USS Vammen (DE-644)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

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

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-vammen-de644-pkt-lf-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Vammen (DE-644) (namesake biography, builder, dates, service narrative, disposal; live NHHC page returns 404 - verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (ibiblio de644.html)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: named for Ensign Clarence Earl Vammen, Jr., USNR (b. 17 October 1919, Aberdeen, Wash.), VS-6 naval aviator aboard Enterprise (CV-6), lost 6 June 1942 in the Midway strikes on Mogami and Mikuma - posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross. Laid down 1 August 1943 at San Francisco by Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched 21 May 1944 (sponsor Mrs. Earle Morgan, the ensign's aunt); commissioned 27 July 1944, Lt. Comdr. L. M. King, Jr., USNR. Shakedown San Diego; post-shakedown availability at builder's yard; Pearl Harbor 21 October 1944; ASW training; convoy escort Funafuti/Espiritu Santo, Marshalls (PD-278-T, PD-310-T); plane guard Bataan (CVL-29); escort Kitkun Bay (CVE-71) and Salamaua (CVE-96); Leyte Gulf patrol; availability alongside Markab (AD-21), San Pedro Bay. Okinawa from 1 April 1945 - underwater explosion damaged starboard propeller 2100 that evening; screening stations A-39/A-50 until 8 April; repairs alongside Markab and ARD-16 drydock (propeller replaced, undocked 17 April); returned end of April screening LST Group 41; submarine search with Halloran (DE-305) 5-6 May; 'assist' in downing a 'Tony' 28 May; sank a floating mine by gunfire en route to Leyte 3-8 June; ARD-18 docking for sound-gear repair; patrol station D-1 off Buckner Bay from 22 July; at sea with an Okinawa-Ulithi convoy 15 August when Japan capitulated. Puget Sound Navy Yard availability into 1946; occupation-force support Tsingtao/Shanghai/Kowloon spring-autumn 1946; Terminal Island and San Pedro availability September 1946; decommissioned San Diego 3 February 1947, inactivated 2 April 1947. Reactivated and heavily modified for specialized ASW (redesigned bridge, trainable hedgehogs, improved sonar); recommissioned at Mare Island 15 February 1952; Wonsan patrol and gunfire support 25 August-17 September and late October-11 November 1953; WestPac deployments alternating with California training; 1955 and 1958 Trust Territory surveillance cruises; Port Lyttelton NZ 3-8 February 1958 with LeRay Wilson (DE-414), Operation Deepfreeze mail transfer. Group I NRT selection April 1960; Group II 21 May; decommissioned/'in service' 18 June 1960 as 11th Naval District NRT ship. Recommissioned 2 October 1961 at Long Beach (Berlin-crisis reactivation of 40 NRT ships; Comdr. Charlie S. Nelson, USNR); overhaul at the Todd Shipyard; home port transferred to Pearl Harbor 15 December 1961; CortDiv 72; Gulf of Siam training duty with South Vietnamese Navy 22 March-9 April 1962 and again into mid-May (with Charles E. Brannon DE-446; relieving Wiseman DE-667 and Edmonds DE-406); TG 76.5 screen for Valley Forge (LPH-8), Navarro (APA-215), Point Defiance (LSD-31) lifting 3/9 Marines to Bangkok; Exercise Powerdive; Pearl Harbor 18 June; Long Beach 17 July; decommissioned 1 August 1962 resuming NRT duty at Long Beach for seven years. Adjudged unfit summer 1969; placed out of service 12 July 1969 (NRT crew transferred to Maddox DD-731); Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, San Diego; struck from the Navy list 12 July 1969; stripped hulk utilized in a 'Condor' missile test 4 February 1971 and sank 18 February 1971. One battle star (WWII) and one engagement star (Korea). Specs block: dp. 1,400; l. 306'0"; b. 37'0"; dr. 9'5" (mean); s. 23.5 k.; cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 10 20mm., 3 21" tt., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.); cl. Buckley.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1943-1971

   Population

   Bethlehem San Francisco construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-47, 1952-60, 1961-62; reserve-crew NRT complement 1960-61, 1962-69; NISMF San Diego stripping crew 1969-71

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing link rot, matches Batch-01 and sibling-batch findings); verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription cited. Internal name/number conflicts: 'Witter (DE-667)' for the 10 February 1945 relief (Witter is DE-636; DE-667 is Wiseman) and 'Wiseman (DE -667)' for the March 1962 relief - carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-vammen-de644-01

