Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Meriwether (APA-203)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (live URL 404s 2026-09-25; verbatim text via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20251209144202 of the live NHHC page) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text + stats line; Wayback capture 20251209144202 (published 2015-08-07)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Meriwether (APA-203), named for 'a county in west-central Georgia' (Meriwether County): '(APA-203: dp. 6,873; l. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 17 k.; cpl. 536; a. 1 5", 12 40mm.; cl. Haskell; T. VC2-S-AP5)'. Laid down 27 July 1944 by the Kaiser Co., Vancouver, Wash.; launched 18 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. A. C. Barnett; commissioned 7 November 1944, Capt. Angus M. Cohan in command. Service: a month of amphibious training off the California coast; departed San Diego 8 January 1945 with Marine Corps replacements for Hawaii, arriving the 14th; 19 February began loading troops and equipment of the 10th Army and sailed the 22d via Eniwetok, Ulithi, Palau, and Leyte, arriving off Okinawa early 1 April; landed troops and equipment amidst frequent kamikaze attacks, helping splash one on the 3d; departed for Saipan 15 April with wounded, discharged casualties 18th, continued to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, embarked Navy support personnel, underway to return to Okinawa 6 June, arrived 24 July, delayed by air-raid alerts and a typhoon until 6 August. At Guam on the 14th received word of the Japanese surrender and began loading cargo and troops of the 6th Marine Division for the initial occupation of the Tokyo Bay area, landing them 30 August; sailed for Saipan and loaded occupation forces for Nagasaki. Detached from occupation support duties 15 October and assigned to 'Magic Carpet' duty returning servicemen to the United States, continuing such runs until the end of the year, then joined the 19th Fleet; decommissioned 14 August 1946 as a unit of the Stockton group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; remained there until 1 October 1958, when she was struck from the Naval Register and transferred to the Maritime Administration; as a unit of the National Defense Reserve Fleet she was berthed at Suisun Bay into 1969. One battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy historical entry naming this hull - controlling source for identity, wartime employment, inactivation, stricken date, and MARAD transfer. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information - supports no asbestos claim. Prints commissioned 7 November 1944 (SDB construction row prints 8 Nov 44, NavSource prints 7 December 1944 - flagged in correction row).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-01
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 3 (NAVSHIPS 250-012 series, Jan 1945), APA tables + ship index (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 APA section, table sequence no. 171: index/dimensions row (printed p. 258), personnel row (p. 259, OCR 'MERTWETHER'), machinery rows (pp. 260-261), armament/cargo row (p. 262, OCR 'MERIWETHIER'), construction row (p. 263); index entry 'Meriwether (ex-M.C.V. Hull 671) APA203' (p. 258 column in ship index)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. 3 (January 1945), attack-transport (APA) tables, carries per-hull rows for this ship at table sequence no. 171: index/dimensions 'MERIWETHER (ex-M.C.V. Hull 671) APA 203', length 455'0" overall / 436'6" waterline, extreme beam 62'0", 17.7 knots trial speed, 14,837 tons trial displacement; personnel row limiting displacement 12,450 tons, 49 tons per inch immersion, limiting draft 24'0", accommodations 56 officers / 480 enlisted, troop capacity 87 officers / 1,475 enlisted, largest boom 35 tons; machinery row (dittos carry from the MENIFEE/APA-202 row above) '1 ..do..' (Allis-Chalmers turbine), 8,500 shaft horsepower, '2 ..do....' (2 Combustion Engineering header-type boilers), steam conditions 465 psi / 750 F; machinery continuation 3 turbo-drive 300 kW 120/240 V DC ship's-service generators, fuel 7,780 bbls NSFO + 970 bbls diesel; armament/cargo row 1 5"/38cal (D.P.), 4 twin + 1 quad 40mm mounts, 150,000 cu ft non-refrigerated cargo, 5,800 tons total / 2,900 tons cargo deadweight; construction row builder 'Kaiser Co., Vancouver, Wash.', acquired 8 Nov 44, year built 1944, first commission 8 Nov 44.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops (as fitted 1944-45)
- Limitations
- Official wartime BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms identity, ex-M.C.V. Hull 671, the machinery plant (Allis-Chalmers turbine + 2 Combustion Engineering header boilers at 465 psi/750 F - not the Westinghouse/B&W pairing shown in class-typical listings), builder, and acquisition/commissioning dates. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim. OCR-degraded cells ('MERTWETHER', 'MERIWETHIER', '..do..' ditto marks resolved against the MENIFEE row above and NavSource spec block).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-02
