USS Truxtun (DLGN-35)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

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

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Truxtun | Hull: DLGN-35 (reclassified CGN-35, 30 Jun 1975)

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-truxtun-dlgn35-pkt-ly-packet-md

2. [2]Naval Vessel Register, ship detail page - TRUXTUN (CGN 35), ex-DLGN 35 (Wayback capture; live NVR detail pages no longer serve this stricken hull) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NVR ship detail table (vessel status, milestone dates, physical characteristics, custodian) - header line 'TRUXTUN (CGN 35) (ex-DLGN 35)'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DESIGNATION RECONCILIATION - official Naval Vessel Register record carries one continuous register entry for this physical hull under both designations: header reads 'TRUXTUN (CGN 35) (ex-DLGN 35)'. The same UIC (52712) and the same milestone chain span the designation change: award 06/23/1962, keel 06/17/1963, launch 12/19/1964, delivery 05/26/1967, commission 05/27/1967 - all under the DLGN designation - continuing to decommission 09/11/1995 and stricken 09/11/1995 under the CGN designation, status 'Disposed of by Recycling' effective 04/16/1999, custodian Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Characteristics: 564 ft overall (540 ft WL), 57 ft extreme beam, 29 ft max navigational draft; light displacement 8,350 tons, full 9,158 tons; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; propulsion type steam turbine (nuclear), 2 propellers; accommodations 53 officers, 543 enlisted; page last updated 02/09/2001. The register treats DLGN-35 and CGN-35 as one hull record - the canonical consolidation target is CGN-35 (record uss-truxtun-cgn35).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1962-2001

   Limitations

   Identity/designation record only - NVR documents milestones, status, and characteristics, not materials or asbestos content. The reclassification date itself (30 June 1975) is not stated on the NVR face; it comes from DANFS (ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-02). Complement (596 total accommodations) conflicts with DANFS 492, NavSource 'crew 475', and Wikipedia '492 + flag accommodation 18' - NVR carried, conflict in gaps. Live NVR detail page no longer serves this hull; Wayback capture cited.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-01

3. [3]DANFS, Truxtun V (DLGN-35/CGN-35), 1981 ed. Vol. 7 pp. 317-319 (verbatim transcription via hazegray/losthistory; no live NHHC ship-history page located for this hull) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative (1967-1978); reclassification sentence in the 1974-75 overhaul paragraph; bracketed 1995-97 decommission/disposal note

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official DANFS record for this hull, filed under the DLGN-35 designation: fifth Truxtun; laid down 17 June 1963 at Camden, N.J., by New York Shipbuilding Corp.; launched 19 December 1964; co-sponsored by Mrs. Kirby H. Tappan and Mrs. Scott Umstead; commissioned 27 May 1967, Capt. David D. Work in command. Specifications: Truxtun class; 8,659 t full load; 564 ft; 58 ft beam; 30 ft 6 in draft; 31 kt; complement 492; armament 1 5-inch, 2 3-inch, 1 Terrier SAM launcher, ASROC, 6 15.5-inch torpedo tubes. The entry styles her 'guided missile frigate' throughout the pre-1975 narrative - the DLGN-35 designation period - covering the maiden Camden-to-Long Beach transit around Cape Horn (arrived 29 July 1967) and five 7th Fleet deployments 1968-1973: Sea of Japan operations with Enterprise after the Pueblo seizure (Jan-Feb 1968), PIRAZ/SAR picket duty on Yankee Station, plane guard for Enterprise, Bon Homme Richard, Ticonderoga, combat air patrol vectored to 11 MiG kills October 1972; seven battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation for Vietnam service. DLGN-era yard periods: PSNS refurbishing January-April 1969; tender availability alongside Samuel Gompers October 1970; LBNSY three-month restricted availability from 2 November 1970; restricted availability October-December 1971 converting to LAMPS; Piedmont tender availability March-April 1973; 18-month complex overhaul with reactor refueling at PSNS 29 January 1974 - 31 July 1975. The entry states verbatim: 'On 30 June 1975, near the end of that repair period, TRUXTUN was reclassified a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser and was redesignated CGN-35' - the designation reconciliation event, a type-designator change to the same hull within a single continuous service narrative. Post-designation narrative (1976-77 WestPac/Indian Ocean, November 1977 PSNS nuclear-plant repairs, 1978 WestPac) and the bracketed end note ('in reserve, in commission' 9 January 1995; decommissioned and stricken 11 September 1995 at Puget Sound; recycling disposal scheduled 1 October 1997) apply to the same hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1963-1978 (narrative); 1995-1997 (bracket note)

   Population

   New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1963-67; crew under DLGN-35 designation 1967-75

