USS RICHARD E. KRAUS (DD-849)

Evidence

12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).

1. [1]research packet gy-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced)

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Limitations

   qualifier: VERDICT: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced)

   Evidence ID

   uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-pkt-gy-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Richard E. Kraus (DD-849), NHHC (live NHHC page 404 - verbatim transcription cited via the 2024-12-04 Wayback capture of the hazegray DANFS mirror; the updated April 2016 DANFS text adding the post-1974 disposition is carried by destroyers.org, see ev-02) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (Wayback capture of hazegray dd849txt.htm; cross-checked against destroyers.org 'Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, April 2016' transcription)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 31 July 1945; launched 2 March 1946, sponsored by Mrs. Edwin Olsen; commissioned at the Boston Naval Shipyard 23 May 1946, Comdr. R. J. Oliver in command. Shakedown off Boston; reported to Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force, Norfolk; ordnance development for her first 6 years ('Shootingest Ships'); 1947 first shipboard 3"/50 cal. mount tests; 1948 assisted Mississippi (AG-128) in Terrier SAM development tests; reclassified AG-151 on 25 August 1949; redesignated DD-849 on 11 January 1954; May 1954 large-scale ASW development exercise; Guantanamo training 1955, 1958, 1960; 1961 Task Group Bravo and St. Eustatius ceremony; October-November 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis quarantine duty; June 1963-May 1964 FRAM I overhaul and conversion at the Boston Naval Shipyard, emerging 18 May 1964 equipped with ASROC and DASH, homeport Newport, R.I.; 27 November 1964-13 March 1965 6th Fleet/Middle East Force deployment (Red Sea, Indian Ocean); Gemini 6 recovery-force assignment; early 1966 WestPac deployment - TG 77.7 Tonkin Gulf, TG 77.6 Yankee and Dixie Stations, gunfire support off South Vietnam, home via Suez arriving Newport 17 September 1966; May 1967 Mediterranean deployment incl. 6-day Arab-Israeli War operations out of Suda Bay; November 1967 assisted extinguishing an after-engine-room fire aboard Stickell (DD-888); homeported at Charleston July 1968 after Atlantic-coast operations through most of 1968; extended Indian Ocean cruise via Cape of Good Hope, returned Charleston 13 May 1969; July-December 1970 North Sea/STANAVFORLANT cruise, returned Charleston 19 December; regular overhaul in the Charleston area through September 1971; departed 23 September 1971 for the Indian Ocean, officially transferred to COMIDEASTFOR 30 October 1971, circuiting the Indian Ocean until 12 February 1972, arrived Charleston 11 March 1972; 1 November 1972 Seventh Fleet WestPac deployment (Yokosuka 29 November), cruising often just off Vietnam through March 1973, then ordered back to Charleston; 'continued in this employment into 1974.' Two battle stars for Vietnam service. Spec block: dp. 3,540 (f.); l. 391'; b. 41'; dr. 19'; s. 35 k.; cpl. 364; a. 6 5", 16 40mm., 14 20mm., 2 dct., 6 dcp., 5 21" tt.; cl. Gearing.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1945-1974

   Population

   Bath Iron Works construction trades 1945-46; crew 1946-1976 (spec complement 364)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; the narrative ends in 1974, before the 1976 decommissioning/transfer. Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing NHHC link-rot as in Batch 01); hazegray.org does not resolve from this host, so the 2024-12-04 Wayback capture of its verbatim transcription is cited; the April 2016 NHHC DANFS update (final disposition paragraph) is carried at ev-02 via destroyers.org.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-01

3. [3]Tin Can Sailors / Destroyer History Foundation ship page, USS Richard E. Kraus DD-849 (data block + 'Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, April 2016' ship-history text and namesake biography) [other_primary]

   Locator

   destroyers.org DD-849 ship page - data block ('Other Designations: AG-151'), disposition line ('Stricken 7/1/1976, to S. Korea as Kwang Ju 2/23/1977'), and DANFS April 2016 ship-history text

