Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 655-packet.md (2 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-seaward-lst278-pkt-655-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Seaward II (IX-209) - full service narrative, spec block, milestone chronology, battle stars (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02 via firecrawl; direct webfetch of the same URL returned 404, a fetch-path quirk - the page serves normally) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative (paragraphs 1-9) and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down as LST-278 on 16 June 1943 by the American Bridge Company, Ambridge, Pa.; launched 12 September 1943; commissioned 22 October 1943. Shakedown Panama City, Fla. (arrived 1 November); port bow-door work at Alabama Dry Dock Corporation, Mobile (arrived 13 November); returned to Panama City 20 November. Pacific spring 1944: departed Maalaea Bay, Hawaii, 25 May; Eniwetok 7 June; Saipan landings with 456 persons aboard - ramp down 0714 on 15 June, 'hot cargo' (ammunition, gasoline, oil) unloaded to LVTs, 37 mm hit repaired aboard; 16 June loaded 755 rounds of 5-inch ammunition onto Bailey (DD-492); departed Saipan 21 June. Tinian: loaded Tanapag Harbor 18 July, 212 Marines of 4th Marine Division embarked, Marines ashore 25 July. Solomons/Palaus: Hutchison Creek, Florida Island 11 August; Macquitti Bay, Pavuvu 20 August; Cape Esperance 27 and 29 August; beached Tetere, Guadalcanal 31 August. Peleliu: rehearsal 1-14 September, assault 15 September; collided with LST-129 in 45-knot wind 2 October, severe damage; retracted 2 November after a month's salvage; further damage in hurricane winds a week later; port post office at Kossol Roads 13-28 November. Decommissioned 22 January 1945 (struck 20 January); restored to Navy list 8 February; recommissioned 14 February; in service 15 February; named Seaward and reclassified IX-209 on the 17th; barracks and post office at Ulithi; declared in excess of needs and destroyed 16 October 1946; struck 22 May 1947. Three battle stars for World War II service. Spec block: IX-209: dp. 3,776; l. 327'9"; b. 50'; dr. 10'4"; s. 10 k.; a. 1 3".
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943); crew and embarked troops (1943-45); Ulithi barracks/post-office complement (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history; no asbestos or material content. 'Destroyed on 16 October 1946' is DANFS's full wording - manner of destruction (scuttled, demolished, expended as target) is not specified. Spec block is for the IX-209 configuration; LST-era armament differed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-seaward-lst278-01
-
[3]DANFS, LST-278 - short entry: sponsor, theater assignment, operation list, decommissioning/redesignation pointer (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02 via firecrawl) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-278 entry (single-paragraph hull entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The separate DANFS hull-number entry states: LST-278 laid down 16 June 1943 at Ambridge, Pa., by the American Bridge Co.; launched 12 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. R. F. Dickinson; commissioned 22 October 1943. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; operations listed: Marianas operation (capture and occupation of Saipan, June-July 1944; Tinian capture and occupation, July 1944) and capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands (September-October 1944). Decommissioned 22 January 1945, redesignated Seaward (IX-209), recommissioned 14 February 1945; barracks and post office at Ulithi until declared in excess and destroyed 16 October 1946; struck 22 May 1947. Three battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943); crew (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history; no asbestos content. Sponsor named only here ('Mrs. R. F. Dickinson') - NavSource launch-party captions give 'Mrs. R.P. Dickinson Jr.' (initials conflict, see gaps). This entry's operation list omits Kwajalein/Majuro that NavSource's campaign table shows - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-seaward-lst278-02
-
[4]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Seaward (IX-209) ex-USS LST-278 - command history, unit organization, campaign table, specifications, photo captions; plus companion DANFS-transcription page 160278h.htm (submitted by Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160278.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officer table, photo captions; 160278h.htm (verbatim DANFS transcription)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records for this hull: commissioned USS LST-278 22 October 1943, LT. Morton N. Black, USNR, in command (CO through 22 January 1945); assigned to LST Flotilla Five (CAPT. J.R. Clark), LST Group Fourteen (LCDR. K.L. DeForest USNR), LST Division Twenty-Eight. Recommissioned 14 February 1945 as Seaward (IX-209), LTjg. C. A. Adonizio, USNR, in command; decommissioned 'date unknown'; struck 22 May 1947; destroyed 16 October 1946. International radio call sign NZLM. Campaign/award ribbon table: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3), WWII Victory Medal. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full load / 2,366 t beaching; 328' o.a., beam 50'; 11.6 kts trial; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; propulsion two General Motors 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230V D.C. ship's-service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Photo captions document: launch party at American Bridge (sponsor 'Mrs R.P. Dickinson Jr.'); loading of H, S, K, L Batteries, 4th Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division at Macquitti Bay, Pavuvu, 23 August 1944 (frame from NARA film ID 77568, local ID 428-NPC-5573, 'Marines Load Equipment at Pavuvu For Palau Invasion'); Seaward (IX-209) beached at Guam in 1945; and LC(FF)-423 with other LCIs alongside Seaward at Naval Station Guam, July 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Crew and embarked troops (1943-45); Guam/Ulithi station complement (1945-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its milestone dates track DANFS. Caption-derived details carry caption-level reliability: the 'launching' captions are dated 16 June 1943 (the keel-laying date; DANFS gives launch 12 September 1943), and the campaign table includes a Kwajalein/Majuro line not in the DANFS narrative - both conflicts logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-seaward-lst278-03
-
[5]NavalCoverMuseum, SEAWARD IX 209 page - designation history, postmark catalog, name-count note (live page verified 2026-10-02 via firecrawl) [museum_official]
- Locator
- NavalCoverMuseum SEAWARD_IX_209 - designation table, postmark table (Locy 2z, 1946-01-14), other-information section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The museum's philatelic record corroborates the full designation timeline (keel 16 June 1943; launched 12 September 1943; commissioned as LST-278 22 October 1943 - decommissioned 22 January 1945; recommissioned 14 February 1945 as Seaward IX-209 for barracks/post-office service at Ulithi Atoll; destroyed 16 October 1946; struck 22 May 1947) and documents a surviving postal artifact: a Locy Type 2z postmark under the ship's name dated 14 January 1946, with the curator's note that 'the ship had no postal facilities, so this postmark was applied either on another ship or ashore' - consistent with her function as the shore-side fleet post office's barracks hull rather than a sea-going post office. Page also confirms: 'Two ships of the US Navy have borne the name SEAWARD - SEAWARD IX-60 and USS Seaward IX-209.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Ulithi post-office/barracks population (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained museum wiki - a cataloging record, not a service record; postmark dates and 'no postal facilities' annotation are curator findings, not Navy documentation. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-seaward-lst278-04
-
[6]NARA motion-picture record, NAID 77568 / local ID 428-NPC-5573 ('Marines Load Equipment at Pavuvu For Palau Invasion'), and USS LST-278 war diary August-October 1944 - identifiers transcribed from NavSource photo captions; NARA catalog pages JS-rendered, not directly retrievable this session [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160278.htm photo-caption block (citing NARA ID 77568, local ID 428-NPC-5573, 'USS LST-278- War Diary, 8/1/44 to 10/31/44, National Archives')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary archival records exist for this hull's combat period: (a) a National Archives motion-picture film (NAID 77568, local ID 428-NPC-5573, 'Marines Load Equipment at Pavuvu For Palau Invasion') containing frames showing LST-278 loading the 4th Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division at Macquitti Bay, Pavuvu, 23 August 1944; and (b) the USS LST-278 war diary for 1 August - 31 October 1944 held at the National Archives, cited in the NavSource caption as the unit/date/location verification reference. These are the highest-value unretrieved primary records for this hull - the war diary covers the collision with LST-129, salvage, and post-office conversion window.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944 (diary window); 1944-08-23 (film frame)
- Population
- Crew and embarked 1st Marine Division elements (Aug-Oct 1944)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: identifiers transcribed from NavSource photo captions; the NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be fetched for direct verification this session (same limitation as Batch 98). The records' existence and catalog identity are not independently confirmed; contents unreviewed. No asbestos content presumed - war diaries are operational narratives.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-seaward-lst278-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications for this hull (two GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, Falk reduction gear, diesel ship's-service generators, twin screws); DANFS IX-209 spec block; LST-1-class design data (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 as summarized in the class profile - shipscribe.com scan URL dead at research time); era amphibious-ship construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160278.htm specifications block; DANFS IX-209 spec block; class-era framing per lst-1-class profile
