Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet kj-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: Thaddeus Parker; hull DE-369; destroyer escort, John C. Butler class [VIA-WP] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Thaddeus_Parker
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-thaddeus-parker-de369-pkt-kj-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Thaddeus Parker' (DE-369) (verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio; live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 23 May 1944 at Orange, Tex., by Consolidated Steel Corp.; launched 26 August 1944 (sponsor Miss Ina Lee Parker); commissioned 25 October 1944, Lt. Comdr. Duane R. Stoneleigh, USNR. Bermuda shakedown 17 Nov-16 Dec 1944; yard work in Boston; Panama Canal transit 7 Jan 1945; escort operations Hawaii-Eniwetok-Guam-Saipan; Iwo Jima convoy/screening March 1945; Ulithi; Palaus antisubmarine screen off Peleliu and air-sea rescue at Kossol Roads (Marine pilots recovered 19 May and 18 Jul); shelled Koror Naval Base 27 Jun; two Okinawa voyages; southern Japan occupation forces 14 Sep 1945-2 Jan 1946; decommissioned San Diego 31 May 1946 (19th Fleet reserve). Recommissioned 21 Sep 1951; post-shakedown repairs Mare Island Naval Shipyard; Newport R.I. homeport Feb 1952 (Escort Squadron 12); Atlantic ops incl. midshipman cruises to South America (1953) and Europe (1954); assigned Naval Reserve training ship duty at New York 11 Nov 1957. Bracketed DANFS note: activated for the Cuban crisis, operating off that island 2 Oct 1961-1 Aug 1962, then decommissioned again to the reserve fleet at Port Newark, N.J. Decommissioned and struck from the Navy list 1 Sep 1967; sold 9 Jul 1968 to Peck Iron and Metals Co., Portsmouth, Va., and scrapped. One battle star, WWII. Spec block: 1,350 t; 306 ft; 36'7" beam; 24.3 kt; cpl. 222; class John C. Butler.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1968
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (Orange TX, 1944); wartime crew (design complement 222); postwar/NRT crew and Naval Reserve trainees (1951-1967)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, construction, and service history only - it contains no materials or asbestos content whatsoever. The bracketed 1961-62 passage is a later editorial insert. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404; the ibiblio page title misspells the name ('Thadeus') - a transcription artifact, not a variant.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thaddeus-parker-de369-01
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[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Thaddeus Parker (DE-369) page - building/operational data block, photo captions (NARA 80-G-446907/-446908; NHHC NH 95914, NHC 1043473; Boston Public Library Leslie Jones collection), commanding-officer roster [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-369 page, 'Building and Operational Data' block + photo caption list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource operational chronology for this hull, more granular than DANFS for the reserve era: steamed 83,703 miles in first commission; inactivation completed 18 Sep 1946, Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; recommissioned San Diego 21 Sep 1951 (Lcdr John L. Hansen); homeport Newport R.I. 14 Feb 1952 (Escort Squadron 12); NRT 3rd Naval District at the New York Naval Shipyard 11 Nov 1957 (Reserve Escort Squadron 2); moved to Port Newark N.J. 19 Nov 1959; recommissioned at Port Newark 2 Oct 1961 for the Cuban Missile Crisis (Cmdr Robert G. Hirsch USNR); decommissioned/'In Service' 1 Aug 1962 (Lt Raymond J. Hart OinC); Naval Supply Center Bayonne N.J. 29 Apr 1963 (Reserve Destroyer Squadron 30, ResDesDiv 302); taken out of service at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 1 Sep 1967, custody to Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, struck from the NVR; sold 9 Jul 1968 to Peck Iron & Metals Co., Portsmouth Va. Photo-caption documentation: arriving Boston Naval Shipyard 1952; dry docked at San Juan P.R. 1961 for rudder repair; alongside USS Yosemite (AD-19) with three other reserve DEs at Military Ocean Terminal Bayonne for upkeep/repair 3 Feb 1967.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1968
- Population
- Postwar crew; 3rd Naval District Naval Reserve trainees (1957-1967); Philadelphia NSY inactivation workers (1967)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive, not an official source - but consistent with DANFS on all overlapping events and its photo captions cite NARA/NHHC official numbers. Day-level reserve-era dates (inactivation completion, NRT assignment changes) rest on NavSource's compilation and were not verified against the underlying NVR extracts or ship histories. Contains no asbestos content. One caption error noted: namesake's posthumous award given as 'Navy Cross Medal' - DANFS reads Silver Star Medal.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thaddeus-parker-de369-02
-
[4]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History Magazine, 'Rudder Assist' (February 1998) - participant account of the Skate-class rudder testbed program [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History Magazine, Feb 1998 issue, 'Rudder Assist' article body
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Published participant account documents a mid-1950s shipyard overhaul availability on this hull: DE-369, 'due for overhaul,' was selected because its size, speed range, and twin-rudder arrangement approximated the planned Skate (SSN-578) submarine afterbody; a pair of experimental rudders with hinged trailing-edge flaps was designed on near-identical plans and installed on the ship; August 1956 sea trials showed turning performance at least equal to the original rudder with no new noise or vibration, and the ship carried the flapped rudders into fleet service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1955-1956 (installation/trials); 1961 (subsequent rudder-repair drydocking per NavSource)
- Population
- Unidentified shipyard overhaul workforce (c. 1955-56); ship's crew
- Limitations
- Documents that a yard overhaul occurred on this hull circa 1955-56 but does not identify the performing yard, the work scope beyond the rudder installation, or any materials involved - no asbestos content. As a material-disturbance event it is context only: an overhaul of this era on a steam plant would typically involve insulation work, but nothing in this source says so.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thaddeus-parker-de369-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group 6 (WGT) row + class-profile background (navypedia WGT boiler-block map; Navy insulation-spec suite identified via Jack v. Borg-Warner exhibit list: NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) ch.39, spec 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos' Oct 1945, BuEng ch.13) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group table row 6; navypedia us_de_tev_wgt boiler-block map; class profile ev-john-c-butler-class-03 exhibit-list citations
