USS Walton (DE-361)

Evidence

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

1. [1]Lee v. Celotex Corp., 764 F.2d 1489 (11th Cir. 1985) (No. 84-8273, Roney, J.) [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion para. 2 (three alleged exposure sites) and paras. 1, 6, 8-13 (affirmed summary judgment on product identification); verbatim text cross-checked at law.resource.org reporter scan

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Published federal appellate opinion naming this hull as an alleged asbestos-exposure site: in Lee v. Celotex Corp., 764 F.2d 1489 (11th Cir. 1985), the court recites that Jack H. Lee 'had been exposed to asbestos fibers over a five-year work span' and 'alleged that he had been exposed to defendants' asbestos-containing products while working as a boilertender from April 1941 to December 1945 in three different locations: Union Camp Paper Mill in Savannah, Georgia; the U.S. Naval Base on Cockspur Island near Savannah; and on board the USS Walton.' Lee, 59, died of mesothelioma of the lung. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for National Gypsum: plaintiff could not link 'Gold Bond' cement to any of his three exposure sites, and a plaintiff must show direct exposure to that defendant's product. The ship named is DE-361 - the only USS Walton ever commissioned (laid down 1944-03-21, commissioned 1944-09-04); Lee's aboard window necessarily falls inside her 1944-1945 construction/WWII phase.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   Exposure alleged 1944-1945 window within 1941-1945 span; litigation through 1985-07-12

   Population

   Jack H. Lee, boilertender (1941-1945 span across three sites incl. USS Walton); mesothelioma

   Limitations

   Stage discipline: the USS Walton reference is a plaintiff ALLEGATION recited inside a published appellate opinion - it was never adjudicated as an exposure site, and the opinion AFFIRMED summary judgment for defendant National Gypsum on product-identification grounds (no finding that Lee was exposed to any asbestos product aboard, let alone a specific material). The boilertender exposure span given is April 1941-December 1945 across three sites with no apportionment; whether Lee was Navy crew or a civilian worker aboard is not stated. Establishes an allegation of record naming this hull, not asbestos content, quantity, causation, or any adjudicated exposure fact.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-walton-de361-01

2. [2]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 1231041, Docket No. 10-03 189 (decision 2012-09-11) [court_record]

   Locator

   BVA 1231041 - FINDING OF FACT, ORDER, 'Reasons and Bases' asbestos recital (hearing transcript citations at 3, 5, 10); VA examiner nexus opinion discussion

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Board of Veterans' Appeals merits decision naming this hull, Citation Nr. 1231041 (decided 2012-09-11; Docket No. 10-03 189; VLJ John J. Crowley; appeal from a December 2007 rating decision, RO Montgomery, Alabama). The veteran served active duty January 1948 - January 1952 as a fireman apprentice and machinist mate; personnel records corroborate service aboard USS Hamner (DD-718) and USS Walton. He testified 'that during an overhaul of the ship, his duties were mainly performed in the engine room where he tore down pumps and repacked valves, exposing him to more asbestos.' The Board found his personnel records contain no information on asbestos use aboard either ship; recited that period general specifications required heated surfaces (piping, flanges, valves, fittings, machinery, boilers, evaporators, heaters) to be insulated and that 'it is highly probable that asbestos products were used to achieve this end'; expressly 'assume[d], without deciding' some in-service exposure. FINDING OF FACT: the lung disability 'did not have onset in service and was not caused or aggravated by ... active military service, including exposure to asbestos.' ORDER: 'The appeal is denied' - the September 2009 VA examiner attributed the asbestosis more likely than not to 34 years of post-service exposure at B.F. Goodrich (10 years as a pipe fitter), and the favorable 1995 private diagnosis was discounted on credibility grounds.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   Alleged exposure circa 1951-1952 (aboard window); adjudication through 2012-09-11

   Population

   Individual claimant - fireman apprentice / machinist mate aboard USS Walton (and USS Hamner), USN 1948-1952