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Foundation-maintained page carrying the updated April 2016 DANFS text, which adds the post-1974 disposition the older transcription lacks: 'The destroyer remained in service until decommissioned on 1 July 1976, struck the same day and officially transferred to the Republic of Korea through the Security Assistance Program on 23 February 1977. The warship served as Kwang Ju (DD-921) in the South Korean navy until retired 29 December 2000.' Data block corroborates: hull DD-849, launch 03/02/1946, commissioned 05/23/1946, decommissioned 07/01/1976, other designation AG-151, callsign NBCN, voice call LAKEWOOD (1964-67), class Gearing; namesake biography: PFC Richard Edward Kraus, USMCR, born Chicago 24 November 1925, killed in action on Peleliu 3 October 1944, posthumous Medal of Honor (8th Amphibious Tractor Battalion, 3d Amphibious Corps).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1945-2000

   Population

   Crew 1946-1976; ROK Navy crew 1977-2000

   Limitations

   Secondary foundation page republishing the updated DANFS - consistent with DANFS narrative and NavSource dates; itself not a materials or asbestos record. The 1971 Charleston-area 'regular overhaul' is described but the performing yard is not named; Korean-service and final-disposition detail beyond the 2000 retirement is not covered.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-02

4. [4]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, DD-849 USS Richard E. Kraus, 'Operational and Building Data' [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource DD-849 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block + 'Fate' line

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Building and disposition data for this hull: 'Laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath ME July 31 1945. Launched March 2 1946 and commissioned May 23 1946. Reclassified as AG-151 on August 25 1949. Reclassified back to DD-849 on January 11 1954. Completed FRAM upgrade May 1964. Decommissioned and Stricken July 1 1976.' To South Korea February 23 1977, renamed Kwang Ju (DD-921); 'Retired from the South Korean Navy 29 Dec 2000.' Data block: Gearing class as built; machinery 60,000 SHP, General Electric geared turbines, 2 screws; speed 36.8 knots; crew 336.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1945-2000

   Population

   n/a

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation - corroborates DANFS dates and supplies the FRAM-completion month and disposition dates. Page title files the ship as 'EAG-151' while its own data text reads 'Reclassified as AG-151' - the AG/EAG designation variance is carried in gaps, not reconciled. No asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-03

5. [5]Carpenter v. General Electric Co. et al., No. 3:11-cv-00481-MEJ (N.D. Cal.), Complaint for Asbestos Personal Injury/Products Liability with Exhibit A (filed 2011-02-01; NOS 368 P.I.: Asbestos) - text read via the complaint's attachment to the MDL-875 tag-along notice, ECF No. 6695-1, In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI) (J.P.M.L., filed 2011-02-03) [court_record]

   Locator

   Complaint Exhibit A (MDL-875 ECF 6695-1) pp. 7-8 (DD-849 exposure entry and job duties) and p. 12 (steam-trap passage naming DD-849); N.D. Cal. docket sheet pp. 1-2 (caption, NOS 368, filing entries); Internet Archive RECAP mirror gov.uscourts.jpml.375294.6695.1.pdf (OCR'd - scanned filing)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Asbestos personal-injury complaint naming this hull by hull number. Plaintiff Harry Carpenter (Navy 1960-1986, boilermaker and boilermaker supervisor; lung cancer diagnosed on or about April 2006 per Exhibit A) lists 'US Navy RICHARD E KRAUS (DD-849)' as a location of exposure as a boilermaker 1/1966-1968 and 1968-12/2/1969, at Naval Station Newport R.I., Vietnam (1966-1967), Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (one week), Naval Repair Facility Subic Bay (1966-1967, on and off), and Boston Naval Shipyard (approx. two months, 1968). Alleged duties aboard: engine/boiler-room repair and maintenance at sea and in port; removing and replacing gaskets on equipment including evaporators (CONSACO/Garlock gaskets); changing gaskets and packing on salt- and fresh-water pumps and valves (rope-style Garlock and John Crane packing cut from a spool); replacing leaking valves and gaskets on main steam lines, removing and replacing insulation to reach bolts; removing and replacing broken pipe insulation, cutting block insulation and mixing/applying insulating cement; standing engine-room watch in proximity to mechanics doing gasket work; 'At the shipyard in San Diego in 1966' hooking up air-conditioning units in living compartments 'below the asbestos-covered steam piping above and ... the piping flaked off and the air was dusty with asbestos particles'; and, during the ~two-month 1968 Boston Naval Shipyard overhaul, pneumatic removal and replacement of a boiler's refractory material including insulating block, mortar, insulating cement and firebrick using 'KAYLO (OWENS CORNING FIBERGLAS) block insulation' alongside civilian yard crews. The complaint further alleges Yarway/thermodynamics high-pressure steam traps 'per boiler coming off the super heated header on the three destroyers, the HAWKINS (DD-873), HAROLD J. ELLISON (DD-864), and the RICHARD E KRAUS (DD-849)' he served on, and career-wide use of EaglePicher Super 66 insulation cement and Johns Manville, Unibestos, and Owens Corning pipe insulation. Defendants: General Electric Co., Bath Iron Works Corp., Foster Wheeler LLC, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., Todd Shipyards Corp.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1966-1969 (alleged exposure aboard); 2006 (diagnosis); 2011 (complaint)

