01
-
[3]Commander Task Group 79.11 (ComDesRon 54), 'Report of Night Action in Surigao Strait, Philippine Islands, 24 - 25 October 1944,' to Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, 12 November 1944 (HyperWar transcription of the official action report) [other_primary]
- Locator
- CTG 79.11 action report, Part I general narrative and 'Preliminaries' sections (attack-plan dispatch and station table)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official after-action report naming this hull: on the night of 24-25 October 1944 DesRon 54 destroyers Remey, Monssen, McDermut, McGowan and Melvin patrolled the southern end of Leyte Gulf (Melvin on A/S screening station 3); per the squadron attack plan the Eastern Attack Group (CDS 54 in Remey, with McGowan and Melvin) attacked from eastward while McDermut and Monssen attacked from westward; radar contact was made at 0240 on the 25th; all destroyers launched full salvos (6-foot depth setting, intermediate speed) at an estimated 2 battleships and 1 cruiser in column screened by 4 destroyers; 'Two ships that appeared to be battleships were definitely damaged by the Eastern Attack Group and forced to drop astern of enemy formation. One ship blew up as a result of torpedo fire from Western Attack Group.' No DesRon 54 ship sustained material or personnel casualties.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-10-24 to 1944-10-25
- Population
- DesRon 54 crews; Melvin wartime complement
- Limitations
- The report credits the Eastern Attack Group with damaging two battleships but attributes the ship that 'blew up' to Western Attack Group torpedoes; DANFS credits Melvin's salvo with hits on FUSO ('scoring on FUSO, which exploded and sank at about 0338'). Attribution among the five attacking destroyers is not resolved by this report - the engagement fact for this hull is squadron-level. Documents combat action only; nothing about shipboard materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-dd680-02
-
[4]NavSource DD-680 operational/building data + HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' DD-680 data block + NARA BuShips photo records (19-N-55469; NAID 24742789, deck view 1 October 1953) + U.S. Naval War College Archives corporate record for Melvin (DD-680) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/680.htm ops block; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/DD/DD-680_Melvin.html; commons.wikimedia.org files for NARA 19-N-55469 / NAID 24742789; usnwcarchives.org agents/corporate_entities/152
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating records for this hull: NavSource ops block - laid down by Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny NJ, 6 July 1943; launched 17 October 1943; commissioned 24 November 1943; decommissioned 31 May 1946; recommissioned 26 February 1951; decommissioned 13 January 1954; stricken 1 December 1974; 'Sold August 14 1975 to Trebor Marine Corp., Camden, NJ for $175,999 and broken up for scrap'; callsign NJVM. HyperWar compilation: Fletcher class; 2,050 t.; 376'6"; 35 kt; high-pressure super-heated boilers, geared turbines, twin screws, 60,000 h.p.; complement 329. NARA holds official BuShips photographs of this hull (19-N-55469, underway c.1943; NAID 24742789, bow-to-bridge deck view 1 October 1953). USNWC Archives catalogs the hull (existence 1943-11-24 to 1946-05-31 and 1951-02-26 to 1954-01-13) and holds a 1994 crew booklet for the ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Population
- Crew 1943-1954
- Limitations
- NavSource is a secondary compilation - the scrapping-sale particulars (buyer Trebor Marine Corp., Camden NJ; price $175,999) rest on it alone; DANFS's later revision independently confirms stricken 1 December 1974 and sold for scrap 14 August 1975. NavSource direct fetch blocked in-session; ops data verified via search-index excerpt and cross-checked against DANFS on every overlapping field. None of these sources addresses asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-dd680-03
-
[5]HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' DD-680 data block + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding-Kearny record (incl. Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey of the yard, Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar DD-680 compilation block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer with a four-boiler steam plant (high-pressure super-heated boilers, geared turbines, twin screws, 60,000 h.p. per the period compilation) would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; the builder yard (Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock, Kearny) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset - including a 1944 Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey documenting insulators cutting and fitting Johns-Manville Superex amosite pipe covering and boiler insulation in confined spaces at the yard.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; crew 1943-1954
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1944 yard survey postdates this hull's entire construction and commissioning (laid down July 1943, commissioned November 1943, departed for the Pacific February 1944) and documents yard practice, not materials aboard DD-680. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-dd680-04
