Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet hc-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-vesole-dd878-pkt-hc-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Vesole (DD-878) (NHHC official page; verbatim text via 2017 Wayback capture - live NHHC page returns 403/404 to automated fetch) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Vesole (DD-878)', specifications block + full service narrative (Wayback capture 2017-05-10 of history.navy.mil)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 3 July 1944 at Orange, Tex., by Consolidated Steel Corp.; launched 29 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Kay K. Vesole; commissioned 23 April 1945, Comdr. H. E. Townsend in command. Converted to radar picket destroyer at Norfolk (arrived 12 June 1945, alterations completed 29 July 1945). Pacific/Far East service 1945-46 (carrier task groups incl. Boxer CV-21, Lexington CV-16, Intrepid CV-11). Documented yard periods: New York Naval Shipyard three-month overhaul Feb-Apr 1947; Boston Naval Shipyard two-month overhaul 1948; Norfolk overhaul Oct 1950-15 Feb 1951; Norfolk Naval Shipyard extensive alterations completed end of March 1953 (40 mm battery replaced by six 3-inch/50 guns in dual mounts, after-mast removed, new radar/electronic/communications equipment); Philadelphia Naval Shipyard FRAM overhaul Jan-late Sept 1964 (DASH hangar, ASROC launcher, new radar and electronic-warfare equipment, superstructure and internal changes, improved living compartments/messes); Boston Naval Shipyard 12 Apr-19 Aug 1968; Charleston Naval Shipyard four-month overhaul Jul-Nov 1972; main propulsion plant converted to Navy distillate fuel Mar-May 1973. Lebanon crisis 1958 (Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal); Cuban quarantine 1962 (patrolled Key West-Havana, inspected two Soviet merchant ships, visually accounted for 12 of 42 missiles); Vietnam deployment late 1965-early 1966 (Market Time, naval gunfire support, carrier ASW screen Gulf of Tonkin; two battle stars); Middle East Force Indian Ocean tours 1966-67, 1970, 1971-72 (relieved Johnston DD-821 at Port Sudan 29 Dec 1966; relieved by Charles P. Cecil DD-835 at Mombasa Feb 1972); NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic Jan-Jun 1969; UNITAS XIV 1973; final 6th Fleet deployment Jan-Jul 1976 (Exercise Silver Fox; Lebanon contingency force 3 Apr-15 May). Decommissioned and stricken at Charleston 1 December 1976; initially slated for foreign transfer; sunk during a fleet live-fire exercise 14 April 1983.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1983
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1944-45; crews 1945-1976; yard workers at NYNS, Boston, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Charleston naval shipyards across six documented availabilities
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, yard periods, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. DANFS does not record the DDR-878 reclassification; that designation rests on secondary compilations (NavSource, Navypedia). DANFS spec block reads complement 345 and speed 34.5 kt; NavSource reads 336 and 36.8 kt - variances carried in gaps. Live NHHC page inaccessible to automated fetch (403/404); 2017 Wayback capture of the official page cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-vesole-dd878-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-878 / DDR-878 USS Vesole (operational and building data; sinking location) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/05/878.htm header block (operational/building data, fate, coordinates)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down by Consolidated Steel, Orange, Texas, 3 July 1944; launched 29 December 1944; commissioned 23 April 1945; 'Completed FRAM upgrade October 1964'; decommissioned and stricken 1 December 1976; 'Sunk as target off Puerto Rico April 14 1983, Location: 20 Degrees 48 Min N, 64 Degrees 12 Min W in 2800 Fathoms.' Page titles the ship DD-878 / DDR-878; machinery 60,000 shp GE geared turbines, 2 screws, 36.8 kt; crew 336.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1983
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled photographic/historical archive (reputable secondary), not a government record - used here for the sinking coordinates and DDR designation because DANFS carries neither. FRAM completion given as October 1964 vs DANFS 'late September 1964' (departed Philadelphia 7 Oct 1964) - immaterial day-level variance noted in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-vesole-dd878-02
-
[4]Navypedia, Gearing class destroyers member table, DD-878 row (designation history and striking) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Navypedia Gearing class page, member table row DD878
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Navypedia class member table row for DD-878: 'DD878, 3.1949- DDR878, 6.1962- DD878', builder Consolidated, Orange, laid down 7/1944, launched 29.12.1944, commissioned 4/1945, fate 'stricken 12.1976' - corroborating the DDR-878 radar-picket designation period (March 1949 - June 1962) that DANFS does not record.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1949-1976
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (Navypedia), not a primary designation document; month-level dates consistent with the Gearing-class profile and NavSource's DD-878/DDR-878 titling, but the exact reclassification dates were not verified against a BuShips/NVR source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-vesole-dd878-03
-
[5]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches via cl-auth-search.py (type=o opinions, type=r dockets), 2026-09-28 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-vesole-dd878-04 through -06