   Population

   Harry Carpenter, U.S. Navy boilermaker aboard DD-849 1966-1969; lung cancer diagnosed ~April 2006

   Limitations

   PLEADING-STAGE allegation - a complaint reciting exposure, never adjudicated; no trial finding, no adjudicated product identification against equipment aboard this hull, no causation finding, no asbestos quantification. Hull attribution is explicit (DD-849 named) and internally consistent with the ship's documented timeline (Newport homeport 1964-68, early-1966 WestPac/Vietnam deployment with Subic Bay repair stops, Feb-Jun 1968 Boston overhaul, Charleston homeport from July 1968). Career-wide product lists (Garlock, John Crane, Kaylo, EaglePicher, Johns Manville, Unibestos, Owens Corning, Yarway) are not all tied to DD-849 specifically. The case was filed 2011-02-01 and tagged to MDL-875; disposition after tag-along was not located in public RECAP metadata. Classified at the least-final stage per batch litigation discipline.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-04

6. [6]DANFS specifications block (Gearing class; 35 kt; 60,000-shp GE geared turbines, 4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers per class data) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Bath Iron Works record (1942 Harvard pipe-covering-shop industrial-hygiene study; 1987 OSHA asbestos-standard citations); NARA RG19 'General Information Books' archival lead [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS spec block + service narrative (FRAM I Jun 1963-May 1964; Charleston-area regular overhaul 1971); NavSource FRAM-completion entry; shipyards.json record 'bath-iron-works' (ev-bath-iron-works-01, -02)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/yard inference: a Gearing-class destroyer built July 1945-March 1946 with a four-boiler superheated-steam plant (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 GE geared turbines, 60,000 shp) would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and machinery insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Documented yard events at which original insulation would have been disturbed under era practice: FRAM I overhaul and conversion at Boston Naval Shipyard June 1963-May 1964 (ASROC/DASH modernization); a further Boston Naval Shipyard overhaul February-June 1968 (sonar update); and a 'regular overhaul' in the Charleston area through September 1971 (yard unnamed in DANFS). Builder Bath Iron Works is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2), including a 1942 Harvard industrial-hygiene study recording 'fairly serious dust risk' in pipe-covering shops and 1987 OSHA asbestos-standard citations; NARA RG19 General Information Books holding per-vessel material specifications are an archival lead for hull-level specs.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1945-1976

   Population

   Bath Iron Works construction trades 1945-46; Boston Naval Shipyard trades 1963-64 and 1968; Charleston-area yard workers 1971; crew 1946-1976

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the ship-specific record for this hull is ev-04 (Carpenter pleading); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. The 1942 yard study predates this hull's 1945-46 build and documents pipe-covering-shop conditions, not this vessel. Asbestos scope of the documented yard periods is not stated in any located source. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-05

7. [7]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) [court_record]

   Locator

   Omnibus opinion ECF 171 (recitals of Navy drawing and expert report); Gearing class profile ev-gearing-class-04