   Limitations

   Stage discipline: final federal administrative benefits adjudication, not a tort finding - the Board assumed in-service exposure arguendo and DENIED service connection on the nexus element only, so this is a merits-level adverse outcome for the claimant, not an adjudicated finding of exposure. The engine-room pump/valve work description is the veteran's own hearing testimony, not a verified materials record; the 'overhaul' is undated (his aboard window falls within Walton's post-recommissioning period, 1951-01 to 1952-01). DE-361 attribution is firm - the only USS Walton ever commissioned. Establishes a documented allegation and its denial; establishes no quantity, no exposure for other crew, no product identification, and no proven exposure for this claimant.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-walton-de361-02

3. [3]Agena v. Cleaver-Brooks, Inc., No. 1:19-cv-00089-DKW-RT (D. Haw.); orders at 428 F. Supp. 3d 267 (2019-12-19) and companion 2020 orders (separate trials; fraud-damages standard) [court_record]

   Locator

   CourtListener docket index for 1:19-cv-00089 (D. Haw.); case character verified via published orders summarized on non-CL mirrors (vLex/ecases/exa) - complaint full text not retrieved (RECAP document fetch prohibited by batch rule; only transmittal doc indexed)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Asbestos-derivative docket in which 'USS Walton' appears in indexed CourtListener docket text: Agena v. Cleaver-Brooks, Inc., No. 1:19-cv-00089-DKW (D. Haw., filed 2019-02-20, terminated 2021-08-31) - a RICO/Hawaii-law fraud action by 73 former asbestos plaintiffs (56 settlements executed 2007-2015) alleging they were fraudulently induced to settle their prior asbestos personal-injury claims because Cleaver-Brooks and its national coordinating counsel concealed adverse discovery information. Published orders include 428 F. Supp. 3d 267 (D. Haw. 2019) (counsel disqualification). The USS Walton reference sits in the docketed case file (the transmittal of the Hawaii state-court record incl. the operative complaint, which recites per-plaintiff exposure histories) - but which plaintiff, whether service was aboard this hull versus another 'Walton' context, and the allegation detail are not retrievable from the public index.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   Underlying settlements 2007-2015; this action 2019-2021

   Population

   Unverified from index - one of 73 former asbestos plaintiffs' service histories

   Limitations

   Pleading-stage removal docket: the case is second-order fraud litigation over prior asbestos settlements - the hull reference is at best an allegation within the underlying exposure histories, and its role (aboard-service vs. other) is unresolved. Unadjudicated as to this hull; establishes nothing about materials aboard, exposure, quantity, or eligibility. Hawaii situs is consistent with Walton's Pearl Harbor homeport era but proves nothing.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-walton-de361-03

4. [4]DANFS, Walton (DE-361) (namesake sketch + full service narrative + spec block; verbatim text - live NHHC page serves 404; text verified identical at NHHC via Wayback capture 20251210025527 and HyperWar mirror) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC DANFS 'Walton (DE-361)' entry - namesake paragraph, spec block '(DE-361: dp. 1,350 ... cpl. 186 ... cl. John C. Butler)', service narrative, closing disposition; identical mirror https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/DE/de361.html

