Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet gu-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823); second USN ship of the name,
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-pkt-gu-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Samuel B. Roberts II (DD-823), Naval History and Heritage Command ship-history entry (accessed via Internet Archive Wayback capture; live history.navy.mil URL returned HTTP 404 during research session) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry: namesake biography, construction/commissioning paragraph, specifications block, and service narrative paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS identifies this hull as a Gearing-class destroyer laid down by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas, 27 June 1945; launched 30 November 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Samuel B. Roberts; commissioned 22 December 1946, Comdr. C. T. Doss in command. Specifications block: displacement 2,425; length 390'6"; beam 40'10"; draft 18'6"; speed 35 knots; complement 345; armament 6 x 5", 12 x 40mm, 10 x 21" torpedo tubes, 6 depth-charge projectors, 2 depth-charge tracks. Second Navy ship named for Coxswain Samuel Booker Roberts, Jr., Navy Cross, killed at Guadalcanal 28 September 1942. Service narrative: shakedown off Guantanamo Bay February 1947; Mediterranean, northern Europe, and 6th Fleet deployments 1948-1951; NATO Operation Mainbrace September 1952 returning to Newport 29 January 1953; around-the-world cruise August 1954-14 March 1955 via Panama, Japan/Philippines, Indian Ocean and Suez; Greenland lifeguard station during Eisenhower's July 1955 Geneva-summit flight; Suez transit southbound night of 27-28 October 1956 for Middle East Force duty, home via the Cape of Good Hope 14 March 1957; Lebanon-crisis and Persian Gulf duty 1958; Operation 'Inland Seas' St. Lawrence Seaway opening June-July 1959; 6th Fleet/Middle East Force March-October 1960; most of 1961 in FRAM overhaul at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, returning to Newport 26 February 1962; western Atlantic 1962-1963 including April-June 1963 operations searching for USS Thresher (SSN-593); Panama Canal transit fall 1965 to 7th Fleet, operating primarily in Vietnamese and Philippine waters until 19 February 1966; returned Newport 8 April 1966; Mediterranean December 1966-March 1967, January-May 1968, and 22 November 1969-22 May 1970 including Black Sea steaming 9-12 December 1969. Inspection and Survey found her unfit for further service August 1970; decommissioned and stricken 2 November 1970; sunk as a target in the Atlantic 195 nautical miles north of Puerto Rico 14 November 1971.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1971
- Population
- Ship's company, 1946-1970
- Limitations
- Official Navy history of identity, operations, and disposition; DANFS does not document materials, asbestos content, maintenance work packages, or exposures. Live NHHC page returned 404 - text verified through the December 2025 Wayback capture of the official URL. Cuban missile blockade participation and Vietnam battle-star count are NOT in the reviewed DANFS text and are carried only as secondary-source claims in ev-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index, USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) page and NavSource FRAM feature (Internet Archive captures); USS Samuel B. Roberts DD-823 shipmates association history page (samuelbroberts.org); navybook.com DD-823 entry (Bradley Peniston) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Archived NavSource DD-823 page: specifications/machinery data block, commanding-officer list, and photo captions incl. Drydock No. 3 (May 1961) and VA-34 sinking caption; archived NavSource FRAM feature (Wayback 2025-02-22) FRAM-completion table; samuelbroberts.org/history/dd-823-history/
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Archived NavSource Destroyer Photo Index page for USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) supplies variant data: full displacement 3,460 tons; dimensions 390'6" x 40'10" x 14'4" maximum; machinery 60,000 shp, Westinghouse turbines, two screws; speed 36.8 knots; crew 336; radio call signs listed. Its FRAM feature table lists DD-823 FRAM completion at Philadelphia 02/1962, and a photo caption places the ship in Drydock No. 3 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in May 1961. A photo caption sourced to the USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67) 1971-72 Mediterranean cruise book records the target sinking by a VA-34 ('Blue Blasters,' CVW-1) Grumman A-6A Intruder at 21°42'48"N, 65°55'06"W; NavSource captions also place DD-823 alongside USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) in December 1965 during the first combat strikes by a nuclear-powered warship. The shipmates association history page reproduces the DANFS-like chronology and additionally records participation in the 1962 Cuban missile blockade, guns 'fired in anger' and two battle stars for Vietnam service, and the nickname 'Steamin' Sammy B'; navybook.com (Bradley Peniston) corroborates the blockade and December 1965 Enterprise strike-group participation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1971
- Population
- Ship's company; shipyard workforce during 1961-62 FRAM availability
