USS Prairie (AD-15)

Evidence

15 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-15).

1. [1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Prairie' [court_record]

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener opinion search 'USS Prairie' returned 2 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Limitations

   hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels

   Evidence ID

   uss-prairie-ad15-cl-name-opinion

2. [2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Prairie' [court_record]

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener docket search 'USS Prairie' returned 498 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Limitations

   hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels

   Evidence ID

   uss-prairie-ad15-cl-name-docket

3. [3]CourtListener opinion search: 'AD-15' [court_record]

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener opinion search 'AD-15' returned 846185 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Limitations

   hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed

   Evidence ID

   uss-prairie-ad15-cl-hull-opinion

4. [4]CourtListener docket search: 'AD-15' [court_record]

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener docket search 'AD-15' returned 1035822 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Limitations

   hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed

   Evidence ID

   uss-prairie-ad15-cl-hull-docket

5. [5]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Prairie II (AD-15)' - HyperWar/ibiblio mirror of Office of the Chief of Naval Operations / Naval History Division text [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS AD-15 full entry (ibiblio.org HyperWar mirror of NHHC text)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Laid down 7 December 1938 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.; launched 9 December 1939 (sponsor Mrs. Samuel M. Robinson); commissioned 5 August 1940, Capt. J. B. W. Waller in command. Pre-war cruising between Atlantic ports Colon C.Z. to Argentia, Newfoundland; docked at Argentia tending Allied ships on 7 December 1941. 'Mother ship' to a destroyer squadron at Argentia, Atlantic terminus of the trans-Atlantic convoy route; a fire from Spry (PG-64) moored astern spread to Prairie 29 May 1942 causing extensive damage; repaired at Boston and returned to Argentia; provided complete overhaul to USCGC Campbell (WPG-32), rammed in action against a German submarine 22 February 1943. Departed Argentia 23 September 1943 for Boston and Pearl Harbor (November 1943-February 1944); Majuro from 13 February 1944 through the Tarawa campaign; Eniwetok during the Marianas/Carolines fighting; Ulithi from 8 October 1944 through war's end; Tokyo Bay; home to San Francisco 30 November 1945. San Diego destroyer-force headquarters 16 February 1946-11 August 1947. Three Korean-era deployments (2 February-3 August 1951; 6 April-10 September 1952; late August 1953-11 April 1954). Around-the-world cruise completed March 1956; Yokohama sister-city ceremonies May 1958; Taiwan '10-10 Day' October 1959; SEATO 'Pony Express' exercises Spring 1961; Pearl Harbor repair tours July-December 1966 (over 100 vessels repaired) and from July 1967; rescued survivors of the yacht Anobell 600 miles off Hawaii 11 December 1967; Taiwan People-to-People program 1968; 7th Fleet service into 1970. Bracketed transcriber note: decommissioned 26 March 1993.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   1938-1993 (entry text covers through 1970)

   Population

   Ship's company (cpl. 1,698 per DANFS spec block); destroyer crews alongside during availabilities

   Limitations

   Authoritative service history through 1970 (the DANFS text ends there; post-1970 coverage is from other sources). Contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material information. The documented tender workload is ship-specific operational history, not an asbestos finding. Live NHHC canonical DANFS page returned 404; the HyperWar transcription mirror is cited.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-prairie-ad15-01

6. [6]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Prairie (AD-15) - specification block, awards list, chronology, and captioned U.S. Navy photographs [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource page 09/03/0315, Specifications/Awards/chronology blocks and photo captions (incl. 09031551, 09031555-56, 09031559); awards PDF 09/03/pdf/0315a.pdf

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Specification block: two New York Shipbuilding Parsons-design steam turbines; four Babcock & Wilcox 'A' three-drum boilers at 485 psi/720 deg F; double De Laval main reduction gear; twin propellers, 11,000 shp; complement 123 officers + 1,576 enlisted; armament 4x5"/38 DP, 4x40mm, 2x3pdr (aft 5"/38 mounts and all 40mm later removed, helicopter platform added). Chronology: decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register 26 March 1993; title transferred to MARAD 1 April 1993 for NDRF Suisun Bay; sold for scrapping 2 April 1993 (some sources indicate 6 April) to 'Nishant Import & Export' of the UAE for $960,000; towed to India April 1993 and scrapped. Awards block includes Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, four Battle 'E' ribbons, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (2, Persian Gulf), Southwest Asia Service Medal, and Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait); a companion awards PDF lists AFEM periods 19 September-21 October 1988 and 27 October-14 December 1988 (Persian Gulf) and SWASM 22 March-3 June 1992 (Cease-Fire Campaign). Captioned U.S. Navy photos document Prairie in dry dock No. 1 at Long Beach Naval Shipyard February 1965; Persian Gulf operations with USS Callaghan, USS Simpson, USS Suribachi, and USNS Saturn in 1992; and return to Long Beach from her last deployment 24 July 1992 flying the 'Don't Tread on Me' jack flown 1982-1993 as the ship with longest active status.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   1938-1993

