Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet gh-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-o-brien-dd725-pkt-gh-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, O'Brien IV (DD-725) (builder, dates, service narrative, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC DANFS page returns 404; concordant with the 2024-05-25 Wayback capture of the hazegray mirror, which carries an older vintage of the same entry ending at the 1968 return to Seventh Fleet) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, construction paragraph + service narrative + closing disposal paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: built by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine (the printed entry reverses the laid-down/launched dates - reads 'laid down ... 8 December 1943 and launched 12 July 1943'; consistent order per NavSource: laid down 12 July 1943, launched 8 December 1943); sponsored by Miss Josephine O'Brien Campbell; commissioned at Boston Naval Shipyard 25 February 1944, Comdr. P. F. Heerbrandt. Normandy/Cherbourg 25 June 1944 - direct shore-battery hit abaft the bridge while supporting minesweepers inshore of Texas (BB-35), 13 killed and 19 wounded; temporary repairs Portland, England, then extensive work at Boston Naval Shipyard. Pacific: Ormoc Bay Dec 1944 (sank the crippled Ward APD-16 by gunfire; LST-472 firefighting, 198 survivors); Lingayen 6 January 1945 fantail aircraft crash, repairs at Manus; Kerama Retto 27 March 1945 - 'Val' kamikaze with 500-lb bomb hit port amidships, exploded a magazine, 50 killed or missing and 76 wounded; rebuilt at Mare Island Naval Shipyard summer 1945. Decommissioned San Diego 4 October 1947; recommissioned San Diego 5 October 1950 (Comdr. C. W. Nimitz, Jr.). Korea: TF 77/TF 95, siege of Songjin, Wonsan 'Battle of the Buzz-saw' 17 July 1951 with Blue and Cunningham; San Diego repairs late September 1951; second tour July 1952-January 1953 incl. Operation Feint. Annual WESTPAC cruises to 1960 (Tachen Islands with Wasp, early 1955). FRAM II conversion at Mare Island Naval Shipyard February-October 1961. Vietnam from 22 November 1965 (Thach Ten; Operation Double Eagle); flagship Operation Sea Dragon November 1966 with Maddox (DD-731); three direct hits north of Dong Hoi 23 December 1966 (2 killed, 4 wounded), repairs Subic Bay; Long Beach Naval Shipyard overhaul 1967; DesRon 29 from 1 February 1968; deployments through 1971 (six-foot hull crack drydocked Subic Bay 2 February 1971). Decommissioned and stricken at Long Beach 18 February 1972; hulk towed to sea by tug Sioux (ATF-75) and sunk as target 13 July 1972. Six WWII, five Korea, three Vietnam battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1943-44; wartime, Korea, and Vietnam crew (design complement 336)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, service history, documented yard periods, and disposal - not materials or asbestos content. The transcription's laid-down/launched dates are reversed in the printed DANFS entry (impossible sequence); corrected order carried per NavSource/Wikipedia concordance, logged in gaps. Live NHHC page 404s; destroyerhistory.org carries a later-vintage verbatim transcription (through the 1972 sinking); the hazegray mirror (Wayback 2024-05-25) carries an older vintage ending in 1968 - both reproduce the date swap.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-01
-
[3]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 0119681, Docket No. 94-41 385 (decided 31 July 2001; appeal from VA RO Portland, Oregon; VLJ Vito A. Clementi) [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA 0119681 - Factual Background (service records 'continually assigned to the U.S.S. O'Brien (DD 725)'; Nov 1981 exam recital of asbestos-powder/steam-pipe testimony; Jan 2000 Navy Liaison statement); Analysis (new-and-material finding); ORDER (reopened + remand)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Reopening-stage VA adjudication naming this hull by hull number: the veteran's service personnel records show continuous assignment to 'the U.S.S. O'Brien (DD 725)' for his entire June 1965-June 1967 active duty. He reported that 'asbestos powder could be seen coming from the ship's insulation when guns were fired, and that the vessel's steam pipes were all insulated with the material' (November 1981 VA examination recital). A January 2000 statement from a Navy Liaison office, credited by the Board as new and material evidence, reported it could not determine the extent of his asbestos exposure but that general specifications for ships of the period required heated surfaces be covered with insulation, that it was 'highly probable' asbestos products were used aboard the appellant's vessel, and that the probability of his exposure as a seaman was minimal. The Board reopened the lung-disorder claim and remanded for development.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- Service 1965-1967; claim history 1978-2001; decision 2001-07-31
- Population
- One Navy veteran claimant aboard USS O'Brien (DD-725) 1965-1967 (torpedoman/bosun's mate duties per later questionnaire)
- Limitations