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: laid down 21 March 1944 at Orange, Tex., by Consolidated Steel Corp.; launched 20 May 1944; commissioned 4 September 1944. Shakedown Bermuda; post-shakedown availability Boston Navy Yard; Norfolk school ship Nov 1944; CortDiv 85 to the Pacific; Manus repairs/alterations (twin 40mm to quad mount); convoy escort Hollandia-Leyte-Lingayen-Kossol; Subic Bay ASW and submarine training 1945; hunter-killer group with Rolf and Munro; Buckner Bay 2 Sep 1945; escorted Mercy to Jinsen, Korea (11 mines exploded); LST-towed LCT collision damage 26 Sep 1945, repaired alongside Jason (ARH-1); China coast operations, Hong Kong, Shanghai; Magic Carpet; decommissioned to reserve San Diego 31 May 1946. Recommissioned San Diego 26 Jan 1951; homeport Pearl Harbor 4 Nov 1951; Korea 1952 (Hungnam blockade, 2,000+ 5-inch rounds, KSM + UN + ROK PUC; two battle stars total); Pearl Harbor shipyard availability Sep 1952 and major overhaul before May 1953; WestPac deployments 1953 (post-armistice), 1954 (Hong Kong station ship), 1955 (Marianas surveillance/SAR), 1956-era fifth, 1957 sixth (Townsville with McGinty); three-month Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard overhaul then Reserve CortRon 1 / CortDiv 12 at San Francisco Jul 1958; Berlin-crisis recall Oct 1961, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard overhaul Dec 1961; seventh WestPac 1962 incl. Danang patrols; San Francisco reserve training to decommission 20 Sep 1968; struck 23 Sep 1968; sunk as target 7 Aug 1969. Two battle stars for Korean War service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1944-1969

   Population

   Consolidated Steel construction trades (Orange TX, 1944); wartime crew; 1951-1968 active and reserve crews incl. 70-man selected reserve crew (1961); yard and tender workforces at documented availabilities

   Limitations

   DANFS documents identity, specifications, service history, and disposition - it does not address materials or asbestos content. Narrative reads 'departed San Diego on 19 April 1962' bound for Korea - a DANFS typo for 1952 (Korean deployment culminating May 1952, armistice context 1953); logged in gaps. Yard/tender periods named (Boston Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard overhauls, alongside Jason/Bryce Canyon/Hamul, Todd Alameda per NavSource) are documented events whose asbestos scope is inference only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-walton-de361-04

5. [5]NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Walton (DE-361), file 06/361 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource DE-361 page - spec block, 'Building and Operational Data' milestone list, photo captions (1965 Todd Alameda drydock; 1962 Saigon), CO table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive file 06/361 corroborating and supplementing the DANFS timeline: flag hoist/radio call sign NTOU, tactical call 'Otis'; spec block (class John C. Butler, type WGT; 1,350 lt / 1,745 fl tons; 2 'D' express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws; complement 14 officers/201 enlisted); building/operational milestones (commissioned at Orange City Dock; steamed 69,854 miles in first commission; inactivation completed San Diego 1946-08-03; assigned NRT 12th Naval District San Francisco 1958-07-20 as Reserve Escort Division 12; activated for Berlin Crisis 1961-10-01 as Escort Squadron 7/CortDiv 71; returned to San Francisco and Reserve Destroyer Squadron 27 1962-08-01; decommissioned 1968-09-20 at the U.S. Naval Ship Inactivation Facility, San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Mare Island Division; struck from NVR 1968-09-23 after 19 years 5 months total service; sunk as target off California 1969-08-07); dated photo captions including a drydock overhaul at Todd Shipyards (3 October 1965) and Saigon port call 24-26 February 1962.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1944-1969

   Population

   Crew and reserve trainees 1944-1968

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled secondary archive used for corroboration and event detail - not an official record; milestone entries are consistent with DANFS where they overlap (inactivation-facility wording and the 1965 Todd Alameda drydock are NavSource-sourced details). Complement 14/201 differs from DANFS spec block 186 - variance logged, DANFS carried. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-walton-de361-05

6. [6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v1 design-group-6 table (shipscribe.com scan) + navypedia WGT boiler-block map + class-profile litigation context (Jack v. Borg-Warner exhibit list document identifications) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group table row 6 (WGT); navypedia us_de_tev_wgt block map; class profile john-c-butler-class ev-03/-04 document identifications

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: this hull carried the John C. Butler-class WGT steam plant - BuShips design group 6, two 'D' express boilers at 435 psi / 750 deg F (Combustion Engineering in the DE-339-372 block per navypedia's boiler map) driving two Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 12,000 shp - built at peak-era WWII asbestos usage at the Consolidated Steel Orange, Texas yard. The machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. The class's only located litigation record (Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec, W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537, naming sister DE-446) documents the era theory that evaporator/distiller insulation on DEs was Navy-specified - allegation/exhibit-list level. The veteran's BVA testimony in ev-02 describes exactly this pathway aboard this hull (engine-room pump teardown and valve repacking during an overhaul).