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - MERIWETHER (APA-203), Ship History Detail 3331 + digitized status cards (3331_6192AF.jpg fleet particulars MA-383; 3331_AF.jpg Record of Ship Sales MA-20) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 3331 registry/spec block + milestones; status-card images at /cards/3331_6192AF.jpg and /cards/3331_AF.jpg
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory registry record and digitized vessel status cards for MERIWETHER (APA-203), type VC2-S-AP5, fleet Suisun Bay: fleet-particulars card (Form MA-383) shows builder 'Kaiser' 1944, hull no. 'MCV-671', category 'Mil.Aux. Transport, Attack', service prior to lay-up 'Navy', title 'Reimbursable Perm. Transfer / USMA Perm. Layup'; entered NDRF Suisun Bay 'Sept. 30, 1958' at 1210 hrs PDST; arrival draft Fwd 14'00" / Aft 16'00"; withdrawn '6-20-75' at 1200 PDT - reason 'Sold for NT use under PD-X-996, 5/8/75 to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. for $230,000.00.' Other data on card: 'Reimbursable - Navy agrees to bear costs of retention at rate of $118 per ship per month until FY 1960. Navy agrees to pay Marad for costs incurred for preservation performed during Fiscal Year 1959 after transfer to Reserve Fleet in amount not to exceed $16,000 per ship. See Navy letter June 13, 1958 - Marad reply June 20, 1958.' Record of Ship Sales (Form MA-20, contract no. MA-7921): awarded to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. 5-8-75, purchase price $230,000.00, dimensions LOA 455' / Beam 62', light ship weight 5,800, draft 24', location 'Suisun Bay, Calif., Resflt. 9-30-58'; remarks 'Advertised under PD-X-996 dated 3-25-75 opened 4-25-75 under two condition: (1) NTU (2) SCRAP HULL-US. Award under condition (1) NTU.' Registry detail 3331: year built 1944, shipyard 'Kaiser Company', MARAD type VC2-S-AP5, length 455 ft, beam 62 ft, gross tons 7,750; milestones entry/acquisition 9/30/1958 'CUST 1958', disposition/withdrawal 6/20/1975; fate 'Sold -NTU'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Population
- NDRF lay-up/caretaker personnel, Suisun Bay (1958-1975); Union Minerals & Alloys transfer/scrapping workers (1975)
- Limitations
- Authoritative MARAD custody record - documents Suisun Bay NDRF lay-up (1958-1975) under reimbursable permanent transfer and the 1975 PD-X-996 disposal to Union Minerals & Alloys for non-transportation use. The cards document custody and sale events, not materials: no asbestos, insulation, or hazmat-condition content appears on the digitized cards. Does not establish or negate asbestos presence. The NTU award does not itself state a breaking site; NavSource reports scrapping. Registry 'General Type: Training (School)/Training Ship' is a MARAD database quirk inconsistent with the card's 'Mil.Aux. Transport, Attack' - noted, not adopted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-03
-
[4]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Meriwether (APA-203) page (archives/10/03/03203.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chronology bullets; campaign table; commanding-officer table; specifications block; photo captions (Mare Island inactivation, 1 and 5 Aug 1946)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Online APA-203 archive page (Gary P. Priolo, Amphibious Photo Archive): chronology - laid down 27 July 1944 (Maritime Commission type VC2-S-AP5, MCV 671) at Kaiser Shipbuilding Corp, Vancouver, WA; launched 18 October 1944; commissioned '7 December 1944' (CAPT. Angus M. Cohan USN in command; CO list prints his tenure 7 December 1944 - 11 June 1946, then LCDR Gerald Westley Wilson 11 June - 14 August 1946); WWII assignment TransRon Twenty (COMO H.W. Graf USN) / TransDiv Fifty-Eight; campaign 'Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 5 April 1945'; Navy Occupation service in the Far East 2 September - 23 October 1945; decommissioned 14 August 1946 at San Francisco; laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Stockton, CA; permanent custody transferred to MARAD 30 September 1958, laid up NDRF Suisun Bay; struck from the Naval Register 1 October 1958; final disposition 'sold for scrapping, 8 May 1975, to Union Minerals & Alloys, delivered, 20 June 1975'; one battle star for World War II service; spec block matching SDB (1 Allis-Chalmers geared turbine, 2 Combustion Engineering header boilers, 3 turbo-drive 300 kW 120/240 V DC generators, single propeller 8,500 shp). Photo captions document the hull at Mare Island Navy Yard 1 August 1946 alongside USS Magoffin (APA-199) and USS Lubbock (APA-197) 'all three being prepared for decommissioning' and workmen building a cover over Meriwether 5 August 1946 (Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum file APA 203 2787-46 / 2788-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Population