-
[6]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 - placing this hull's entire U.S. service life (1943-1954 active; reserve custody to 1974) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- 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 report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-dd680-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep, 2026-09-27 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper): "USS Melvin" type=o = 0; "U.S.S. Melvin" type=o = 0; "USS Melvin" type=r = 0; "DD-680" type=o = 0; "DD-680" type=r = 2 (both non-qualifying collisions); bare "Melvin" type=r = ~117,258 surname/first-name collisions [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoint, queries as listed; executed via cl-auth-search.py
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep found no qualifying litigation naming this hull. Exact-phrase opinion searches for 'USS Melvin', 'U.S.S. Melvin', and 'DD-680' returned zero results; a RECAP docket search for 'USS Melvin' returned zero. The two 'DD-680' docket hits classify as name collisions - Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 3:05-bk-03817, filed 2005) and Tribune Media Company (Bankr. D. Del. 08-13141, filed 2008) - document/exhibit-number matches inside mega-bankruptcy dockets, not vessel references. The bare 'Melvin' docket query returns ~117,258 results that classify as person-name collisions (Melvin Cannon, Melvin Gayles, Eugene Melvin, etc., predominantly bankruptcy captions) with no vessel reference identified. 'Melvin' is a moderate-collision surname in docket indexing.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Indexed-text sweep only: asbestos plaintiffs' vessel lists commonly live in complaints/exhibits not fully indexed by the opinion/docket search, so a zero result does not prove no filing ever named the hull. The qualified query '"aboard the Melvin"' (type=o) exhausted 8 paced retries without completing under fleet pacing - logged as pending in sl-07. The 'DD-680' docket hits were classified on caption/court/date inspection; their underlying documents were not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-dd680-06
-
[8]Batch-3655 search ledger (this record): DANFS via GlobalSecurity mirror + Wayback/hazegray; DesRon 54 Surigao action report (HyperWar); NavSource ops data; NARA BuShips photo records; USNWC Archives corporate record; CourtListener exact-name sweeps; GAO product page; NARA deck-log inventory lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-melvin-dd680-01 through sl-uss-melvin-dd680-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-680: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract or hazmat disclosure, and no qualifying asbestos case or docket naming the hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). A law-firm-adjacent marketing site (navyshipexposure.com) presents an 'equipment manifest' for DD-680 attributed to litigation records naming Warren Steam Pump Company, Buffalo Pumps, and Westinghouse Electric Company - a banned source, carried only as an unverified lead in gaps; the same site's DD-673 page attributes a Buffalo Pumps sales file to 'the DD-666-DD-680 series,' a Federal-Kearny hull block that includes this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level, and the hull's 1975 commercial scrapping predates the disclosure/survey channels that produced records for preserved Fletcher hulls. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-dd680-07
-
[9]NARA deck-log program record: Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978 (RG 24, NAID 594258; VA-scanned batches in progress); U.S. Naval War College Archives, USS Melvin (DD 680) booklet, 1994 (MSC-364, Box 25, Folder 12, MSI 490) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-log portal (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks), series NAID 594258; usnwcarchives.org agents/corporate_entities/152 (MSC-364 File MSI 490); NARA RG 19 GIB series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads held for this hull: (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs (Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978) - the series under VA digitization - recording yard periods, drydockings, and availabilities; (b) USNWC Archives holds a 1994 crew-compiled booklet, 'This is our Story Fifty Years later, USS Melvin' with addendum 'Welcome Home USS Melvin (DD 680),' containing crew accounts of Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Leyte Gulf, Surigao Strait, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa plus a crew-member list; (c) NARA RG 19 General Information Books (per-vessel material specifications) remain the hull-level specs lead.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Population
- Crew 1943-1954
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - deck logs, the USNWC booklet, and RG 19 GIBs were not retrieved or reviewed; NARA catalog returned no parseable result to automated fetch in-session. Deck logs rarely name insulation materials; the booklet is veteran recollection, not a materials record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-dd680-08