   Population

   Ship's company 1,699 per NavSource spec block

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled archival page quoting Navy sources and official photographs. Chronology records both 2 and 6 April 1993 sale-date variants (unresolved). Specification data are equipment description only - no asbestos content stated or implied.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-prairie-ad15-02

7. [7]Los Angeles Times, 'Anchors Away: Prairie, Navy's Oldest Active Ship, Is Decommissioned' (Dick Wagner, 27 March 1993); UPI, 'Oldest Navy ship decommissioned, sold for scrap' (26 March 1993) [reputable_press]

   Locator

   LA Times archives la-xpm-1993-03-27-me-15741; UPI Archives 1993/03/26 item 2247733122000 (upi.com article text indexed; direct fetch blocked)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Decommissioning coverage: Prairie, 'a 52-year-old destroyer tender that was the oldest active vessel in the Navy,' was decommissioned 26 March 1993 at Long Beach before former crew; plankowner Frank Hart (crane operator, aboard at the 1940 Philadelphia commissioning) and retired CWO Marvin Ennis (who hoisted the commissioning pennant 5 August 1940 as a seaman apprentice and lowered it at the ceremony) attended; the 'Don't Tread on Me' flag was carried to USS Orion, the succeeding oldest ship. LA Times: 'Built for $11 million, the Prairie served in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. At Pearl Harbor in 1944, it prepared 70 ships for action. In 1975, after a decade of supporting ships in Vietnam, it shuttled 3,000 refugees out of Saigon'; home-ported in Long Beach since 1982; recent crew about 900, roughly a third women, first female crew member 1982; last underway September 1992. UPI: oldest U.S. Navy ship on active duty decommissioned and 'prepared for sale to a foreign scrap metal company'; built 1938-39 at a cost of $11 million.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   1940-1993

   Population

   Final crew ~900 (about a third women per LA Times)

   Limitations

   Contemporary press accounts; figures such as 'more than 30,000 sailors' over the ship's life and '3,000 refugees out of Saigon' are reporter framings - the ship's own cruise book describes Prairie's 1975 role as dispatching three teams to process Vietnamese refugees into the Philippines (USS Midway did the Saigon shuttle). No asbestos or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-prairie-ad15-03

8. [8]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. A25007922 (decided 29 January 2025; docket 240730-460260; AMA Hearing docket) [court_record]

   Locator

   Decision text, 'Herbicide Agents Exposure' and 'TERA' analysis sections; Findings of Fact 1-3

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Official VA Board of Veterans' Appeals decision recites an agency finding of asbestos exposure tied to duties aboard this hull. The veteran served on active duty August 1967-March 1969 and his DD 214 'indicates that he was stationed on the USS Prairie (AD-15).' An April 2024 VA toxic-exposure-risk-activity (TERA) memorandum 'found that the Veteran did participate in a TERA due to his military occupational specialty (MOS) as a sheet metal worker aboard the USS Prairie. Specifically, VA concluded that the Veteran was exposed to aerosolized metal oxide, asbestos, industrial solvents, and machine lubricants.' The Board denied the claims on appeal (voiding dysfunction and benign prostate hypertrophy) for want of a nexus between the conceded TERA and the claimed disabilities.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   Service 1967-1969; TERA memo April 2024; decision January 2025

   Population

   Navy veteran, sheet metal worker MOS, aboard AD-15 (active duty 1967-1969)

   Limitations

   Stage discipline: this is a VA administrative-adjudication record, not a tort finding - the exposure determination is an AOJ TERA concession recited in a non-precedential BVA decision, and the underlying claims were DENIED on nexus grounds. It documents one claimant's conceded asbestos exposure in sheet-metal work aboard this hull; it does not establish a hull-wide asbestos inventory, exposure for other crew, causation for any individual, or legal liability. The TERA memo lists asbestos among four co-exposures without identifying the asbestos-containing product or location.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-prairie-ad15-04

9. [9]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 9712687 (decided 11 April 1997; docket 94-09 849; appeal from RO Wichita, KS) [court_record]

   Locator

   Decision text, 'Well-grounded Claim' section and service-history paragraph listing USS Prairie (AD-15) Aug-Dec 1958