   Limitations

   DANFS documents designation, service history, and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; the entry's 1978 cutoff leaves the final 17 years to the canonical record's secondary-sourced narrative. Complement 492 conflicts with NVR 596 - in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC DANFS pages (truxtun-iii.html, truxtun-v.html, alternate slugs) all return 404 - standing NHHC link rot.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-02

4. [4]DANFS, Truxtun IV (APD-98) (verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio; live NHHC page not located) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Truxtun IV (APD-98) entry, reserve-period paragraph (24 June 1963 name-cancellation sentence)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official DANFS record for the fourth Truxtun establishes this hull's designation and name from construction start: 'On 24 June 1963, Truxtun's name was cancelled in order that it might be assigned to DLGN-35' - the name Truxtun was formally assigned to the Camden hull (keel laid 17 June 1963, seven days earlier) while she was still on the ways, under the DLGN-35 designation, roughly four years before her 27 May 1967 commissioning. Confirms DLGN-35 was the hull's original and construction-era designation, not a later rename.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1963

   Limitations

   Identity/name-chain evidence only - documents that the DLGN-35 designation and the Truxtun name attached to this hull at construction; no materials or asbestos content. The name-cancellation statement concerns the prior namesake hull (APD-98); the assignment to DLGN-35 is stated in the APD-98 entry, not in Truxtun V's own entry.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-03

5. [5]Board of Veterans' Appeals decision A23036224, Docket No. 191112-56222 (Dec. 18, 2023) (D. Johnson, Veterans Law Judge) [court_record]

   Locator

   Order + Finding of Fact 3; '2. Service connection for mesothelioma or a lung condition is denied' section (August 2023 hearing-testimony recital); Reasons for Remand (TERA/PACT Act); service dates 'July 1973 to July 1979' in Reasons and Bases

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   VA Board of Veterans' Appeals order on a Navy veteran's service-connection claim naming this hull expressly: the Veteran (active duty July 1973 - July 1979) contended he had mesothelioma or a lung condition due to asbestos exposure on the USS Truxtun (styled 'CGN-35'), testifying at the August 2023 Board hearing that he was 'in the room when welders worked on the plumbing in the reactor rooms' and that white powder/debris released into the air entered his eyes, nose, and lungs; he reported a 2003 fatal diagnosis with an 8-year projected life expectancy, asbestosis with pleural plaquing, and 'asbestos dipoles' on CT scan. The Board DENIED service connection for mesothelioma or a lung condition, finding the evidence of record persuasively weighs against any current diagnosis; it separately found the Veteran unreliable in relaying contemporaneous diagnoses. Companion heart-condition and hypertension claims - also premised on radiation/asbestos exposure aboard this hull - were remanded for a PACT Act TERA medical opinion. Designation note: the Veteran's service window straddles the reclassification - the hull carried the DLGN-35 designation from his July 1973 accession through 30 June 1975, so roughly the first two years of the alleged exposure period fall inside this record's DLGN-35 period even though the decision and testimony use the later CGN-35 styling.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1973-1979 (alleged exposure, straddling both designations); 2003 (reported diagnosis); 2019-2023 (claim pendency); 2023-12-18 (decision)

   Population

   Navy veteran, active duty July 1973 - July 1979 (DLGN-35 period through 30 June 1975, CGN-35 thereafter), fire-watch/reactor-room duties; claimed asbestosis/pleural plaquing - unconfirmed by adjudicated record

   Limitations

   Administrative benefits adjudication, not tort litigation - non-precedential, binding only on the instant claim (38 C.F.R. 20.1303). Classified at pleading-allegation stage (least-final): the exposure assertion is a recited claim; the denial rests on the current-disability element with no finding on whether asbestos was aboard this hull or the Veteran was exposed. The Board expressly deferred credibility on the remanded issues and separately found the Veteran unreliable in relaying contemporaneous diagnoses - an adverse reliability note attached to this recital. Establishes no product aboard, nothing for any other individual, and nothing about present-day conditions or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-04

6. [6]U.S. Naval Nuclear Powered Ship Inactivation, Disposal, and Recycling ('Green Book'), 2019 edition (NAVSEA/DOE, hosted at energy.gov), Appendix D 'Completed Reactor Compartment Disposal and Ship Recycling Projects' [other_primary]

   Locator

   Appendix D table rows 78/79 (Ex-Truxtun CGN 35 Plants #1, #2 - 1999/1999); cruiser reactor-compartment package description