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-1-class tank landing ship built in 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, and era-standard applications aboard a diesel amphibian of this type were: diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, winch/windlass brake linings, and valve packing. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers - the steam-plant lagging pathway does not apply; as a barracks conversion (1945) her accommodation-space insulation scope plausibly increased. Asbestos aboard this hull is a reasonable era-consistent inference, not a ship-proven fact.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943); Alabama Dry Dock repair trades (Nov 1943); crew and embarked troops (1943-46); salvage/stripping crews at Kossol Roads (1944-45); destruction/disposal crews (1946)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-278/IX-209. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution. The BuShips SDB v2 scan URL cited by the class profile (shipscribe.com SDB1945v2.pdf) returned 404 on 2026-10-02 with no Wayback capture - inference rests on the NavSource spec block and era practice.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-seaward-lst278-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire existence (construction 1943, service through destruction 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved - gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (confirmed 2026-10-02, product page and PDF both); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-seaward-lst278-07
-
[9]Central Connecticut State University, Veterans History Project - 'D'Amico, Albert A.' interview record (interviewed 27 November 2006 by Eileen Hurst, Elihu Burritt Library), catalog metadata; secondary lesson packet 'Battle of Okinawa' (romanohistory.pbworks.com) describing the interview [other_primary]
- Locator
- CCSU mediaspace catalog record (Branch: Navy; Unit/Ship field; citation line); 'Battle of Okinawa' lesson packet p. cited-source list (CCSU VHP ref /VHP,5592)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION of a circulating attribution: the CCSU VHP catalog record lists veteran Albert A. D'Amico (USN, enlisted, trained USNTS Sampson NY; service stations Solomons Island MD and Waipio Point HI) as having served aboard 'USS LST 278; USS LST 399.' A secondary lesson-plan PDF describes the interview as 'a Navy Veteran who was aboard LST 278 during the landing at Okinawa.' That attribution conflicts with DANFS: by the April 1945 Okinawa assault this hull had been decommissioned as LST-278 (22 January 1945) and was serving as Seaward (IX-209), a stationary barracks/post-office ship at Ulithi - while DANFS records LST-399, the veteran's other documented ship, at the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April 1945. The Okinawa service almost certainly attaches to LST-399; no source located supports LST-278/IX-209 at Okinawa.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (service window); 2006 (interview)
- Population
- Albert A. D'Amico, USN - crew member this hull (per catalog metadata)
- Limitations
- The interview itself (video) was not reviewed - the 'LST 278 at Okinawa' wording is the lesson packet's summary, not verified verbatim from the veteran; the VHP catalog neutrally lists both ships. Tag metadata on the interview (iwo jima, battle of okinawa, kamikaze, 2nd marine division) is unverified against content. The interview remains a genuine archival lead for this hull's crew history.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-seaward-lst278-08
-
[10]Batch-6815 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (two live entries); NavSource main + DANFS-transcription pages; NavalCoverMuseum; HyperWar ship list; NVR; NARA leads; CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-seaward-lst278-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-278 or Seaward (IX-209) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener (authenticated API v4): opinion searches 'USS Seaward', 'LST-278', 'LST 278' each returned 0; 'IX-209' returned 4 opinions, all name collisions (statute/exhibit designations, unrelated parties - none asbestos, none naval); RECAP docket searches 'LST-278', 'USS Seaward', 'LST 278' each returned 0. One final sweep ('Seaward asbestos', opinions) could not be completed - fleet pacing stand-down; logged as blocked, not a negative result. The hull was destroyed in 1946, before the asbestos-litigation era and before modern environmental disclosure regimes, so a null result is expected rather than probative.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 hull destroyed in 1946 leaves almost no institutional trail for material documentation. The 'Seaward asbestos' opinion sweep remains open (blocked, not run); wartime deck logs (RG 24) and the war diary (see ev-05) are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-seaward-lst278-09