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   BVA decision GRANTING service connection for a pulmonary disability due to asbestos exposure (asbestosis) for a Navy engineman and air-conditioning/refrigeration specialist. Service administrative records show duty aboard USS Prairie (AD-15) from August 1958 to December 1958 - one of nine duty stations plus two service schools across active service spanning 1958-1967 and 1969-1972 (USS Cony, USS Tweedy, USS Remey, USS Swerve, USS Donner, USS Terrebonne Parish, USS Shreveport). Finding of fact: he 'was exposed to asbestos throughout his periods of active service.' A companion claim for Freon-gas pulmonary disability was denied as not well grounded.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-19

   Study period

   Service 1958-1972; decision 1997

   Population

   Navy engineman/refrigeration specialist, aboard AD-15 Aug-Dec 1958

   Limitations

   Merits-stage administrative grant of an asbestos-related claim, but the exposure finding is service-wide across nine stations - Prairie is one named duty station (Aug-Dec 1958), not the attributed exposure site. Does not establish asbestos conditions aboard this hull specifically; no exposure location, product, or quantity finding. Reported at the administrative-adjudication stage.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-prairie-ad15-05

10. [10]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. A23027603 (decided 4 October 2023; docket 230913-375685) [court_record]

    Locator

    Findings of Fact 1-3 and 'Asbestos Exposure' section

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    BVA decision recites that '[t]he Veteran served aboard the USS Prairie (AD-15) from September 18, 1961 to March 8, 1962' - one of three ships in his record (also USS Richard E. Edwards DD-950 and USS Taussig DD-746). The AOJ 'found the Veteran participated in a toxic exposure risk activity and was exposed to asbestos as a sonarman while serving in the Navy,' and the Board's analysis states that 'exposure to asbestos has been conceded.' The concession is framed at the whole-service level and is not attributed to Prairie or either other ship. Service connection for bladder cancer was DENIED for lack of nexus to service, including in-service asbestos exposure.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-19

    Study period

    Service 1961-1964; decision 2023

    Population

    Navy sonarman, aboard AD-15 1961-09-18 to 1962-03-08

    Limitations

    Ship-specific only as to verified service dates aboard this hull; the asbestos exposure concession covers his Navy service as a sonarman across three ships and cannot be read as a Prairie-specific exposure finding. Merits denial on nexus. Non-precedential (38 C.F.R. 20.1303).

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-prairie-ad15-06

11. [11]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 1622072 (decided 2 June 2016; docket 13-15 911); with Citations A22005368 (25 March 2022) and 0202293 (11 March 2002) [court_record]

    Locator

    1622072 Reasons and Bases (Persian Gulf service, deck-replacement testimony); A22005368 remand order; 0202293 Reasons and Bases (boiler technician duties aboard Prairie)

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Three further BVA decisions name USS Prairie in non-asbestos adjudications. (1) Citation 1622072: service connection GRANTED for nasopharyngeal carcinoma on Persian Gulf environmental and wood-dust exposures; personnel records show the veteran 'was onboard the USS Prairie when it entered the Persian Gulf via the Straits of Hormuz in 1992' (Persian Gulf Veteran status), and the Board credited her testimony that Prairie's wooden deck was replaced while she was aboard ('all kinds of different fumes'). (2) Citation A22005368: herbicide (Agent Orange) prostate-cancer claim REMANDED for exposure-verification development; veteran assigned to USS Prairie about September 1978-December 1981 with Subic Bay presence. (3) Citation 0202293: non-Hodgkin's lymphoma GRANTED on in-service chemical exposure (boiler fireside/waterside cleaning, soot, oil fumes, tank inspections) for a boiler technician discharged from USS Prairie November 1966; the earlier 2001 denial had been vacated by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. None of the three decisions contains an asbestos finding.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-19

    Study period

    Service periods 1963-1992; decisions 2002-2022

    Population

    Three claimants with verified service aboard AD-15 (periods spanning 1963-1966, 1978-1981, and the 1992 Gulf transit)

    Limitations

    Other litigation: no asbestos allegation or finding in any of the three. 1622072 usefully corroborates the ship's 1992 Persian Gulf deployment and documents an in-service deck-replacement event; 0202293 documents boiler-cleaning duties aboard this hull in the 1960s (soot/chemical exposure, not asbestos). Reported at the administrative-adjudication stage.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-prairie-ad15-07

12. [12]USS Prairie (AD-15) Naval Cruise Book, 1992 (ship-published cruise book; digitized scan via e-yearbook.com), ship's-history section [other_primary]

    Locator

    Cruise book pages 1, 8-9 (ship-history section), e-yearbook.com Prairie AD-15 1992 edition