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   Official Navy/DOE recycling-program record names this hull (under its post-1975 designation) twice - Appendix D rows 'CGN 35 Ex-Truxtun, Plant #1' (reactor compartment shipment No. 78) and 'CGN 35 Ex-Truxtun, Plant #2' (RC shipment No. 79) - reactor compartment disposal completed 1999, ship recycle completed 1999, in the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard; cruiser reactor compartments are cut free and encased in a heavy steel (at least three-quarter-inch) containment structure for shipment to the Hanford disposal site. The two reactor-compartment packages and the recycled hull are the same physical plant and hull built as DLGN-35 in 1963-67. Consistent with NVR 'Disposed of by Recycling' status effective 04/16/1999 (NavSource dates hulk recycling completion 28 April 1999 - in gaps).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1995-1999

   Population

   PSNS Ship-Submarine Recycling Program workforce 1997-99

   Limitations

   Documents the disposal event and pathway only - the Appendix D entries carry no asbestos data, and the table styles the hull 'CGN 35' because disposal occurred under the post-1975 designation. The companion asbestos statements (Appendix C program text and the pre-mid-1970s reactor-compartment insulation note) are program-level and carried separately (ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-06).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-05

7. [7]U.S. Naval Nuclear Powered Ship Inactivation, Disposal, and Recycling ('Green Book'), 2019 edition (NAVSEA/DOE), program text and Appendix C - asbestos identification and controlled removal during ship recycling; reactor-compartment asbestos statement [other_primary]

   Locator

   Green Book Appendix C (C-3 'Shipboard Dismantlement'; C-4 'Asbestos Insulation Being Removed from Piping'); reactor-compartment disposal section (pre-mid-1970s asbestos note); electrical-cable note

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Official Navy/DOE program documentation of asbestos handling in the recycling program this hull went through: 'asbestos, PCBs, and metallic lead ... are present in significant quantities' in older ships; 'one of the first actions when a ship begins the recycling process is to identify and tag equipment and structure that contain these materials,' including 'shipboard sampling to identify insulating materials (both on piping systems and on ship's structure), paint, and other products that may contain asbestos'; 'asbestos insulation is removed by personnel specially trained in asbestos work under stringent work controls' with containments, HEPA filtered vacuum cleaners, and wetting agents, packaged and 'shipped to an approved land fill'; some electrical cable 'contains asbestos and PCBs.' On reactor compartments: 'Reactor compartments constructed before the mid-1970s also contain asbestos in insulation on pipes and other components. This asbestos is fully contained within the reactor compartments' - covering this hull's 1963-67 plant (built under the DLGN-35 designation) by construction date, flagged as class-level inference.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1997-1999 (this hull's recycling); program text 2019

   Population

   PSNS SRP workforce; asbestos-trained removal personnel

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation describing the process applied to all recycled nuclear ships - it documents that asbestos was expected, sampled, tagged, and removed under controls during the recycling this hull underwent; it does not document what asbestos was actually found aboard ex-Truxtun specifically, and says nothing about in-service conditions under either designation. The pre-mid-1970s reactor-compartment statement covers this plant by construction date (keel June 1963) but is class-level, not a hull survey.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-06

8. [8]Documented DLGN-era availabilities (DANFS) + Atlas shipyard dataset (New York Shipbuilding, Long Beach NSY, Puget Sound NSY records) + construction-era insulation context [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS yard-period narrative (ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-02); Atlas shipyard dataset yard records; Green Book program text (ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-06); canonical record uss-truxtun-cgn35 (batch-200) for post-1975 periods

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era inference, nuclear-hull framing, DLGN-35 designation period: the twin D2G reactor plant establishes nothing about asbestos exposure. Any asbestos relevance is confined to secondary steam and auxiliary systems - auxiliary piping, valve gaskets and packing, fireproofing, deck coverings, electrical cable - aboard a hull built 1963-67 at New York Shipbuilding, Camden, squarely in the documented asbestos-insulation era, and disturbed at documented DLGN-era availabilities: PSNS refurbishing January-April 1969; tender availability alongside Samuel Gompers October 1970; LBNSY three-month restricted availability November 1970 - January 1971; restricted availability October-December 1971 (LAMPS conversion); Piedmont tender availability March-April 1973; and the 18-month PSNS complex overhaul with reactor refuel January 1974 - July 1975 within which the reclassification to CGN-35 occurred. Post-designation yard periods (November 1977, 1979, September 1982 - July 1984, 1988-89 PSNS periods; inactivation and recycling 1995-99) belong to the same hull under CGN-35 and are carried on the canonical record (uss-truxtun-cgn35).