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1944-1969

   Population

   Consolidated Steel Orange construction trades (1944); crew and reserve trainees 1944-1968; documented yard/tender workforces

   Limitations

   Class/era and machinery-plant inference only - NOT a hull record. No specification, material schedule, or survey naming DE-361 was located; the ship-specific records are the three litigation documents (ev-01 allegation, ev-02 denied claim, ev-03 unresolved docket reference). Establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation for this hull. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-walton-de361-06

7. [7]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987); Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]

   Locator

   AJIM 11(3):359-373 abstract; J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (PubMed PMID 21016030)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed era documentation: asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII (Corn & Starr 1987) - the era and construction program under which this John C. Butler-class DE was mass-produced; the USMC-commissioned 1944-45 industrial-hygiene survey found amosite 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels' (Fleischer et al. 1946).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1940s era documented; articles 1946/1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-walton-de361-07

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 to automated fetch, HTTP 403; content via product-page description)

   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. For this hull, original-era material present in 1944 would plausibly have persisted through the documented 1950s-60s overhauls unless those events removed it; the hull was then inactivated (1968) and sunk as a target (1969), taking whatever material remained down with the hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1975-1979 policy documented; hull relevant 1944-1969

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers (program context)

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation that POSTDATES this hull's decommissioning (1968) - it describes the Navy-wide insulation-retention policy of the period, not any survey of this hull. Establishes a retention-and-disturbance framing only; does not establish presence aboard, quantities, or exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-walton-de361-08

9. [9]This record's search ledger (sl-uss-walton-de361-01 through -09) [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-walton-de361-01 through -09

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No further ship-specific asbestos record located beyond the three litigation documents (ev-01 published opinion reciting an allegation; ev-02 denied BVA claim; ev-03 unresolved docket reference): no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, sampling study, product-identification finding, or tort adjudication naming DE-361 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The 'DE-361' opinion sweep returned 21 hits, all docket-entry-number collisions ([DE-361] = ECF numbering) - none asbestos, none naming the hull. Indexed-web checking surfaced only law-firm marketing ship lists naming DE-361 (shepardlawfirm.com navy-veterans page; mesotheliomabook.com destroyer list; freeasbestostesting.com DE list) - an excluded source class asserting era-typical content without primary support - plus 'DE-361' court hits that are docket-entry-number collisions ([DE-361] = ECF numbering), not 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 - a 1944 WGT steam DE is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, the three litigation records are allegations/dispositions rather than physical findings, and the hull's sinking as a target (1969) foreclosed any later survey or museum-disclosure pathway. Does not establish presence or absence beyond the located records; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-walton-de361-09

10. [10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); insulation-spec suite per Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec exhibit list (W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537, ECF 738 att.1) [other_primary]

    Locator

    https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; Jack v. Borg-Warner exhibit list items Honeywell-160 through -167 (class-profile documented)

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Walton 1944-1968 (RG 24, NARA); Bureau of Ships records including the General Information Books holding per-vessel material specifications (RG 19) - the correct next pull for hull-level specs; Consolidated Steel Corp. contract/records for the Orange, Texas yard (RG 19 contract files); the era insulation-spec suite identified in John C. Butler-class litigation materials (BuShips Manual ch.39 Thermal Insulation NAVSHIPS 250-000(39), 24 Aug 1945; Navy Dept spec 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos', 15 Oct 1945; BuEng Manual ch.13 heat insulation, 1933/1939; BUMED Code-55 memo 'Occupational Health Issues for POM-80', 9 Jun 1977).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    1944-1977 records

    Limitations

    Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-walton-de361-10