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations, not official records: figures conflict with DANFS (crew 336 vs 345; 36.8 vs 35 knots; 14'4" max draft vs 18'6") and NavSource's own data block internally conflicts with its captions/CO list (commissioning 'December 20 1946' and sinking 'November 11 1971' vs DANFS 22 December 1946 and 14 November 1971) - conflicts carried in gaps. Cuban blockade, battle-star, and nickname claims are association/journalistic secondary statements, not adjudicated or official findings; no asbestos or materials content is documented by these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-02
-
[4]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' ship list, USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- Alphabetical ship list, 'Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823)' entry
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' herbicide-exposure ships list records that 'USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) operated on Mekong River Delta and Saigon River during December 1965' - a U.S. government record documenting inland-waterway Vietnam service for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- December 1965
- Population
- Crew aboard during December 1965 Mekong Delta/Saigon River operations
- Limitations
- VA list documents vessel location for herbicide-exposure presumption; it is not an asbestos record and does not identify materials, products, or exposures other than qualifying service location. The underlying basis entry (deck logs, command histories) is not displayed in the list.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-03
-
[5]National Archives and Records Administration, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' index, Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) entry; NARA Catalog IDs 24744459 and 172905925 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Alphabetical vessel list, 'Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823)' entry (Years 1956-1970); DPLA item 7d23c6014f3edc2d57d1cf7a372e677b for the June 1962 log
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's online Navy deck-log index lists Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823), commission December 1946, decommission November 1970, with digitized deck logs spanning 1956 through November 1970. NARA Catalog search also returns record ID 24744459 ('DD-823 Samuel B. Roberts'), and a digitized item 'Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) - June 1962' (catalog ID 172905925) appears via DPLA within the Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel logbooks collection.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1956-1970 digitized; commission-decommission 1946-1970
- Population
- Ship's company and personnel recorded in deck logs
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: index-level identification, not content review. NARA catalog item pages render as JavaScript shells and were not individually parsed; deck logs record operations, not material content. Digitized coverage begins 1956, so the first half of the 1954-1956 window alleged in the Murphy complaint is not covered by the indexed digitized set; RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) engineering/maintenance records for the 1961 FRAM availability remain an unsearched archival lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-04
-
[6]Murphy v. Asbestos Corporation Limited, No. 2:17-cv-03898 (E.D. Pa.), Amended Complaint, ECF No. 14; CourtListener RECAP docket 7390907 [court_record]
- Locator
- Am. Compl. paras. 1 and 10 (ship name, service dates, rate, exposure allegation); paras. 37-38 and 63-67 (product-aboard-ship allegations); RECAP PDF, 29 pages, reviewed in full
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Qualifying asbestos litigation at the pleading stage names this hull: Murphy v. Asbestos Corporation Limited, No. 2:17-cv-03898 (E.D. Pa.; caption also carries No. 17-3910), filed 25 August 2017, nature of suit 368 P.I. Asbestos, terminated 16 March 2022. The amended complaint (ECF No. 14; 29 pp.) states: 'This is a personal injury action ... against Defendants, the manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors of asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products, to which Mr. Murphy was exposed while serving in the Navy aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts from 1954-1956' (para. 1); and 'James Murphy served in the Navy as a machinist's mate, third class aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts from 1954 through 1956. While serving he was exposed to dust from asbestos and asbestos-containing products' (para. 10). Further allegations at paras. 37-38 and 63-67 assert that defendants' asbestos products were used aboard the ship and that Murphy encountered asbestos dust and fibers. The complaint alleges malignant mesothelioma diagnosed May 2017.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1954-1956 (alleged exposure aboard); 2017-2022 (litigation)
- Population
- James Murphy (USN machinist's mate 3/c aboard DD-823 1954-1956; alleged mesothelioma diagnosed May 2017) and Lorraine Murphy
- Limitations
- Pleading allegation only - the least-final litigation stage. The complaint's ship identification and exposure narrative are unsworn allegations, not discovery findings, trial findings, or affirmed judgment; no product manufacturer, quantity, condition, or causation for this hull is established. The docket terminated 16 March 2022 with no merits disposition determinable from the public index (remand, MDL transfer, or settlement mechanism unlocated; PACER-level docket review not performed). Complaint verified verbatim from the retrieved RECAP PDF; the filing's existence, dates, and nature of suit verified in the authenticated CourtListener index.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-05
-
[7]Carney v. Secretary of Defense, 326 F. Supp. 741 (D.R.I. 1971) [court_record]
