Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet q-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-oconto-apa187-pkt-q-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), Oconto (APA-187) entry; live NHHC URL returns 404 - text captured via Wayback Machine 2025-02-02 snapshot (published 2016-02-08) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Oconto (APA-187) entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USS Oconto (APA-187), Haskell-class attack transport, formerly MCV Hull 655, laid down under Maritime Commission contract 5 April 1944 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Corporation, Vancouver, Wash.; launched 20 June 1944 (sponsor Mrs. J. Wallace Neighbor); acquired and commissioned 2 September 1944, Cmdr. Paul Jackson in command. WWII Pacific service: Oro Bay 14 Nov 1944; Noumea; Guadalcanal exercises; Lingayen Gulf offload 11 Jan 1945; Mindoro landing; Okinawa Gunto assault 1-4 Apr 1945 (downed one kamikaze, assisted on a second); Seattle repairs; Okinawa reinforcement run arriving 24 Jul 1945; occupation units to Yokohama 8 Sep 1945; repatriated >1,000 liberated POWs to Manila; Taku, China supply run; Magic Carpet voyages; arrived Norfolk 20 Mar 1946. Decommissioned 22 May 1946; turned over to War Shipping Administration 31 May; stricken 19 Jun 1946. One battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Official Navy history text, verbatim via Wayback capture (live page 404 as of access date - NHHC link rot consistent with Batch-01 note). Contains no asbestos information. DANFS stat block gives displacement 12,450 / complement 558 / troop capacity 1,562; NavSource figures differ (see ev-02).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oconto-apa187-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Oconto (APA-187) page (specifications, campaign record, commanding officers, final disposition) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/03/03187 page - specifications block, campaign table, CO table, final disposition line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-specific specifications for APA-187: displacement 6,873 t light / 14,837 t full; length 455'; beam 62'; draft 24'; speed 17.7 kts (trial); complement 56 officers / 480 enlisted; troop accommodations 80 officers / 1,440 enlisted; propulsion one Allis-Chalmers geared turbine, two Combustion Engineering header-type boilers (465 psi, 750 F), double Falk main reduction gears, three 300kW generators, single propeller, 8,500 shp; armament one 5-inch/38, four twin + one quad 40mm, ten 20mm. Campaigns: Okinawa Gunto 1-6 Apr 1945; occupation service 6-15 Sep 1945; China service 1-9 Nov and 25 Nov-2 Dec 1945. Returned to Maritime Commission 31 May 1946 for lay-up in NDRF James River, Lee Hall, VA. Final disposition: sold for scrapping 5 July 1974 to Luria Bros. & Co. (PD-X-975 dated 27 March 1974) for $285,989.00; withdrawn from James River Reserve Fleet 15 August 1974. Commanding officers: CAPT Paul Jackson (2 Sep 44-13 Oct 45), CAPT James A. Pritchard (13 Oct 45-1 May 46), CDR Clarence A. Jones USNR (1-22 May 46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Population
- Ship's company ~536-558; embarked troops up to ~1,520-1,562
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not an official record; its spec block and CO list are ship-specific and corroborate DANFS dates. Sale-date entry (5 Jul 1974) conflicts with Shipscribe's 7 May 1974 disposal column and Wikipedia's 7 May sale date; PD-X-975 contract date (27 Mar 1974) and withdrawal (15 Aug 1974) are consistent. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oconto-apa187-02
-
[4]Shipscribe (S. Roberts), HASKELL (APA-117) class page - BuShips/Maritime Commission construction and disposal tables with per-hull rows [other_primary]
- Locator
- APA-117 class page: construction table row 187, turbine-fitting paragraph, disposal table row 187, NDRF notes column
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Per-hull row for APA-187 OCONTO (MCV 655): acquired/commissioned 2 Sep 44, Kaiser Vancouver, keel 5 Apr 44, launch 20 Jun 44; decommissioned 22 May 46, stricken 19 Jun 46, to Maritime Commission/reserve 31 May 46; disposal action 7 May 74. Class notes: APA 187-203 and 226-235 at Kaiser Vancouver were ordered 13 Dec 1943 under the MC Military Program; Allis-Chalmers turbines were fitted in APA 187-203 (Oconto's block), vs Westinghouse or Joshua-Hendy in other blocks. MARAD-phase annotation for Oconto: 'Repaired while inactive 17 May 55 - 7 Jul 55. To buyer 15 Aug 74.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver construction trades (1944); NDRF reserve-fleet maintenance workers (1955)
- Limitations
- Shipscribe reproduces official BuShips/MC tables but is a private compilation. The 7 May 1974 disposal date conflicts with NavSource's 5 July 1974 sale entry (both bound to the same PD-X-975 contract); withdrawal 15 Aug 1974 agrees. The 1955 'repaired while inactive' note documents a maintenance event but gives no scope - whether it disturbed insulation is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oconto-apa187-03
-
[5]MARAD Vessel History Database, OCONTO (APA-187), record ID 3665 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov Detail/3665 - characteristics, milestones, status-card scans
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD record: OCONTO (APA-187), year built 1944, Kaiser Company, Naval Auxiliary, AP/APA/LPA, MARAD type VC2-S-AP5, length 455.25 ft, fate 'Sold - Scrap.' Milestones: Entry 31 May 1946; Acquisition 31 May 1946 (REPAIR PROGRAM 1944); Disposition and Withdrawal 15 August 1974. Record includes scanned vessel status cards (images, not text-extractable) and a scanned OCONTO.pdf document.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1946-1974
- Population