- Stage discipline: this is the reopening/remand stage of a claim ultimately DENIED on the merits in BVA 0311183 (2003) - see ev-03. The Navy Liaison statement is a probability assessment applied to this vessel from era ship specifications, not a hull material survey or sampling record; the veteran's insulation observations are lay testimony recited, not adjudicated fact. Establishes that a ship-named exposure claim reached the Board and that the Navy stated asbestos use aboard was 'highly probable'; does not establish quantity, location, or exposure of any other crewman, and does not adjudicate the hull's material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-02
-
[4]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 0311183, Docket No. 94-41 385 (decided 2 June 2003; appeal from VA RO Portland, Oregon; VLJ G. H. Shufelt) [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA 0311183 - Introduction (service dates); The Evidence (personnel records 'stationed aboard USS O'BRIEN (DD 725)'; Feb 2002 Asbestos Exposure Questionnaire, torpedoman/bosun's mate 1965-67); Findings of Fact 2-4; Conclusion of Law; ORDER (denied)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Merits-stage decision on the reopened claim in ev-02, naming this hull: service personnel records confirm the claimant was stationed aboard USS O'BRIEN (DD 725) for his entire 1965-1967 active duty, and his February 2002 Asbestos Exposure Questionnaire asserted asbestos exposure as a Torpedoman and Bosun's Mate aboard USS O'BRIEN (DD 725) in 1965, 1966, and 1967. DENIED on the merits: the Board found his chronic pulmonary disability (COPD) related to a 70-pack-year smoking history and shipyard work as a sandblaster/painter; VA examiners found no asbestosis, no calcified pleural plaques, and less than a 50-percent chance his symptoms were due to in-service asbestos or herbicide exposure.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- Service 1965-1967; claim history 1978-2003; decision 2003-06-02
- Population
- One Navy veteran claimant aboard USS O'Brien (DD-725) 1965-1967
- Limitations
- Stage/scope discipline: a VA benefits adjudication decided under the benefit-of-the-doubt standard, not a tort finding - and a merits-level DENIAL for this claimant (no asbestos-related disease, no nexus). Documents that a ship-specific asbestos-exposure claim for this hull was fully adjudicated and denied; it does not find that asbestos was or was not aboard, does not establish exposure for anyone else aboard, and does not address legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-03
-
[5]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 0936154, Docket No. 07-04 885 (decided 24 September 2009; appeal from VA RO Lincoln, Nebraska; VLJ M. Taylor) [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA 0936154 - Analysis (July 2004 private report: USS O'Brien 1954-57, asbestos-covered pipes; railroad exposure history); Finding of Fact; Conclusion of Law; ORDER
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Merits-stage VA adjudication naming this hull: the veteran served February 1954-December 1957; a July 2004 private report records his service aboard the USS O'Brien 1954-1957 (during that window the only commissioned USS O'Brien was DD-725) describing asbestos-covered pipes on the ship, including in the mess hall - pipes sometimes in disrepair, which he and others wrapped in canvas until pipefitters arrived. He was diagnosed with asbestosis. DENIED: the Board found the competent evidence did not establish the asbestosis was related to service; the record documented competing pre-/post-service railroad asbestos exposure (hostler, fireman, engineer 1952-1956; steam-engine asbestos lagging work in the roundhouse).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- Service 1954-1957; claim history 2004-2009; decision 2009-09-24
- Population
- One Navy veteran claimant aboard USS O'Brien (DD-725) 1954-1957
- Limitations
- Merits-level denial for this claimant - the Board denied the nexus, not a finding about the ship's material condition. The pipe descriptions are a private-report recital adopted as the veteran's account, not an adjudicated finding. Hull attribution DD-725 is unambiguous from the 1954-57 service window (DD-415 sunk 1942; DD-975 commissioned 1977). Does not establish asbestos content, quantity, location, or anyone else's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-04
-
[6]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 1715957, Docket No. 15-38 800A (decided 11 May 2017; appeal from VA RO St. Petersburg, Florida; VLJ K. Foster) [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA 1715957 - Findings of Fact 2 (service aboard USS Frontier and USS O'Brien; rating-chart probability) and 3 (no asbestos-related disease); Conclusions of Law 2; ORDER