- Locator
- Lead opinion (Pettine, J.), agreed statement of facts (assignment aboard USS Samuel B. Roberts, Newport, June 1969-September 1970)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A published federal opinion names this hull in a non-asbestos matter: Carney v. Secretary of Defense, 326 F. Supp. 741 (D.R.I. 1971) (Pettine, J.; Civ. A. No. 4451, filed 14 April 1971) - a habeas corpus action by Navy officer Raymond F. Carney, Jr. seeking review of the denial of his in-service conscientious-objector application; the agreed facts place him assigned to USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) at Newport June 1969-September 1970.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1969-1971
- Population
- Officer complement aboard at Newport, June 1969-September 1970
- Limitations
- Non-asbestos personnel litigation; classified 'other litigation' in the CourtListener sweep. The opinion confirms the hull's Newport presence in 1969-70 but contains no materials, condition, or exposure information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-06
-
[8]GAO, HRD-80-2, 'Status of Navy Shipbuilding/Conversion Programs' era documentation (Navy asbestos-substitution timeline); Gearing-class profile construction/machinery data (class-f/gearing-class.class.json); DANFS FRAM paragraph and NavSource FRAM feature for the Philadelphia availability [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page; class profile propulsion/asbestos sections; DANFS 1961-62 paragraph; NavSource FRAM-completion table row for DD-823
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era and yard inference only: this hull is a Gearing-class destroyer built 1945-46 at Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas, with the class-standard four Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers feeding 60,000-shp geared steam turbines (Westinghouse per NavSource), and underwent a documented FRAM I overhaul at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard during most of 1961 (Drydock No. 3, May 1961; FRAM completion 02/1962; returned to Newport 26 February 1962). Both construction and the major yard availability predate the Navy's asbestos-substitution era (GAO HRD-80-2 documents substitution efforts not beginning until the early 1970s); the standard ACM categories for such plants are boiler/turbine thermal insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets and packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1962 construction and overhaul era
- Population
- Shipyard workforce during construction (1945-46) and FRAM availability (1961-62); ship's company in machinery spaces
- Limitations
- Class/era inference, not a ship-specific finding: the mere presence of boilers, steam propulsion, and a 1961 yard period does not prove asbestos was installed, disturbed, or encountered aboard DD-823. GAO HRD-80-2 full text was not retrievable at session time (product page verified; the substitution-era framing is carried from the fleet's prior verified extraction). No Consolidated Steel Orange builder-yard record exists in the Atlas shipyard dataset.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-07
-
[9]U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Data Quality Evaluation and Data Extraction Information for Environmental Release and Occupational Exposure for Asbestos Part 2, Systematic Review Support Document (Nov. 2024), HERO extraction citing D. H. Rushworth, 'The Navy and asbestos thermal insulation' [other_primary]
- Locator
- HERO ID 3584926, Table 1, throughput entry
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- EPA's asbestos risk-evaluation systematic-review support document extracts a Navy thermal-insulation source stating that the next-generation Gearing class carried just over 24 long tons of thermal insulation on pipes and machinery. The document reports historical asbestos-containing insulation context for the class and identifies the estimate as class-level throughput information.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- Gearing-class era; source discussed in EPA 2024 review
- Population
- Gearing-class ship construction, maintenance, and crew populations; no DD-823-specific population identified
- Limitations
- This is a class-level estimate, not a DD-823 survey, bill of materials, or finding that any stated quantity or material remained aboard Samuel B. Roberts. It does not establish individual exposure, product manufacturer, condition, causation, or legal eligibility. Table extraction verified in the sibling batch-3788 DD-822 record for the same class.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-08
-
[10]Goodrich v. John Crane, Inc., No. 4:17cv9 (E.D. Va.), Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171 (Sept. 28, 2018), 2018 WL 4677773, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168355 (CourtListener docket 6360247 under original caption Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corporation) [court_record]
- Locator
- Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171; class-profile locator 'OCR pages 12, 19, 31' (unverified at this record level)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Internal Gearing-class profile research reports that the 28 September 2018 omnibus opinion in Goodrich v. John Crane, Inc., No. 4:17cv9 (E.D. Va.), 2018 WL 4677773, recites a Sumner/Gearing-class engineering drawing specifying amosite felts and asbestos cloths on forced-draft blower turbines and a partial tally of approximately 30.3 tons of asbestos thermal insulation/lagging in fire and engine rooms of Sumner/Gearing destroyers - litigation-record recitals of exhibit/expert materials relevant to this hull's class.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2018 (opinion); underlying materials concern 1940s-class construction
