Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 843-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-mineral-county-lst988-pkt-843-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Mineral County (LST-988) - construction, Mediterranean and Pacific operations, reserve/in-service timeline, 1951 reactivation, Hydrographic Office service, renaming, stripping for target (live NHHC page, fetched via Firecrawl; bare curl returns 404 - UA-gated, re-verified HTTP 200 with browser UA 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Mineral County entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 10 February 1944 at the Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Mass.; launched 12 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Winfred K. Buchmaster (spelling per this entry); commissioned 25 April 1944, Lt. (jg.) Charles E. Craig in command. Shakedown out of Little Creek; Norfolk to Bizerte convoy June 1944; shuttled troops/equipment Naples-Italy-Sicily-Corsica; invasion of southern France - stood off St. Raphael 15 August 1944, beached and unloaded; shuttle ops Ajaccio/Oran to St. Raphael/Marseilles through 6 October and into December; Norfolk 14 January 1945; 'steamed to New York for overhaul'; Pacific transit via Canal Zone and San Francisco (explosives/ammunition load) April-July 1945; Eniwetok and Guam; occupation service Honshu to Kyushu; detached 11 April 1946; decommissioned and placed in reserve 25 July 1946; placed in service 13 January 1947 as Naval Reserve training vessel for the New York area; reported for inactivation at Philadelphia 6 April 1950; out of commission in reserve 13 June 1950; berthed Green Cove Springs, Atlantic Reserve Fleet; recommissioned 7 June 1951; ServLant troop/cargo carrier to the Mediterranean and Newfoundland; fitted out with a helicopter May 1952 for Iceland special projects with the Air Force; six-month 6th Fleet deployment; Hydrographic Office cargo/personnel carrier, helicopter supply ship, and LORAC team unit from November 1953; renamed Mineral County (LST-988) 1 July 1955; placed in reserve at Norfolk 8 July 1957; decommissioned 11 October 1957 and 'ordered to be stripped preparatory to use to destruction as a target vessel for the Atlantic Fleet.' One battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1957
- Population
- Construction trades (Boston Navy Yard, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-57)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. The New York overhaul yard is unnamed; no strike date appears on this page (the companion LST-988 entry gives 27 September 1957); sponsor is spelled 'Buchmaster' here vs 'Buckmaster' on the LST-988 entry; stats block carries class 'LST-511' vs NavSource's 'LST-542 Class' header; no sinking date or location.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-01
-
[3]DANFS, LST-988 - companion entry carrying the naming detail, strike date, and the strike/decommission sequence (live NHHC page, fetched via Firecrawl; re-verified HTTP 200 with browser UA 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-988 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The DANFS LST-988 entry confirms construction (sponsor here spelled 'Mrs. Winfred K. Buckmaster'), European-theater assignment and the August-September 1944 southern France invasion, occupation duty in the Far East to early April 1946, Naval Reserve training-ship service to decommissioning 13 June 1950, and 7 June 1951 recommissioning for Atlantic/Caribbean/Mediterranean operations. 'On 1 July 1955, she was re-designated Mineral County (LST-988) (q.v.) after counties in Colorado, Montana, Nevada, and West Virginia. On 11 October 1957, Mineral County was decommissioned once again and stripped preparatory to her sinking as a target ship. She was struck from the Navy list on 27 September 1957.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1957
- Population
- Ship's company (1955-57)
- Limitations