3. [3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels roster row 345 for VAMMEN, DE644 (shipscribe.com scan; tesseract OCR + visual read of book pp. 262-263) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v1 roster row 345, VAMMEN DE-644 (book pp. 262-263; shipscribe scan PDF p. 141)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Contemporaneous official BuShips roster row for this hull (roster row 345): VAMMEN, official number DE644, design group TE; builder 'Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif.'; contract price $2,368,950; contract signed 7 August 1942; keel laid 1 August 1943; launched 21 May 1944; completion-date column reads 30 April 1944; preliminary-acceptance and first-commission columns both read 27 July 1944. Keel, launch, and commission dates concur with DANFS and NavSource.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1942-1944

   Population

   Bethlehem San Francisco construction trades 1943-44

   Limitations

   Official contemporaneous build roster - documents identity, builder, contract, design group, and dates; contains no insulation or materials information and says nothing about asbestos. The 'completion' column reads Apr. 30, 1944 - before the May 21 launch and July 27 commission - so it is likely the contract/scheduled completion date; carried as printed, not reconciled (same column-semantics ambiguity noted in the batch-4386 Ahrens record).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-vammen-de644-02

4. [4]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Vammen (DE-644) page (specs, building/operational data, awards, CO roster, captioned US Navy photos; Wayback capture 2024-09-16 - live page fetch failed) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.org/archives/06/644.htm specifications block + building/operational data + photo captions + CO roster (Wayback 2024-09-16 capture 20240916003233)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource compiled record for this hull: keel laid 1 August 1943 at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard Corp., San Francisco; launched and christened 21 May 1944 (sponsor Mrs. Earle Morgan); commissioned 27 July 1944, Lcdr. Lyman M. King, Jr., USNR; decommissioned San Diego 3 February 1947; '1951: Underwent SCB-63A, ASW Upgrade' - US Navy photo captions place her under conversion at Mare Island NSY from 31 May 1951 to 15 March 1952 and the re-commissioning ceremony on 15 February 1952 (photo #DE-644-12011-2-52); chronology and CO list read '12 February 1952' for recommissioning; assigned Pacific Destroyer Force, San Diego. October 1958-January 1959: ship and crew used in filming the Jerry Lewis comedy 'Don't Give Up the Ship.' 21 May 1960 assigned NRT 11th Naval District, Long Beach; 18 June 1960 decommissioned, placed 'in service' as a Select Reserve ASW Force unit; 2 October 1961 recommissioned for the Berlin Crisis at US Naval Station Long Beach (Cmdr. Charlie S. Nelson, USNR, Escort Squadron 7); 1 August 1962 decommissioned/'in service' (Cmdr. Michael Cullen, USNR, OinC; Reserve Destroyer Squadron 27). August 1963: 'fender bender' collision with USS Tingey (DD-539) cut short her SelRes cruise to Hawaii (photo caption; tied up inboard of Diachenko APD-123). 9 August 1968 Vancouver, B.C. port visit (Walter E. Frost photo, City of Vancouver Archives). 12 July 1969: relieved as NRT ship by USS Maddox (DD-731), placed out of service at Naval Inactive Ship Facility, San Diego, struck from the NVR 'after 19 years and 11 months of service'; 18 February 1971 sunk as target during testing of the Condor missile. Specs: TE (turbine-electric, 3-inch guns); 1,400 t light/1,740 t full; 300' wl, 306' oa; beam 36'9"; draft 10'6"; 2 'D' Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12,000 shp, 2 screws; 24 kts; 6,000 nm at 12 kt; armament 3x3"/50, 1 twin 40mm, 8x20mm, 3x21" TT, Hedgehog Mk10, 8 K-guns, 2 DC tracks; complement 15/198. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive); American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 1 star; WWII Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal with 1 star; Korean Service Medal with 1 star; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; UN Korean Service Medal; ROK War Service Medal.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1943-1971

   Population

   Wartime and postwar crew (complement 15/198); SelRes crew 1960-61, 1962-69; NISF San Diego 1969-71

   Limitations

   Compiled secondary archive, not a contemporaneous record - dates concur with DANFS/SDB where they overlap. Contributed photo captions (conversion dates at Mare Island, Tingey collision, film use) are unattributed volunteer-contributed detail. Internal conflict: chronology reads '12 February 1952' for recommissioning while the official US Navy photo caption and DANFS read 15 February - carried in gaps. No asbestos or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-vammen-de644-03

5. [5]Navypedia, 'Buckley (TE) class destroyer escorts' - class roster and per-block boiler-manufacturer map (compiled reference) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navypedia us_de_te.htm, member table row DE-644 + boiler-block map