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class-level litigation recital for the machinery group this hull shares: the omnibus opinion recites that 'an engineering drawing for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class), within which the USS Harlan Dickson fell, specifies the use of amosite felts and asbestos cloths' and quotes a report estimating 'a partial tally of the weight of the asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging products in the fire ... and engine rooms of a ship belonging to the USS Allen M. Sumner (DD 692) and USS Gearing (DD 710) classes of destroyers is 30.3 tons.' DD-849 is a Gearing-class hull - a 14-foot lengthening of the Sumner design sharing the same high-pressure steam machinery plant.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1940s design era; opinion filed 2018-09-28

   Population

   Destroyer fire/engine-room crews; litigation expert materials

   Limitations

   Litigation-record recital of an expert report (McCloskey) and a Navy engineering drawing - the drawing covers the Sumner-class DD-692 machinery group shared by Gearing; the 30.3-ton figure is an expert partial tally for fire/engine rooms, not a classwide inventory, not an adjudicated finding, and not hull-specific to DD-849. The opinion treated some related exposure conclusions as speculative. Underlying exhibits not retrieved. Carried as class context consistent with the Gearing class profile (ev-gearing-class-04); not copied as a ship finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-06

8. [8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page HRD-80-2

   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 - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1975-1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation, not class- or hull-specific; DD-849's documented yards (Bath Iron Works build; Boston NSY FRAM I and 1968 overhaul; Charleston-area overhaul) were not the GAO fieldwork yards (Long Beach, Norfolk). Supports era context for the 1963-64/1968/1971 yard periods and the 1975-76 end-of-service window; full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch) - content via product-page description.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-07

9. [9]Batch-3816 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; Wayback hazegray capture + destroyers.org April-2016 text); NavSource DD-849 index; CourtListener API v4 (opinion and RECAP sweeps, exact name + hull number); Carpenter complaint full text via Internet Archive RECAP mirror; Atlas shipyard dataset; general web sweeps [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-01 through sl-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-10

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No asbestos survey, abatement contract, material inventory, hull-condition report, or museum/NPS disclosure for this hull was located in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only ship-specific asbestos record is the Carpenter pleading (ev-04). The hull's disposal path - foreign transfer to the Republic of Korea (Security Assistance Program, 1977), 23 years of ROK service, and presumed scrapping after the 2000 retirement - generates no U.S. museum/donation hazmat documentation and no public SINKEX-style environmental file; any Korean-era material-condition records are not public.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   2026-09-28

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1945-46-built steam destroyer that served 30 years and passed to a foreign navy would not generate the disposal-phase or museum hazmat documentation that produced ship-specific records for other hulls. 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-richard-e-kraus-dd849-08

10. [10]CourtListener API v4 sweep for this hull, 2026-09-28 (authenticated, fleet-paced): "Richard E. Kraus" type=o count 0; "DD-849" type=o count 0; "DD-849" type=r count 5; "Kraus" type=r count 4 [court_record]

    Locator

    cl-auth-search.py authenticated queries; qualifying documents via Internet Archive RECAP mirrors gov.uscourts.jpml.375294 (Carpenter), gov.uscourts.scd.220761 (Chesher), gov.uscourts.ilsd.90688 (Abril)

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Litigation sweep classification: three QUALIFYING asbestos matters name this hull. (1) Carpenter v. General Electric Co. (N.D. Cal. 3:11-cv-00481), surfaced under "DD-849" type=r as the attachment to an MDL-875 tag-along notice (J.P.M.L. ECF 6695-1; complaint text verified by OCR of the scanned filing, see ev-04). (2) Chesher v. Crane Co. (D.S.C. 3:15-cv-02123), surfaced under bare "Kraus" type=r - asbestos mesothelioma; its ECF 294 order recites USS Kraus valve-drawing evidence and Warren Pumps filed 'USS Richard E. Kraus Naval Archive Records' as an exhibit (see ev-10). (3) Abril v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp. (S.D. Ill. 3:22-cv-00528), surfaced under bare "Kraus" type=r - estate complaint listing USS Richard E. Kraus in the decedent's service history (see ev-11). Name collisions: the remaining "DD-849" hits are CDR Strainers & Filters bankruptcy (S.D. Tex. 16-31997), United States v. Basham (4th Cir. prisoner petition), In re Seroquel Products Liability Litigation (M.D. Fla. pharmaceutical MDL), and United States v. QTC Medical Services (C.D. Cal. False Claims Act); the remaining "Kraus" hits are the MDL-875 umbrella docket In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI) and QTC (attorney-name collision - 'Kraus' of counsel Waters & Kraus LLP). No opinion-stage material located (type=o count 0 for both exact name and hull number). The hull number is unique to this ship - DD-849 was assigned only to Richard E. Kraus - so hull-numbered references cannot collide with another vessel.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    2026-09-28