- Supplies the namesake detail (four states' counties), the 27 September 1957 strike date, and the unusual sequence - striking precedes the 11 October 1957 decommissioning as stated. No asbestos content; no sinking date or location.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Mineral County (LST-988) ex USS LST-988 (10/16/160988.htm, last updated 15 August 2025) - class header, campaign table, unit assignments, occupation medal periods, spec block, commanding-officer table, awards, final disposition [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160988.htm header block, campaign table, occupation-medal table, specifications block, CO table, awards block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: 'LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship' header; laid down 10 February 1944 at Boston Navy Yard; launched 12 March 1944; commissioned USS LST-988 25 April 1944, LTjg. Charles E. Craig USN in command. Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign table: invasion of southern France 15 August-21 September 1944. Post-war Pacific assignment: LST Flotilla Thirty-Six (CAPT. D.F.J. Shea), LST Group One Hundred Eight (LCDR. W.R. Peeler), LST Division Two Hundred Sixteen. Navy Occupation Service Medal: Asia 8-25 October 1945 and 18 November 1945-12 April 1946; Europe 10 November 1952-4 April 1953 and 20 October-8 November 1953. Decommissioned 13 June 1950; Atlantic Reserve Fleet; recommissioned 7 June 1951; named USS Mineral County (LST-988) 1 July 1955; decommissioned 11 October 1957; struck from the Naval Register 27 September 1957; 'Final Disposition, sunk as a target.' Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt trial; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 2 propellers 1,700 shp, 3 x 100 kW 230 V DC ship's service generators; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; radio call sign NVRL. Commanding-officer table: Craig (Apr-Nov 1944), Sturges (Nov 1944-Mar 1945), Burnett (Mar-24 Nov 1945), Wintter (Nov 1945-1946), Mahoney (1946), Fidler (1952), Pearson (1955). Photos include the ship beached on Green Beach 15 August 1944 (NARA NAID 24198 frames) and at Pier 5, Boston Naval Shipyard, 5 August 1955 (NPS Boston NHP collection). Awards: American Campaign, EAME (1), Asiatic-Pacific, WWII Victory, Navy Occupation, National Defense Service Medal; one battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1957
- Population
- Ship's company (~117 class spec) plus embarked troops (1944-57)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates cross-check cleanly against both DANFS entries and the OCR'd war diaries. The block quoting Wikipedia (arctic-circle crossing 9 July 1952, helicopter 'pad') is flagged secondary and is not asserted in this record. 'Sunk as a target' carries no date or location. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-03
-
[5]NARA NAID 78633712, 'USS LST-988 - War Diary, 7/1/44 to 8/31/44' (signed C.E. Craig; RG 38, World War II War Diaries; 7 images; digitized microfilm roll A_1144) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78633712, images 1-7 (microfilm roll A_1144 frames 0621-0627; downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's July-August 1944 war diary (downloaded and OCR-read this session; clean typescript) documents Mediterranean operations verbatim: 'The LST 988 belongs to LST Flot 20, Group 58, Division 115' (1 July); Bizerte-Salerno-Pozzuoli convoy with Causeway Platoon No. 4 Seabees; repeated Civitavecchia-Porto Vecchio lifts of 12th Air Force, RAF, and French 2nd/3rd Commando personnel and vehicles under HHMS Themistocles and HHMS Crete. Documented repair events on this hull: 23 July 'Salvage craft from U.S.S. Delta examined starboard screw damaged in beaching operations'; 29 July 'Entered drydock, N.O.B. Palermo'; 30 July 'In drydock. Damaged starboard screw removed and new starboard screw installed. Left drydock.'; 7-8 August pontoon repairs by a harbor lighter at Castellamare anchorage. Invasion record: underway 12-14 August as task unit 87.10.2 in assault convoy SM-1 (Camel), convoy commodore in HMS LCH 240; on arrival at the Camel transport area transferred to the Green Beach Assault Group as task unit 87.4.2 (TG 87.4, LCI 19 in charge); 15 August beached on Green Beach 'west of Cape Drammont and approximately 2 1/2 miles east of San Rafael' at 1850, discharged troops and equipment, 'Not under fire while on beach,' loaded 11 wounded; witnessed an enemy aircraft launch a 'radio controlled glider bomb' scoring 'a direct hit on LST 282 ... immediately enveloped in flames, exploded and burned'; second Green Beach beaching 16 August to unload pontoons and Seabee personnel; then Ajaccio-Calvi-Green Beach-Bay de Bougnon-Oran lifts to Mers el Kebir (fuel from USS Merrimac).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-07-01 to 1944-08-31
- Population
- Ship's company plus embarked Army/AAF/French troops and Seabees (Jul-Aug 1944); N.O.B. Palermo drydock trades (29-30 Jul 1944)