- Population
- Expert/technical materials bearing on Sumner/Gearing-class destroyers, including this hull's class
- Limitations
- Opinion existence, date, and citation verified via citing courts; the specific drawing and tonnage recitals are reported by the internal class profile and NOT verified against the opinion text at this record level (full text paywalled/blocked) - do not treat as established. Even if verified, exhibit recitals in an evidentiary opinion are not adjudicated findings, and the recited drawing/tally are class-level (Sumner/Gearing), not DD-823-specific. Underlying exhibits not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-09
-
[11]ships-exposure-map client dataset shipyards.json, entries philadelphia-naval-shipyard (tier 3, product-documented) and newport-naval-station (tier 3, EPA-documented); no entry for Consolidated Steel Orange [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json yard_id fields philadelphia-naval-shipyard and newport-naval-station; absence of any consolidated-steel/orange entry verified across all 37 yard records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The Atlas shipyard dataset documents yard-level asbestos product records for Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (yard_id philadelphia-naval-shipyard, evidence tier 3) and Naval Station Newport (yard_id newport-naval-station, evidence tier 3) - locations where DD-823 had documented presence (1961-62 FRAM availability at Philadelphia; Newport homeport periods including 1969-70 per DANFS and the Carney record). No yard entry exists for builder Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1970
- Population
- Yard workforces and ship's company during yard availabilities and homeport periods
- Limitations
- Context only: yard-level product documentation does not transfer to any individual hull and is not evidence that asbestos work was performed on or encountered aboard DD-823 during FRAM or homeport periods. The builder yard (Consolidated Steel, Orange TX) is absent from the dataset - an explicit gap.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP docket searches, exact-name and hull-number queries, executed through authenticated fleet helper cl-auth-search.py [court_record]
- Locator
- API v4 /search type=o and type=r; queries '"USS Samuel B. Roberts"' and '"DD-823"'; Murphy RECAP docket 7390907 document 14
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener v4 sweep completed via the required fleet helper (7 queries across opinion and RECAP docket indexes). Exact-name opinion query '"USS Samuel B. Roberts"' returned 2 opinions - Carney v. Secretary of Defense, 326 F. Supp. 741 (D.R.I. 1971) (other litigation; this hull) and United States v. Valencia-Aguirre, 409 F. Supp. 2d 1358 (M.D. Fla. 2006) (name collision: later frigate FFG-58). Hull-number opinion query '"DD-823"' returned zero results. Exact-name RECAP query '"USS Samuel B. Roberts"' returned 17 dockets: one qualifying asbestos case (Murphy v. Asbestos Corp. Ltd., No. 2:17-cv-03898, E.D. Pa.) and 16 non-qualifying hits comprising person-name collisions (bankruptcies/civil cases involving individuals named Samuel B. Roberts) and FFG-58-era criminal dockets (e.g., United States v. Vergara). Hull-number RECAP query '"DD-823"' returned 2 non-qualifying hits (In re Seroquel Products Liability Litigation exhibit reference; Lyondell Chemical bankruptcy service-list material). Qualifying-hit RECAP document pulled: Murphy Amended Complaint, ECF No. 14 (29 pp., reviewed verbatim).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1971-2022 (dated hits)
- Population
- Litigation records naming or referencing this hull
- Limitations
- Sweep is index-bounded: CourtListener covers published federal opinions and PACER-harvested RECAP dockets; unreported, state-court, settled, or non-digitized claims are outside its coverage - zero hits would not prove absence, and the single qualifying hit is a pleading. Requests were intermittently paced by the fleet-wide request budget; all four planned queries ultimately completed, per-query rows in search_ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-11
-
[13]Negative finding across reviewed corpus: DANFS/NHHC (archived), NARA catalog and deck-log index, NavSource (archived), VA ships list, shipmates association history, CourtListener opinion/RECAP indexes, Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search-ledger rows sl-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos-containing-material survey, abatement record, material inventory, construction specification, overhaul work package, hazmat disclosure, or disposal-phase record was located for DD-823 in any reviewed source. The August 1970 Inspection and Survey finding of unfitness is documented in DANFS only as a disposition event; the survey report itself is not public. The hull was expended as a target in 1971, foreclosing museum, scrapping, or MARAD-disposal documentation channels that produce asbestos records for surviving or recycled hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1971
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Absence of located records is not proof of absence: the INSURV report, FRAM work packages, pre-1956 deck logs, and RG 19 engineering records are plausible repositories that were not exhaustively searched at item level. Murphy remains the only ship-specific asbestos documentation and is a pleading allegation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-samuel-b-roberts-dd823-12