- Ship's company, 1944-1946; Mare Island inactivation workforce, August 1946
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled naval archive (secondary compilation) - chronology, campaign table, CO list, stricken date, and disposal chain corroborated where cross-checkable (DANFS for narrative, MARAD cards for NDRF entry/withdrawal and sale, SDB for machinery). Prints commissioning '7 December 1944' vs DANFS/yard-table 7 November and SDB 8 November - flagged in correction row; prints troop accommodations 86 officers vs SDB 87. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-04
-
[5]Consolidated era inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v3 per-hull machinery row (ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-02) plus the documented Haskell/VC2 class plant [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3 APA machinery table, MERIWETHER row (seq. 171)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: the documented VC2-S-AP5 plant aboard this hull - single Allis-Chalmers geared turbine at 8,500 shp fed by two Combustion Engineering header-type boilers at 465 psi / 750 F superheat - is a WWII emergency-construction superheated-steam installation built at the peak of wartime asbestos use. Typical applications for the type: boiler and fireroom insulation; steam-line and turbine lagging between boiler room and engine room; valve and flange gaskets; machinery packing; accommodation and troop-berthing insulation. Asbestos presence aboard this hull specifically is inference from type and era, not a ship-proven finding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver construction trades (1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46); Mare Island inactivation workforce (Aug 1946); PRF Stockton and NDRF Suisun Bay caretakers (1946-75); disposal workforce (1975)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-specific materials schedule, insulation survey, or asbestos record located for APA-203. Establishes no quantities, no product identifications, and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-05
-
[6]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency-construction program (Maritime Commission VC2-S-AP5 at Kaiser Vancouver) under which this hull was built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-06
-
[7]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 to automated fetch, HTTP 403; content via product-page description)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. For this hull the record is background only: Meriwether left commissioned Navy service 14 August 1946, was stricken 1 October 1958, and sat in NDRF custody until its 1975 disposal - the documented policy period postdates every Navy phase of this ship's life.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not ship-specific; all Navy phases of this hull (1944-46 commission, 1946-58 reserve, 1958 strike) predate the 1975/1979 documented policies, so it establishes nothing about acts or materials aboard APA-203 - background on the Navy's asbestos posture only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-07
-
[8]Cross-source reconciliation note (this record): NHHC DANFS vs Kaiser yard table vs SDB construction row vs NavSource/Wikipedia (commissioning); SDB vs NavSource (troop officers); class-typical listings vs SDB per-hull row (machinery); Wikipedia vs DANFS/SDB (laid-down, stricken); MARAD registry vs status card (type) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-01 through -04
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Cross-source discrepancies flagged: (a) Commissioning date - DANFS prints 7 November 1944 and the Kaiser Vancouver yard table prints delivery 7-Nov-44; the BuShips SDB construction row prints acquired/first commission 8 Nov 44; NavSource prints '7 December 1944' (and dates Capt. Cohan's command from 7 December); Wikipedia body text prints 4 November 1944. Adopted: 7 November 1944 (DANFS + yard table, controlling). (b) Troop officer capacity - SDB personnel row prints 87 officers / 1,475 enlisted; NavSource spec block prints 86 officers / 1,475 enlisted - SDB controls. (c) Machinery vendors - class-typical listings (haskell-class profile / navypedia) give Westinghouse turbine + B&W boilers; the BuShips per-hull row and NavSource spec block give Allis-Chalmers turbine + Combustion Engineering header boilers aboard this hull - the per-hull SDB row controls. (d) Laid-down date - Wikipedia infobox prints '18 February 1942', impossible for MCV-671 (a 1944 emergency-program hull); DANFS/SDB/yard table all print 27 July 1944. (e) Stricken date - Wikipedia body prints '1 October 1959'; infobox and all primary sources print 1 October 1958 - typo. (f) MARAD registry 'General Type: Training (School)/Training Ship' contradicts the status card's 'Mil.Aux. Transport, Attack' - registry quirk, not adopted.