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: DE-369 is a BuShips design-group-6 (WGT) steam destroyer escort completed October 1944 with two 'D' express boilers (435 psi/750F; Combustion Engineering for the DE-339-372 block per the navypedia mapping) driving Westinghouse geared turbines at 12,000 shp. Vessels of this design group were fitted under the period Navy thermal-insulation regime in which insulating felts and lagging were specified asbestos-bearing; the governing specification documents for the class are identified (not retrieved) via the sister-ship litigation exhibit list in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (construction/spec era)
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1944; engineering-plant crew 1944-1967
- Limitations
- Design-group and era inference only - no hull-specific bill of materials, outfitting schedule, or as-built insulation inventory was located for DE-369. The boiler-manufacturer block map is a secondary compilation (navypedia) unverified against contract documents. Asbestos presence aboard this specific hull is inferred, not ship-proven; quantities and present-day state are moot (hull scrapped 1968).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thaddeus-parker-de369-04
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[6]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, No. 2:17-cv-00537 (W.D. Wash.) - pretrial materials naming USS Brannon (DE-446), a John C. Butler-class sister ship [court_record]
- Locator
- W.D. Wash. docket 2:17-cv-00537 pretrial/exhibit materials (per class-profile verification 2026-09-16)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Within the class, pretrial materials in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec (W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537) name sister ship USS Brannon (DE-446, itself identified in the docket by Jane's Fighting Ships as John C. Butler class) and recite that 'Griscom-Russell supplied the Navy with the evaporator on Mr. Jack's ship in conformity to detailed precise specifications... without insulation,' with proposed testimony that 'asbestos was a critical material during WWII when the Navy installed the distiller on Mr. Jack's ship' while 'on the USS BRANNON this could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' The docket's expert exhibit list cites the Navy insulation-spec suite (NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) ch.39; spec 32F3a; BuEng ch.13; BUMED 1977 memo).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2017 (litigation); 1944-45 (alleged installation window)
- Population
- Class-level: WWII-era DE crew (sister hull DE-446)
- Limitations
- Names a sister ship, not this hull - carried as class context only. Pleading/exhibit-list stage, unadjudicated as to DE-446 and irrelevant to DE-369 as evidence; no finding of exposure aboard any vessel results from it. Its value to this record is the identified spec suite, which remains an unretrieved archival lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thaddeus-parker-de369-05
-
[7]National Archives catalog, series 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' (1941-1992) - file unit 'Thaddeus Parker (DE-369) - April 1964,' NAID 219070272 (DE-369_BWN00115793_1964_04.pdf; NDL Batch 0028) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAID 219070272
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized deck logs for this hull exist in the NARA 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' series - a file unit for April 1964 was located by catalog search, indicating NRT-era log coverage is digitized and retrievable. Deck logs are the standard primary source for documenting underway/yard periods, drydockings, and availabilities on specific dates.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1964 (located file); 1941-1992 (series coverage)
- Limitations
- Catalog hit confirms digitized deck logs exist (April 1964 file unit located; series spans 1941-1992) - the full year-by-year coverage for this hull was not enumerated and the logs were not reviewed. Deck logs would not index asbestos by name; their value is precise dating of availabilities and locations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thaddeus-parker-de369-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (opinion index, exact-name and hull-number queries; see search_ledger for query set) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-thaddeus-parker-de369-07 through -10; the Bullard docket is logged there as a name collision (individual plaintiff, vessel not named)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated API v4 sweep, exact-name and hull-number queries across opinion and docket indexes (2026-09-28): opinion 'Thaddeus Parker' returned 1 hit - Goldman & Freiman Bottling Co. v. Sindell, 140 Md. 488, 117 A. 866 (Md. 1922), a bottling-negligence case predating the ship (name collision); opinion 'DE-369' returned 16 hits, all collisions (Puerto Rico Spanish text 'de 369', 'DE 369' docket-entry citations, numeric references) with zero asbestos/ship content on full-text review; docket 'Thaddeus Parker' returned 8 hits - three personal bankruptcies of individuals so named (Bankr. D. Del. 13-10531; Bankr. N.D. Ill. 06-12935; Bankr. D. Md. 13-16036 'Milton Thaddeus Parker'), one JPML-tagged products docket 'Thaddeus Parker v. E.D. Bullard Co.' (2:08-cv-62250, 2008; an individual plaintiff's case - the vessel is not a party or named exposure site), and creditor-list noise; docket 'DE-369' returned 168 hits, all 'DE #369' docket-entry-number references inside unrelated cases (first-page review, 20/20 collisions; zero asbestos/ship context). No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Thaddeus Parker or DE-369 was located. Combined with negative results at NHHC/DANFS (no asbestos content), NVR (hull disposed 1968, outside NVR coverage), NPS/HAER (no record - hull scrapped), and open-web authoritative sources: no ship-specific asbestos record was located for this hull.
- 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 - the ship's documented yard availabilities (Boston 1944/1952, Mare Island 1951-52, the unidentified 1956 overhaul yard, San Juan 1961, Philadelphia 1967) are material-disturbance windows consistent with, but not proof of, asbestos work. CourtListener coverage is not exhaustive of all state/federal filings. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thaddeus-parker-de369-07