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Class roster and boiler-block map: 148 Buckley (TE) hulls completed across eight builders; DE-644 falls in the Bethlehem San Francisco block DE-633-644, whose boiler manufacturer is mapped as Combustion Engineering per navypedia (block map: Combustion Engineering for DE155, 199-213, 633-644, 675-683, 693-705). The class roster's DE-644 line (builder Bethlehem San Francisco; laid down 1943-08; launched 1944-05-21; commissioned 1944-07; stricken 7.1969) concurs with DANFS/SDB/NavSource. Navypedia additionally shows a redesignation '2.1952- DEC644; 1957- DE644' for this hull that is NOT corroborated by DANFS or NavSource - carried in gaps as unverified.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1942-1945

   Population

   Buckley-class construction and operating crews (148 hulls)

   Limitations

   Compiled secondary reference (class-level): the boiler-manufacturer block map is navypedia-sourced and unverified against contract documents; not a materials or asbestos source - used for class context only. The DEC-644 designation appears only in this compilation. Class-roster data carried via the batch class-f buckley-class profile (accessed 2026-09-16), which parsed this page.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-vammen-de644-04

6. [6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 design-group-2 machinery row (2 'D' express boilers 435 psi/750F; GE turbo-electric 12,000 shp) + GAO HRD-80-2 era context + Atlas class-pattern precedent for steam-powered escorts [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 group-2 row (2 'D' express boilers present) vs. diesel-group rows (boilers 'None'); cf. buckley-class profile ev-buckley-class-04 (same steam-DE application set)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: a Buckley-class (TE) destroyer escort built at a commercial wartime yard in 1943-44 with a full superheated steam plant would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a steam-powered escort - boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine lagging, gaskets and packing on steam and feed systems, electrical insulation, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Unlike the diesel DE classes (Edsall/FMR, Cannon/DET, Evarts/GMT - whose SDB rows read 'None' in the boiler columns), the TE and WGT designs retained boilers and steam lines, so the largest asbestos categories of steam ships apply to this design.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1943-1971

   Population

   Bethlehem San Francisco construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-47, 1952-69; yard workers at documented availabilities/conversion (Puget Sound 1945-46; Mare Island 1951-52; Todd 1961-62)

   Limitations

   Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule or material list for DE-644 was located; this establishes era-consistent expectation for the type, not that any specific material went aboard this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-vammen-de644-05

7. [7]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyard-exposure-map/client/src/data/shipyards.json, 37 yard_ids): 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' (aliases include Union Iron Works - the Bethlehem San Francisco/Potrero Point yard), 'puget-sound-naval-shipyard', 'mare-island-naval-shipyard', 'todd-shipyards' (corporate-level record) [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipyards.json records 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' (aliases field), 'puget-sound-naval-shipyard', 'mare-island-naval-shipyard', 'todd-shipyards'; DANFS and NavSource yard-period narratives

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Builder/repair-yard context: the builder, Bethlehem Steel Co. San Francisco (the Union Iron Works yard at Potrero Point), maps to dataset record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' - whose aliases include Union Iron Works - following the dominant convention across San Francisco-built Bethlehem hull records (e.g., batch-4434 William C. Cole DE-641, same-block sister; batch-4426 Whitehurst). Documented yard periods on this hull also resolve: Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (lengthy availability late 1945 into 1946, DANFS), Mare Island Naval Shipyard (SCB-63A ASW conversion 31 May 1951-15 March 1952 and 15 February 1952 recommissioning, NavSource photo captions + DANFS), and 'the Todd Shipyard' (regularly scheduled overhaul late 1961, DANFS - the Los Angeles/San Pedro division while homeported at Long Beach; the dataset's 'todd-shipyards' is a corporate-level record, no separate San Pedro slug exists).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1943-1962

   Population

   Yard workers at Puget Sound (1945-46), Mare Island (1951-52), Todd San Pedro (1961-62), the unnamed Terminal Island/San Pedro facility (1946), and the 1944 builder's post-shakedown availability

   Limitations

   Yard context only - documents which facilities worked this hull and their dataset-level asbestos records, not this hull's materials; does not establish that asbestos went aboard or was disturbed aboard DE-644 during any yard period, nor any individual's exposure. The September 1946 Terminal Island/San Pedro availability facility is not identifiable in DANFS (candidates incl. the naval station and commercial yards) - carried in gaps. Long Beach Naval Shipyard is excluded: Long Beach was the NRT homeport/mooring, with no documented yard period there. The Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, San Diego (1969-71 custody and hull stripping) is not a dataset entry.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-vammen-de644-06