- NDRF James River custodial/maintenance workforce, 1946-1974
- Limitations
- Official MARAD custody record confirming reserve-fleet layup and scrap sale; the vessel status cards exist only as page images and were not OCR-readable in this session - any dates/notations on the cards beyond the milestone table are unexamined. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oconto-apa187-04
-
[6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v.3 (Haskell class machinery data: 2 superheated boilers 465 psi/750F, geared turbine, 8,500 shp) and Haskell-class profile research (batch class-f), applied to this hull's documented VC2-S-AP5 plant [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class machinery data + this hull's NavSource/shipscribe propulsion record (ev-02, ev-03)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a 1944-built single-screw geared-steam attack transport (two superheated boilers, 465 psi/750F steam, geared turbine, troop accommodations) built at Kaiser Vancouver at the peak of wartime asbestos insulation use. Typical applications for the type: boiler and fireroom insulation; steam-line and turbine lagging; valve and flange gaskets; machinery packing; interior joiner/accommodation insulation fitted during the APA conversion.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Population
- Construction trades at Kaiser Vancouver (1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46); NDRF maintenance and disposal workers (1946-74)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-level asbestos record located for this or any Haskell-class member. Establishes no quantities, no specific product presence aboard this hull, and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oconto-apa187-05
-
[7]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Public Health - 'Asbestos' military exposure page [other_primary]
- Locator
- publichealth.va.gov/exposures/asbestos - 'How Veterans may have been exposed' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Era context: VA states that veterans who served in shipyard work, insulation work, demolition, carpentry/construction, and manufacturing/installation of products such as flooring and roofing may have been exposed to asbestos, and that asbestos-related disease symptoms often do not appear until 20-50 years after exposure.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- undated program guidance, accessed 2026-09-25
- Population
- U.S. military veterans (general)
- Limitations
- Era/occupation context only - VA program guidance, not a finding about this hull. Does not establish asbestos presence aboard USS Oconto or any veteran's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oconto-apa187-06
-
[8]Family-transcribed Western Union telegram from the Navy Public Information Officer, received 13 December 1945 (WWII Navy Dentist blog, posting of 2017-09-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- wwiinavydentist.blogspot.com 2017-09 post 'Telegram from the Navy'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A Navy telegram filed 13 December 1945 states USS Oconto (APA-187) was 'DUE PORTLAND EVENING 16 DECEMBER WILL REMAIN FOR VOYAGE REPAIRS' - documenting a Portland, Oregon repair period in mid/late December 1945 that does not appear in the DANFS narrative (between the late-1945 homeward runs and the 11 January 1946 Magic Carpet departure).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945-12
- Population
- Portland, OR ship-repair workers (Dec 1945); ship's company
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - a private transcription of a primary document, not an official record; the telegram text is plausible (consistent with the ship's known movements) but the transcription is unverified against the artifact, and the repair scope/duration at Portland is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oconto-apa187-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 opinion search via authenticated fleet helper [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-oconto-apa187-06/07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search for 'Oconto' (1,111 hits) returned only name collisions - Wisconsin litigation involving Oconto County/City, Oconto National Bank, Oconto Company, Oconto Cattle Co., Town of Oconto - no hit names the ship, an asbestos claim, or maritime parties on the reviewed pages. Targeted 'USS Oconto' and 'APA-187' queries and the docket (RECAP) index were not completed in-session due to fleet pacing limits; see search_ledger.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Partial sweep: the bare-name opinion query is collision-dominated (Oconto County WI litigation) and does not exhaust coverage; hull-number and combined queries plus RECAP docket index are still owed. A name-match search cannot prove no filing exists - pleadings that omit the hull name or index only a party name would not surface.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oconto-apa187-08
-
[10]Batch-2256 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC, NavSource, Shipscribe, MARAD Vessel History Database, VA Public Health, CourtListener, general web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-oconto-apa187-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated claim naming USS Oconto (APA-187) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only name-bearing asbestos content located is marketing list pages (law-firm 'Navy ships' lists that enumerate Oconto among hundreds of hulls), excluded as non-authoritative.
- 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 1944 steam plant of this type is era-consistent with asbestos insulation. Does not establish or defeat any individual exposure or eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oconto-apa187-09