    Limitations

    Sweep covers CourtListener's indexed opinions and RECAP dockets as of 2026-09-28 - it does not reach unindexed PACER text, state-court filings (Abril's merits phase sits in Madison County, Ill. circuit court after remand), or settled-case discovery, and cannot exclude litigation in courts/ports not swept. Residual unrun queries ("Richard E. Kraus" type=r, "DD849", "USS Kraus" variants) were blocked by the fleet CourtListener pacing budget; residual risk logged in gaps.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-09

11. [11]Chesher v. Crane Co. (3M Co. et al.), No. 3:15-cv-02123 (D.S.C., Charleston Div.; filed Richland County Court of Common Pleas 2015-04-15, removed 2015-05-22): order denying Crane Co. summary judgment, ECF No. 294 (2017-02-13); Warren Pumps LLC MSJ, ECF No. 199, exhibit list ('Exhibit F - USS Richard E. Kraus Naval Archive Records'); order granting Crane's renewed MSJ, ECF No. 323 (2018-03-29); order denying Rule 60(b)(6)/28 U.S.C. §455 vacatur, ECF No. 330 (2022-01-06) - documents read via the Internet Archive RECAP mirror (gov.uscourts.scd.220761) [court_record]

    Locator

    ECF 294 order pp. 1-3 and 36-38 (USS Kraus valve-supply documentation recital, genuine-issue finding, and both-experts drawing recital); ECF 199 exhibit list ('Exhibit F USS Richard E. Kraus Naval Archive Records'); ECF 330 pp. 1-2 (procedural-history recital: expert exclusion 2017-03-31, renewed MSJ granted 2018-03-29 per ECF 323, judgment closed, no appeal, vacatur denied 2022-01-06); Internet Archive RECAP mirror gov.uscourts.scd.220761 + CourtListener docket 5442006

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Asbestos mesothelioma case litigated to judgment containing ship-specific discovery records for this hull. Plaintiff James Willson Chesher - a Navy machinist mate and later commissioned officer, USN 1965-1989 - alleged career asbestos exposure in 'auxiliaries, engine rooms, and other mechanical and engineering spaces' (Compl. ¶¶31-34, as recited in the order). The order denying Crane Co.'s summary-judgment motion (ECF 294, filed 2017-02-13) recites: Crane admitted supplying valves to USS Cadmus, USS Fox, USS Mahan, and USS Pratt, and 'has found documentation indicating that its valves were approved for use' on USS Henderson and USS Kraus; plaintiffs' expert (Moore Aff. ¶17) contends Crane documents show it supplied valves used on USS Henderson, USS Fox, and USS Kraus; and both parties' experts (Moore for plaintiffs; Pantaleoni for Crane) agree that design drawings of Crane valves installed on the USS Henderson, USS Fox, and USS Kraus 'specify the use of asbestos-containing internal bonnet gaskets and stem packing.' The court found the evidence 'sufficient to raise a genuine issue of fact as to whether Crane valves were used on all the ships Chesher served on during the relevant portion of his career.' Warren Pumps' own MSJ (ECF 199, filed 2016-03-04) filed 'Exhibit F - USS Richard E. Kraus Naval Archive Records,' locking the record's 'USS Kraus' to DD-849 (the only commissioned USS Kraus; in service through 1976 inside Chesher's 1965-89 window). Final disposition: after exclusion of plaintiffs' expert Dr. Carlos Bedrossian (2017-03-31), Crane's renewed motion for summary judgment was granted 2018-03-29 (ECF 323) and judgment entered for Crane; no appeal was filed. A 2021 Rule 60(b)(6)/§455(b) motion to vacate - based on the trial judge's stock ownership in three defendants already dismissed from the case - was denied 2022-01-06 (ECF 330, Judge Gergel).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    supporting