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 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - DE-644 (built 1943-44, rebuilt 1951-52, in service to 1969) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy ship construction and repair.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers

   Limitations

   Program-level era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); content via product-page description. Says nothing about this specific hull. The 1975/1979 policies it documents postdate this hull's 1969 out-of-service and 1971 sinking.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-vammen-de644-07

9. [9]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for 'USS Vammen', 'Vammen', and 'DE-644' (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]

   Locator

   CourtListener API v4 search results 2026-09-29: 'USS Vammen' type=o count=0; 'Vammen' type=o count=18 (all name collisions); 'DE-644' type=o count=7 (all false positives); 'USS Vammen' type=r count=0; 'DE-644' type=r count=51, page-1 20 hits reviewed - all entry-number collisions (see search_ledger sl-07 through sl-11)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Opinion sweep '"USS Vammen"' (type=o): 0 hits - no published opinion indexed on CourtListener names the ship. Opinion sweep '"Vammen"' (type=o): 18 hits, all surname collisions - Oklahoma probate/criminal/municipal matters and a Washington city-treasurer line of cases (Floyd A. Vammen, City of Aberdeen); reviewed case names and snippets, none vessel-related, none asbestos. Hull-number sweep '"DE-644"' (type=o): 7 hits, all false-positive matches on the string (docket/reference numbers inside ordinary civil and criminal opinions - Harbaugh v. Greslin S.D. Fla. 2006, Anderson v. Houston Community College Tex. App. 2015, Nolte v. Port Huron Mich. App. 1986, Phoenix Insurance v. Rosen Ill. 2011, United States v. O'Dell 6th Cir. 1986, Chaffin v. Stynchcombe 5th Cir. 1972, Ammons v. Brunswick-Balke Indian Terr. 1904); none names the vessel or concerns asbestos. Docket sweep '"USS Vammen"' (type=r): 0 dockets, 0 documents - no RECAP docket names the ship. Docket sweep '"DE-644"' (type=r): 51 dockets / 61 documents, all 'DE# 644'/'Doc #: 644' ECF entry-number matches inside unrelated bankruptcy, criminal, and civil dockets; first-page 20 hits reviewed at case-and-document level (Dresser-Rand claim objections, transcript-release notices, orders citing entry 644, etc.), none vessel-related - deeper pages deferred behind fleet pacing.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   2026-09-29

   Limitations

   Substantially complete sweep: 'USS Vammen' returned 0 hits in BOTH the opinion and RECAP docket indexes - the strongest available negative. 'Vammen' 18 surname collisions and 'DE-644' 7 opinion + 51 docket false-positive matches all reviewed at case level and excluded. Residual limitation: 'DE-644' docket pages 2+ (31 of 51 hits, lower-relevance matches of the same ECF entry-number pattern) not fetched - fleet pacing; and state-court dockets, PACER-only filings, and settled/undocketed claims sit outside the index. 'No result' does not prove no claim was ever filed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-vammen-de644-08

10. [10]Batch-4437 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription (ibiblio); NavSource archive page (Wayback); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 roster row 345 (OCR + visual); navypedia class page via class-f profile; GAO product page; NVR shell check; general web sweep; CourtListener sweeps (see sl-07 through sl-11) [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-vammen-de644-01 through sl-uss-vammen-de644-14

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-644: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, museum documentation, or qualifying asbestos litigation naming the hull was found in the public sources searched - the hull was sunk as a missile target in February 1971, pre-dating the museum-donation and hazmat-disclosure era that produced records for preserved escorts (e.g., USS Slater DE-766, USS Stewart DE-238). General web hits naming the hull are non-authoritative: law-firm marketing pages that enumerate every WWII hull, and dive-research sites covering the 1971 Condor-test wreck off San Clemente Island (ub88.org et al.) - excluded by batch rules (see exclusions).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    2026-09-29

    Limitations

    Absence of a located record is not proof of absence aboard - 1943-44 Bethlehem San Francisco construction falls inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era, the TE plant carried the steam-system categories most associated with shipboard asbestos, and the 1951-52 Mare Island conversion, wartime availabilities, and 1969-71 stripping are undocumented at material level. Deck logs (RG 24), any WWII war diary (RG 38), and BuShips construction records (RG 19, incl. any General Information Book for DE-644) at NARA are unsurveyed leads. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present aboard; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-vammen-de644-09