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Merits-stage VA adjudication naming this hull: the veteran served December 1951-October 1955, and his service personnel records document service aboard USS Frontier and USS O'Brien (during that window the only commissioned USS O'Brien was DD-725) as a machinist mate, fireman, and fireman apprentice - ratings the Board noted 'are considered to have a probable to highly probable exposure to asbestos according to the Navy Job Titles (Ratings) and Probability of Asbestos Exposure chart.' DENIED on the claimed issue: the Board found the veteran does not have an asbestos-related lung disease (no asbestosis or mesothelioma).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- Service 1951-1955; claim history 2013-2017; decision 2017-05-11
- Population
- One Navy veteran claimant aboard USS Frontier + USS O'Brien (DD-725), 1951-1955
- Limitations
- Merits-level denial for this claimant (no disease found). The 'probable to highly probable exposure' statement allocates to the veteran's RATINGS across two named vessels, not to a verified exposure event aboard DD-725; it is unallocated between Frontier and O'Brien. A rating-chart probability is not a hull material record. Does not establish asbestos content, location, quantity, or anyone else's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-05
-
[7]Navypedia, Allen M. Sumner-class technical block (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 GE geared steam turbines, 60,000 shp, 2 shafts; complement 336) + DD-725 member row (Bath Iron Works yard no. 226, launched 8.12.1943, commissioned 2/1944, stricken 2.1972) + DANFS-documented yard periods + Atlas shipyard records (bath-iron-works, boston-naval-shipyard, mare-island-naval-shipyard, long-beach-naval-shipyard) + GAO HRD-80-2 era context [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia us_dd_a_m_sumner.htm class block and member table (DD-725 row, yard no. 226); DANFS yard-period narrative (ev-01); shipyards.json records bath-iron-works (ev-bath-iron-works-02) / boston-naval-shipyard / mare-island-naval-shipyard / long-beach-naval-shipyard; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; allen-m-sumner-class.class.json (class-c worktree, background)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class and yard-period inference: a Sumner-class destroyer built 1943-44 with a four-boiler geared-turbine steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings, and this hull's documented Navy-yard periods - commissioning and extensive battle-damage repairs at Boston Naval Shipyard (1944), the Mare Island rebuild after the March 1945 magazine explosion (summer 1945), the Mare Island FRAM II conversion (February-October 1961), and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard overhaul (1967) - all fall in the Navy's pre-substitution era (GAO HRD-80-2: substitution not begun until the early 1970s) and would have disturbed original insulation. The builder yard is documented at yard level: Bath Iron Works' Atlas record carries Dr. Philip Drinker's 1942 Harvard industrial-hygiene study ('fairly serious dust risk,' exposure levels ~10x the safe threshold in the pipe-covering shop) and documents Kaylo pipe covering and asbestos felt among yard products.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1943-44; yard workforces 1944-1971; crew 1944-72
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-level inference only - no hull-specific insulation specification, material schedule, survey, or abatement record located; does not establish asbestos content, quantity, location, or individual exposure aboard DD-725. The Drinker study is yard-level (pipe-covering shop conditions, not vessel-specific). GAO HRD-80-2 full text not retrievable (HTTP 403 per Batch-01); program-level era context. FRAM II and 1967 overhaul asbestos scope undocumented. Subic Bay (Philippines) drydock/repair periods are outside the U.S. yard dataset.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-06
-
[8]NavSource Online Destroyer Archive, USS O'Brien (DD-725) page (operational and building data block; specifications; photo archive incl. Mare Island 1945 post-repair and 1961 FRAM II imagery; CO roster) - via 2025-04-28 Wayback capture; NHHC photo NH 103014 (USS O'Brien DD-725 off Mare Island Naval Shipyard 24 September 1961, after FRAM II modernization - ibiblio Online Library mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/725.htm via Wayback 2025-04-28 - 'Operational and Building Data' block, specifications block, and photo captions (Navy photos 4751-45/4753-45/4851-45 Mare Island June 1945; 1961 FRAM caption)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary-archive building/disposition data corroborating this hull's record: laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath ME, July 12 1943; launched December 8 1943; commissioned February 25 1944; decommissioned October 4 1947; recommissioned October 5 1950; 'Completed FRAM upgrade October 1961'; decommissioned and stricken February 18 1972; fate 'Sunk as target off California July 13 1972.' Specifications: GE geared turbines, 60,000 SHP, 2 screws; crew 336. Radio call sign NJVI. Photo captions document the hull at Mare Island June 1945 (post-rebuild) and undergoing FRAM II conversion at Mare Island in 1961.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Mare Island workforces 1945 and 1961 (photo-documented presence); crew 1944-72