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming DD-878 / DDR-878 located - full sweep completed: 'USS Vesole' opinions 0 results; 'Vesole' opinions 42 hits, all 3 pages reviewed, every hit a name collision - the Iowa attorney-discipline line citing Committee on Professional Ethics & Conduct v. Vesole, 400 N.W.2d 591 (Iowa 1987) (attorney Richard I. Vesole), plus citing cases (Hall-Vesole Co. v. Durkee-Atwood, Minn. 1949; Elsroth v. Consolidated Edison, S.D.N.Y. 1998; Meagher, Cavanagh, Leonhardt and ~35 Iowa disciplinary opinions); none is a ship or asbestos reference. 'Vesole' dockets: 14 hits, all surname collisions - Vesole v. CCH Consolidated Pension Plan (N.D. Ill., ERISA) and 'Vesole' appearances inside bankruptcy creditor matrices (Delphi/DPH Holdings, Motors Liquidation, Puerto Rico PBA, Movie Gallery, Club Ventures, Greenwood Lofts) and unrelated civil filings. 'DD-878' opinions 0; 'DD-878' dockets 8 hits, all identifier collisions (form/exhibit/page numbers inside unrelated bankruptcy, securities, and habeas filings). 'DDR-878' opinions 0; 'DDR-878' dockets 1 hit resolved by full-text review - Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co. (S.D.N.Y. 1:07-cv-04771, suitNature '368 Asbestos personal injury'), ECF No. 17-21 'Exhibit 12 part 2' is a scan of a 1956-57 Navy periodical whose OCR text once reads 'the destroyer USS Vesole (DDR 878) steamed out of Rhodes to aid a Norwegian merchant tanker' in a March 1956 fleet-news item; the hull mention is incidental inside a reproduced publication exhibit, NOT an allegation that any plaintiff was exposed aboard this hull - classified non-qualifying.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Coverage is limited to CourtListener-indexed opinions and federal dockets; unindexed state trial-court filings, settled MDL-875 claimant records, and non-digitized pleadings are not covered. The Gitto hit was resolved to a reproduced periodical mention, not an exposure allegation - 'qualifying' requires a naming in an exposure/work-history allegation, which no located filing makes. No search proves the absence of all possible litigation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-vesole-dd878-04
-
[6]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) - engineering-drawing and expert-report recitals (via gearing-class.class.json ev-04) [court_record]
- Locator
- Goodrich omnibus opinion pp. 12, 19, 31 (as recited in gearing-class.class.json ev-gearing-class-04); DANFS spec block and yard-period narrative (ev-01)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: Vesole was built 1944-45 by Consolidated Steel (Orange, TX) to the Gearing design - a lengthened Sumner hull with 4 Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers and 60,000-shp GE geared steam turbines - in the Navy's peak asbestos-insulation era. Litigation-recited class-level materials: the Goodrich omnibus opinion recites 'an engineering drawing for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class), within which the USS Harlan Dickson fell, specifies the use of amosite felts and asbestos cloths' and quotes a report estimating 'a partial tally of the weight of the asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging products in the fire ... and engine rooms of a ship belonging to the USS Allen M. Sumner (DD 692) and USS Gearing (DD 710) classes of destroyers is 30.3 tons.' Six documented major yard periods (1947 NYNS; 1948 Boston; 1950-51 and 1952-53 Norfolk; 1964 FRAM Philadelphia; 1968 Boston; 1972 Charleston) were events of the type that disturbed machinery-space insulation under era practice.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1976
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1944-45; engineering crews 1945-1976; yard trades at six documented availabilities
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - the Goodrich-recited drawing covers the Sumner DD-692 design group shared by Gearing, and the 30.3-ton figure is an expert partial tally for fire/engine rooms, not a hull inventory and not an adjudicated finding for DD-878. No document located names this hull's materials; establishes no quantity and no individual exposure aboard Vesole.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-vesole-dd878-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. Vesole's service period (1945-76) and six documented yard availabilities all predate or overlap this policy era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; shipboard personnel
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull-specific; describes Navy policy, not materials aboard DD-878. Full text blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403); content via GAO product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-vesole-dd878-06
-
[8]SINKEX Petition to EPA (April 2012), hosted at epa.gov - program-level documentation that SINKEX target hulks were sunk containing asbestos, PCBs, lead, and antifouling paint [other_primary]
- Locator
- epa.gov hosted petition PDF, Introduction and Section II (SINKEX history)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Disposal-phase context: ex-Vesole was sunk as a fleet live-fire target off Puerto Rico 14 April 1983, inside the era when SINKEX vessels went down still containing toxic materials - the 2012 petition records that 'EPA acknowledges that these vessels are sunk while still containing toxic materials within their composition, including asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), iron, lead paint and antifouling paint' and that SINKEX operated under exemptions from ocean-dumping law. No hull-specific pre-sinking hazmat survey or material-removal record for ex-Vesole was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1983 (sinking); 2012 (petition)
- Population
- n/a (post-disposal; ocean environment)
- Limitations
- Program-level (class-of-disposal) context only - the petition does not name Vesole; it characterizes SINKEX practice generally across the 1970-1999 period that includes this hull's 1983 sinking. Establishes that hulks of this era were typically sunk with asbestos aboard, not what ex-Vesole specifically carried. Petition is advocacy-filed material hosted on epa.gov - cited for the acknowledged program practice, not its legal positions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-vesole-dd878-07
-
[9]This record's search ledger: DANFS/NHHC (Wayback); NavSource; Navypedia; Destroyer History Foundation (NARA photo 19-N-125803 only); EPA SINKEX petition; CourtListener API v4 name + hull-number sweeps; web sweep for abatement/survey/litigation records (returned only law-firm marketing pages - excluded per sourcing rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-vesole-dd878-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, museum or Navy hazmat disclosure, or located litigation naming DD-878/DDR-878 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only Vesole-specific asbestos material on the open web is law-firm marketing content (Shepard Law, mesothelioma.net, Gori Law), which is excluded under batch sourcing rules.
- 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 - a 1944-45 Gearing-class steam plant falls within the documented era of heavy naval asbestos use, and the hull's 1983 sinking foreclosed any museum-era survey. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-vesole-dd878-08