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced record; documents the yard events and their dates verbatim, not the work's material content - the diary does not itemize materials, does not say 'asbestos,' and the Palermo drydock entry covers the screw exchange only. OCR of this diary is clean across all 7 images. 'N.O.B. Palermo' (Naval Operating Base Palermo) is the diary's own rendering; not a shipyards.json entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-04
-
[6]NARA NAID 219661197, 'Mineral County (LST-988) - October 1957' (RG 24, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, series NAID 594258; 44-page digitized deck log; scan provided by the Veterans Benefits Administration / Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project; unrestricted) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 219661197, 44-page PDF; Friday 11 October 1957 additional-remarks sheet (verbatim quote re-verified by direct OCR of the scanned page)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's final-month deck log (52 MB PDF downloaded and OCR-read this session; last pages re-OCR'd with tesseract after the embedded text layer proved noisy) documents the decommissioning verbatim: moored port side to South Wall, Destroyer-Submarine Piers, Norfolk, Va., throughout October 1957 in readiness condition 5, material condition Baker, SOPA ComNavAirLant; Friday 11 October remarks sheet - '0845 Mustered the crew for decommissioning ceremonies. 0902 Decommissioned U.S.S. MINERAL COUNTY (LST 988) in accordance with CNO dispatch 071645Z and ComFive dispatch 081907Z.' The log ends at the decommissioning. Earlier October remarks sheets record routine moored status only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1957-10-01 to 1957-10-11
- Population
- Final ship's company, October 1957
- Limitations
- Documents the decommissioning event verbatim; contains no material or abatement content - the stripping for target use (DANFS) occurred post-decommissioning and is outside the ship's own log. The October pages read record no hull material work in the days before decommissioning. Digitization provenance (VA Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project) reflects VA claims-infrastructure scanning of Navy deck logs generally, not any claim against this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-05
-
[7]NARA NAID 77571161, 'USS LST-988 - War Diary, 10/1-31/45' (serial 016, dated 5 November 1945, signed R.C. Burnett; RG 38 war-diaries series, microfilm roll A_1959; 8 images) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 77571161, images 1-8 (microfilm roll A_1959 frames 0028-0035; OCR-read 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The October 1945 war diary (all 8 images OCR-read this session) documents the Subic Bay-Tokyo occupation lift matching DANFS: Task Unit 33.2.9 (CTU in USS LST-902, Captain Carson) from Manila/Subic to Tokyo; typhoon diversions back into Subic Bay 1-3 October; 44 enlisted men embarked 3 October 'for transportation from Subic Bay to Tokyo'; underway 4 October; a second typhoon diversion at sea 8 October with an engineering casualty - 'Due to Typhoon conditions CTU led Task Unit off course and out of typhoon area until heavy weather subsided. 0856 Secured port engine due to loss of salt water suction. 0906 Port engine repaired and operating,' resuming course to Tokyo at 1858; Captain's Material Inspection 12 October. Consistent with the DANFS 26 September-19 November Subic Bay-Yokohama occupation lift narrative and the NavSource Asia-clasp occupation medal period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-10-01 to 1945-10-31
- Population
- Ship's company plus 44 embarked passengers (October 1945)
- Limitations
- Documents operations and a minor underway repair; contains no yard event and no material or asbestos content. OCR clean across all 8 images.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-06
-
[8]NARA catalog, 'USS LST-988' - 103 results (fuzzy relevance): 13 ship-titled WWII war-diary file units (Jul-Aug 1944 consolidated; Sep-Dec 1944 monthly; Apr-Nov 1945 monthly) in the WWII War Diaries series; muster-roll file unit 'LST-988, 4/25/44-7/12/46' (NAID 126584744, RG 24 Muster Rolls, 224 images, digitized); separate 'LST-988' search (~350 results) surfaces monthly deck logs in RG 24 Logbooks at least for 1956-1957 (VA Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project scans) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov 'USS LST-988' and 'LST-988' result sets; NAID 126584744 record page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary archive coverage for this hull is strong but incomplete: ship-titled war diaries digitized for July-August 1944 (NAID 78633712), September-December 1944 (NAIDs 139748062, 78685073, 139773828, 139800948), and April-November 1945 (NAIDs 140008929, 633444969, 101726969, 83522753, 77508402, 77543029, 77571161, 140081876). Ship-titled diaries for January-March 1945 - the New York overhaul window per DANFS - December 1945, and 1946 were not surfaced. The muster-roll file unit 'LST-988, 4/25/44-7/12/46' (NAID 126584744, 224 images) is digitized and is the open lead for crew-figure verification. Monthly deck logs digitized under the VA Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project include at minimum January 1956-October 1957 (record pages for Oct 1957 NAID 219661197 plus 1956 and other 1957 months observed in results); the full month coverage was not enumerated.