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1963-1975 (DLGN-35 designation period)

   Population

   New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1963-67; PSNS trades 1969 and 1974-75; LBNSY trades 1970-71; tender workforces 1970 and 1973; crew under DLGN-35 1967-75

   Limitations

   Class/era and yard-period inference only, limited to non-reactor systems - the only ship-specific asbestos-adjacent record for this hull is the denied VA benefits-claim recital (ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-04), and no hull-specific materials record exists (see negative finding ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-10); this row must not be read as an independent ship-specific finding. Builder yard is in the Atlas dataset (new-york-shipbuilding, tier 1/presumed). Does not establish that asbestos products were or remain aboard; nuclear propulsion is not evidence either of asbestos presence or absence.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-07

9. [9]Canonical companion record: uss-truxtun-cgn35.atlas.json (branch batch-200/uss-truxtun-cgn35, produced 2026-09-19) - same physical hull under the post-1975 designation [other_primary]

   Locator

   uss-truxtun-cgn35.atlas.json on branch batch-200/uss-truxtun-cgn35 (same repository)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Consolidation pointer: the canonical PRIMARY record for this hull is uss-truxtun-cgn35 (Tier 3), which carries the full evidence set for the same physical ship - the NVR milestones, the complete DANFS entry, the BVA A23036224 claims recital, Green Book disposal rows, the secondary-sourced post-1978 service narrative (1979 Harpoon availability; 1980 and 1981-82 WestPacs; 1982-84 final complex overhaul; 1986 four-fleet circumnavigation with Libya operations corroborated by official DANFS Arkansas IV; 1987 Northern Pacific; 1988 Praying Mantis; 1988-89 DSRA; 1989 Bremerton homeport; 1990 Earnest Will; 1991 Desert Storm AAW/mine-countermeasure flagship; 1993 Red Sea boardings; 1994 final deployment), and the marketing-source exclusion record. This DLGN-35 file is the designation-reconciliation record: one physical hull, two type designators, not two ships.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1975-1995 (post-designation period covered by canonical record)

   Limitations

   This row points to the canonical record; it is not an independent source and adds no new facts. Post-1975 detail is asserted on the canonical record, not repeated here; see that file's gaps for its secondary-sourcing limitations.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-08

10. [10]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (via fleet helper cl-auth-search.py): opinion search for exact name "USS Truxtun" [court_record]

    Locator

    CourtListener API v4 /search/ type=o: q="USS Truxtun" count 0; q="DLGN-35" count 0 (2026-09-29); pending queries logged in search_ledger sl-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-05

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Litigation sweep, this batch's run: authenticated CourtListener API v4 opinion searches returned 0 hits on 2026-09-29 for both the exact phrase "USS Truxtun" and the hull number "DLGN-35" - no published opinion styles the ship by name or by her original designator. This partially closes the gap left by batch-200, where the CourtListener API was throttled (HTTP 429) all session and the sweep ran web-index only; that earlier web sweep likewise found no tort-litigation opinion naming the hull and only the BVA claims record (ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-04). Remaining sweep queries (hull number 'CGN-35', bare-name 'Truxtun', docket type=r) were still pending at report time - the shared fleet pacing budget admitted one query at a time across the session; their status is recorded in the search ledger, not asserted as a clean negative.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    2026-09-29

    Limitations

    Zero-count opinion searches do not prove the hull was never sued - opinions may style the ship without 'USS', appear in docket/RECAP records not indexed as opinions, or sit outside CourtListener coverage entirely (state-court filings, MDL-875 docket-level pleadings). The sweep is also incomplete while the 'CGN-35' hull-number, bare-name, and docket queries remain pending. The BVA claims record (ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-04) is the only adjudication naming this hull located to date.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-09

11. [11]Batch-4585 search ledger (this record): NVR via Wayback; DANFS transcriptions (Truxtun V, Truxtun IV); DOE Green Book; VA BVA decisions; CourtListener API (partial - paced); NHHC live-site check; marketing-source exclusions [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-01 through sl-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-08; canonical record uss-truxtun-cgn35 (batch-200) ledger sl-uss-truxtun-cgn35-01 through -10

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No hull-specific asbestos-materials documentation located under either designation: no ACM survey, insulation schedule, abatement contract, or hazmat disclosure was found for this hull in the public sources searched (see search_ledger), and no tort-litigation opinion naming the hull was located (exact-name and 'DLGN-35' opinion queries both clear; 'CGN-35', bare-name, and docket queries pending). The only ship-specific asbestos-adjacent record is the BVA benefits-claim recital (ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-04) - denied on the current-disability element with the exposure assertion never adjudicated. Marketing/listicle asbestos claims naming the hull (navyshipexposure 'BUSHIPS-derived' 11-entry equipment manifest incl. AQUA-CHEM and Foster Wheeler; Shepard Law; Simmons/ELSM ship lists; Veterans Guide; mesothelioma.com's 'Truxton' misspelling) are excluded per batch rules - logged in the ledger, not treated as evidence.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    2026-09-29

    Limitations

    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the Navy's ship-recycling documentation does not publish hull-level ACM detail, and the partially complete CourtListener sweep means the litigation check is not exhaustive. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-truxtun-dlgn35-10