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    The ship-published history records: a three-month overhaul at San Francisco Naval Shipyard after the September 1955 return from Sasebo; the eighth WestPac deployment (1956) becoming an around-the-world cruise on the Suez crisis, with Prairie relieving USS Greenwich Bay as flagship for Commander Middle East Force (RADM Jack P. Monroe) and entering Bahrain in November; Pony Express duty as Command Information Bureau ship (~35 correspondents); a 'FRAM MKII overhaul, a Supply Overhaul and Assistance Program' 15 September 1961-23 January 1962; a restricted availability at Long Beach Naval Shipyard beginning 14 April 1966 for main-engine repairs after 25 years of service; divers awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for a C-5A cargo-hatch recovery off South Vietnam during the 19th WestPac; three round-the-clock teams processing Vietnamese refugees into the Philippines for ~35 days after the April 1975 fall of Saigon (while USS Midway ran Operation Frequent Wind shuttles); a 1976 regular overhaul rebuilding boilers No. 3 and 4 and the No. 2 stack 'from their foundations to the watch cap' - the most extensive boiler package ever undertaken on Prairie - with after-machinery spaces certified safe to steam 7 October 1976; a September 1981 overhaul under which Prairie was 'declared uninhabitable' 14 November 1981 and moved to Graving Drydock One, U.S. Naval Station San Diego (1 December 1981-late July 1982) for a $2.3M habitability-modification package and Intermediate Maintenance Availability upgrade for FFG-7/DD-963-class support; oldest-ship-on-continuous-active-duty status 15 June 1982 on USS Dixie's decommissioning; homeport change San Diego to Long Beach effective 1 August 1982; and departure on the 27th and final deployment 24 January 1992.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    supporting

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-19

    Study period

    1955-1992

    Population

    Ship's company; shipyard and intermediate-maintenance workers during documented availabilities

    Limitations

    Ship-published cruise book - a contemporaneous crew document, not an audited record; OCR digitization garbles some strings (hull numbers, the first Prairie's 1898 date is legible). The industrial-work events (boiler rebuilds, berthing rip-out, drydock) are documented ship-specific history, but the cruise book says nothing about asbestos or hazardous materials; any asbestos scope in that work is era inference only.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-prairie-ad15-08

13. [13]Corn JK, Starr J. 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding.' Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

    Locator

    Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700120402

    Finding type

    asbestos_application

    Finding

    Peer-reviewed historical study documenting that WWII-era U.S. shipyards extensively installed asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, and gaskets in naval construction - the era in which this hull was built (1938-40). Destroyer tenders carried machine shops, foundries, pipe-fitting and sheet-metal spaces, and boilers whose work products and repair operations were asbestos-relevant era materials; Prairie's documented role as a 'floating workshop' (DANFS) performing refits, voyage repairs, and complete overhauls on other vessels places this hull inside that era pattern.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-09-19

    Study period

    1941-1945 (study scope)

    Population

    WWII-era shipyard and repair-ship workers (class context)

    Limitations

    Era-level scholarship; does not name this hull or class and does not establish that any specific material aboard contained asbestos. The shipboard repair workload is ship-specific per DANFS, but the asbestos-material inference remains era-level, not ship-proven.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-prairie-ad15-09

14. [14]U.S. GAO, HRD-80-2 (1979): report on asbestos insulation conditions and repair costs aboard U.S. Navy ships [gao]

    Locator

    GAO HRD-80-2 (gao.gov product page; retrieval blocked)

    Finding type

    gov_survey

    Finding

    GAO's 1979 report on asbestos insulation aboard Navy ships documents fleet-wide asbestos conditions during a period when this ship was in active commission as a destroyer tender.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-09-19

    Study period

    1979 (report year)

    Population

    Active-fleet ship crews, 1970s era (class context)

    Limitations

    GAO product page and PDF returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch during research - full text not retrieved; coverage described at title level only. Does not name this hull. Carried as an archival lead pending retrieval of the report text.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-prairie-ad15-10

15. [15]Batch-444 search ledger (this record): DANFS via HyperWar mirror; NavSource 0315; LA Times/UPI; 1992 cruise book; va.gov vetapp BVA decisions; CourtListener API v4 (blocked); MARAD ShipHistory; GAO; NHHC canonical pages [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-prairie-ad15-01 through sl-uss-prairie-ad15-11

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No hull-level asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or tort-court case naming USS Prairie (AD-15) was located in the public sources searched. The ship-specific asbestos documentation that exists is administrative-adjudication level (VA TERA concession and one service-wide asbestosis grant; rows ev-04 through ev-06). CourtListener opinion and docket search could not be executed - the shared API returned HTTP 429 (daily limit) throughout the research window - so a court-docket search remains incomplete; MARAD holds no ShipHistory detail page for this hull consistent with its ~1-day custody.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-19

    Study period

    2026-09-19

    Limitations

    Absence of a located survey or court record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1939-built steam tender with documented boiler rebuilds and berthing rip-outs is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the 1993 scrapping in India predates modern hazardous-materials inventory practice. The blocked CourtListener pass leaves civil-litigation coverage incomplete. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-prairie-ad15-11