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1957
- Population
- Ship's company (1944-57); researchers
- Limitations
- Archival-lead row: catalog relevance ordering is fuzzy and other hulls' file units intermix; the Jan-Mar 1945 overhaul-month diaries were not read or confirmed - their absence from results is not proof of nonexistence; muster-roll images were not extracted; deck-log coverage beyond 1956-1957 not fully mapped.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-07
-
[9]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan); NavSource LST-988 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160988.htm specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this hull: the LST-542 design group ran a diesel plant (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, 1,700 shp total, Falk reduction gear, twin screws - BuShips design table and this hull's NavSource spec block) with no boilers, so the steam-plant lagging pathway of boiler vessels does not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications aboard a 1944 diesel landing ship of this type were the era-standard set - diesel-exhaust and machinery-space lagging, gaskets and packing, accommodation thermal insulation, deck coverings - and the hull's documented yard events (29-30 July 1944 N.O.B. Palermo drydock per war diary; January-March 1945 New York overhaul, April-June 1950 Philadelphia inactivation, and October 1957 target-stripping per DANFS) placed repair/refit work aboard this hull inside the Navy's asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1957
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); ship's company/embarked troops (1944-57); N.O.B. Palermo, New York overhaul, and Philadelphia inactivation yard trades; 1957 stripping crews and target-range handlers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package was located for LST-988/Mineral County. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution. SDB 1945 v2 link verified live 2026-10-03.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-08
-
[10]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 - spanning this hull's construction (1944), her wartime, reserve, and recommissioned service, the documented repair/inactivation events, and her 1957 stripping and target disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- 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 text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, reconfirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-09
-
[11]Batch-7531 search ledger (this record): two DANFS entries; NavSource; NARA catalog + two war-diary file units and the October 1957 deck log read in full; muster-roll file unit surfaced; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; NVR; NIOSH HHE search; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-mineral-county-lst988-01 through -18
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or docketed case naming LST-988/Mineral County was found in the public sources searched. The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational (war diaries and the final deck log) and confirms documented yard events - the 1944 Palermo drydock, the 1945 New York overhaul, the 1950 Philadelphia inactivation, and the 1957 stripping - but no primary source read names asbestos aboard this 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 - construction at a wartime Navy yard and the documented repair/stripping events sit squarely inside the Navy's asbestos-use era. IMPORTANT SCOPE LIMIT: the mandated CourtListener ship-name and hull-number litigation check could NOT be completed this session - the authenticated fleet helper reported the shared daily quota exhausted (~6.2-hour wait) before any of the four planned queries could run; the litigation lane is an open gap, not a completed negative. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mineral-county-lst988-10