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive, not an official source - carried for corroboration of the building/disposal sequence and the corrected laid-down/launched order (the printed DANFS entry swaps them). No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated helper, fleet-paced): "USS O'Brien" type=o = 1 hit (Mariposa Express, Inc. v. United Shipping Solutions, LLC, 2013 UT App 28, Utah Ct. App.); "DD-725" type=o = 0 hits; docket (type=r) queries for both terms were fleet-budget paced at research time [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search results for q="USS O'Brien" type=o (count 1, cluster 5309062) and q="DD-725" type=o (count 0), 2026-09-27
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener exact-name sweep resolved: the only opinion-level 'USS O'Brien' hit is a NAME COLLISION - Mariposa Express v. United Shipping Solutions (Utah Ct. App. 2013) lists 'USS O'Brien, Inc.' among plaintiff franchisee corporations in a shipping-franchise arbitration dispute; the entity is a corporation, not the ship, and the case is not asbestos litigation. 'DD-725' opinion search returned zero hits. No qualifying court-opinion litigation naming this hull was located in the opinion index; the ship-named adjudication surface is entirely within the VA BVA system (ev-02 through ev-05).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2013 (collision opinion); sweep 2026-09-27
- Population
- Mariposa appellant corporations (name collision - 'USS O'Brien, Inc.' is a corporate name)
- Limitations
- Opinion-index coverage complete for both exact name and hull number; DOCKET-index (type=r) coverage was incomplete - the fleet pacing budget was spent at research time and those queries are logged as blocked in the search ledger (sl-08, sl-09), not completed. Supplemental indexed coverage (site:courtlistener.com) surfaced only surname name-collisions (plaintiffs and law-firm names containing O'Brien) - no hit naming the ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-08
-
[10]Batch-3697 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live + destroyerhistory.org verbatim transcription + Wayback hazegray mirror; NavSource via Wayback; navypedia class table; VA BVA indexed decisions (vetapp); ussobriendd725.org association site via Wayback; Naval Vessel Register; CourtListener API v4 (paced - fleet budget); web litigation-lead searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-o-brien-dd725-01 through sl-uss-o-brien-dd725-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-specific asbestos material record located: no insulation survey, abatement contract, disposal-condition hazmat disclosure, or hull material specification naming DD-725 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The ship-named adjudication surface is four BVA decisions across three denied claims (ev-02 through ev-05), of which the strongest content is a January 2000 Navy Liaison 'highly probable' asbestos-use statement applied to this vessel and rating-chart 'probable to highly probable' exposure language for the claimant's ratings. The hulk was sunk as a target off California 13 July 1972 - a disposition that predates modern EPA vessel-sinking environmental review - so no present-day hull survey is possible.
- 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 - a 1943-44 steam-plant destroyer sits squarely in the Navy's documented asbestos-specification era, class/era inference applies (ev-06), and a Navy official assessed asbestos use aboard this vessel type as 'highly probable.' Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-09
-
[11]NHHC Command History Report, USS O'Brien (DD-725), 1966 (OPNAV Report 5750-1, CO transmittal letter dated 25 January 1967, enclosing the 1966 chronology/narrative and Sea Dragon action report) + NARA archival leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- history.navy.mil command-operation-reports/vietnam/O'Brien 1966.pdf (indexed; live 404; Wayback captures 2021-03-22 to 2025-12-10); NARA deck-log and RG 19 holdings
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Unretrieved primary records for this hull: (1) NHHC holds the ship's 1966 command history report (indexed PDF; live link 404s this session but 12 Wayback captures exist, 2021-2025) - the contemporaneous record of the Sea Dragon flagship period and 23 December 1966 battle damage. (2) NARA holds WWII deck logs (digitized series) and postwar deck logs (physical) for this hull, plus RG 19 Bureau of Ships records including per-vessel General Information Books carrying material specifications - the likeliest source for hull-level insulation specifications. (3) Mare Island Naval Shipyard FRAM II (1961) and 1945 rebuild work packages, and the 1972 pre-sinking disposal/inspection file (SEA detail), are potential material-condition records.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1966 (report coverage); retrieval pending
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - none retrieved this session; the 1966 command history PDF was not fetched (live 404; Wayback captures confirmed by index listing, binary content not extracted). No assertion about their contents beyond the indexed cover metadata is made.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-brien-dd725-10