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    1965-1989 (service window; DD-849 portion unspecified); 2015-2022 (litigation)

    Population

    James Willson Chesher, USN machinist mate and commissioned officer 1965-1989; mesothelioma; spouse Cheryl Ann Chesher

    Limitations

    Discovery-stage record, not an adjudicated finding: a denied summary-judgment motion identifies genuine issues of material fact and decides nothing on the merits - and this case ultimately ended in judgment FOR defendant Crane (renewed MSJ granted after exclusion of plaintiffs' causation expert), a merits-level negative for the plaintiff that is not itself exposure evidence. The asbestos content of the Crane valve drawings is the two experts' agreed characterization of Navy-approved design drawings recited by the court, not a judicial finding or an independent survey of this hull; whether any specific Crane valve aboard DD-849 actually contained asbestos components was never adjudicated. The order does not state when Chesher served aboard Kraus within his 1965-89 career or which of his six ships carried the described valves. Does not establish causation, individual exposure, quantity, remaining material, or legal eligibility. Warren Pumps' 'Naval Archive Records' exhibit itself was not retrieved - archival lead only.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-10

12. [12]Abril v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp. et al., No. 3:22-cv-00528 (S.D. Ill.; originally filed Third Judicial Circuit, Madison County, Ill.; removed under 28 U.S.C. §1442(a)(1) 2022-03-16): Complaint, ECF No. 1-1; Amended Complaint, ECF No. 66; Memorandum and Order granting remand, ECF No. 88 (2022-05-16, Yandle, J.) - read via the Internet Archive RECAP mirror (gov.uscourts.ilsd.90688) [court_record]

    Locator

    ECF 1-1 pp. 3-4 (¶¶4-6, service list and exposure allegations); ECF 66 amended complaint (same service list); ECF 88 remand order (granted 2022-05-16); Internet Archive RECAP mirror gov.uscourts.ilsd.90688

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Asbestos wrongful-death complaint naming this hull in the decedent's service list. Plaintiff Myrna Abril, individually and as special administrator of the estate of Vicente Abril (deceased), alleges Abril 'served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 until 1984 aboard the USS Richard E. Kraus, the USS Turner Joy, and the USS Caloosahatchee as a steward and seaman assisting with hands-on maintenance and repairs of the respective ship's equipment,' and that 'he was stationed aboard these ships in various times of drydock in shipyards for overhaul where he served in the engine and boiler rooms assisting with repairs, maintenance, and overhaul activities.' Both the original complaint (ECF 1-1 ¶¶4-6) and the amended complaint (ECF 66) carry the same ship list. Disposition on the federal track: removed by York International under the federal-officer statute; plaintiff amended to drop York; remand granted 2022-05-16 (ECF 88), returning the case to Madison County state court with all pending motions denied as moot - no merits adjudication in the federal record.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    supporting

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    1965-1984 (service window; DD-849 portion unspecified); 2022 (federal track)

    Population

    Vicente Abril, USN steward/seaman 1965-1984 (deceased); estate action by special administrator Myrna Abril

    Limitations

    PLEADING-STAGE allegation - a complaint's ship list, never adjudicated; no discovery record, trial finding, or product identification against equipment aboard this hull was located, and the case left federal court on remand without any merits ruling. The complaint does not allocate exposure among the three ships listed, so it does not establish that any alleged exposure occurred aboard DD-849; DD-849's commission (ending 1976-07-01) overlaps only the first ~11 years of Abril's stated 1965-84 service, and no ship-specific dates are given. Does not establish causation, product identity, quantity, remaining material, or legal eligibility. Post-remand state-court outcome (Madison County, Ill.) not located.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-richard-e-kraus-dd849-11