- Verification
- disputed
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Limitations
- Documents conflicts rather than resolving all of them at primary level. The commissioning-date variants are publication-level discrepancies (7 Nov / 8 Nov / 7 Dec / 4 Nov); the machinery-vendor difference is resolved by the official per-hull BuShips row. No asbestos relevance; carried for record integrity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-08
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 name and hull-number searches (via cl-auth-search.py, authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-meriwether-apa203-08/09/10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- COURTLISTENER-RESULTS-PENDING
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- PENDING-CL: fleet-paced CourtListener budget was spent during this session; queries staged for completion before push. Row will be finalized with hit classifications.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-09
-
[10]Batch-2275 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; BuShips SDB 1945 v3; MARAD ShipHistory detail 3331 + status cards; NavSource APA-203; Kaiser yard table + navypedia; NARA digitized-logs index; NVR; CourtListener API v4 searches (pending); GAO HRD-80-2 product page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-meriwether-apa203-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Meriwether / APA-203 was found in the public sources searched. DANFS carries none; the MARAD registry and both digitized status cards carry none; BuShips SDB lists machinery and armament, not insulation; the NavSource page carries none. Marketing listicles that name the hull (asbestos-ships.com dedicated page, simmonsfirm.com ship list, freeasbestostesting.com, mesotheliomaasbestoshelpcenter.com) assert asbestos in generic era terms with no ship-specific documentation and are excluded per source rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a superheated-steam WWII hull that saw a 1946 Mare Island inactivation, 12 years of PRF Stockton lay-up, 17 years of NDRF Suisun Bay lay-up, and a 1975 NTU disposal is era-consistent with retained ACMs; the finding is that no ship-specific asbestos documentation was located, not that none exists. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-10
-
[11]NARA digitized Navy deck-logs index (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online - Meriwether absent from index) + NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 24 / RG 19 / RG 178; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 3331 cards as disposal-file lead; NavSource-hosted 52-page Nagasaki action-report scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-logs index, M-section (Magoffin present, Meriwether absent); RG guide pages; MARAD Detail 3331; navsource.net/archives/10/03/pdf/03138a.pdf
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' (series 594258) holds WWII-era APA deck logs - NARA's digitized-logs index does NOT list Meriwether (neighboring hull Magoffin APA/LPA-199 is listed; Meriwether's logs were not digitized under the same program), so file units are undigitized or uncataloged online. RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds APA/VC2-S-AP5 outfitting and machinery specifications; RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) construction records may hold the MCV-671 Kaiser Vancouver contract file; the MARAD disposal file behind the MA-20 card (contract MA-7921, solicitation PD-X-996) would hold approved NTU-sale terms; Mare Island Naval Shipyard inactivation work-package files for the documented August 1946 decommissioning preparation are the lead for any insulation-disturbance scope. A 52-page scanned 'Action Report - Landing of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki Japan, September 1945' is hosted on the NavSource APA-203 page (PDF 03138a.pdf, no text layer - not reviewed).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1975 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for MCV-671 is unknown until surveyed. Deck logs record operational events, not materials inventories; nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meriwether-apa203-11