Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]DANFS, William C. Miller (DE-259) (namesake biography, builder, dates, service narrative, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture 2025-02-02 of the canonical history.navy.mil page confirms identical text) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative; canonical URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/w/william-c-miller.html (404 live); Wayback web.archive.org/web/20250202214718
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Radioman Third Class William Cicero Miller (born Thomasville, N.C., 18 July 1919; enlisted 20 October 1937; rear-seat radioman/gunner for Lt. Clarence E. Dickinson, Jr., Scouting Squadron (VS) 6, USS Enterprise (CV-6); killed over Oahu 7 December 1941 defending their SBD-3 Dauntless during the Pearl Harbor attack - downed one Zero despite wounds, went down with the aircraft; posthumous commendation from the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet). Laid down 10 January 1943 at Boston, Mass., by the Boston Navy Yard; launched 22 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Melvin B. Miller, the namesake's mother; commissioned 2 July 1943, Lt. Comdr. Frederick C. Storey, USNR. Shakedown Bermuda; post-shakedown availability Boston Navy Yard to 27 August 1943; Panama Canal 1-3 September; San Diego and San Francisco; Pearl Harbor via Convoy 4796 screen; Operation 'Galvanic' - screened Tarawa garrison group (TG 54.9) and patrolled area 'Longsuit' November-December 1943; upkeep alongside tender Black Hawk (AD-9) at Pearl Harbor; Kwajalein and Majuro occupation 29 January-8 February 1944; Eniwetok 17 February-2 March; Saipan 26 June-10 August; Tinian 24 July-10 August. On 14 July 1944 off Saipan, working with a hunter-killer group (Gilmer (APD-11) OTC), she made sound contact at 1,700 yards and dropped three 13-charge depth-charge patterns; debris and a 'heavy and prolonged underwater explosion' followed - a postwar accounting credited William C. Miller with the destruction of Japanese submarine I-6. Departed Tinian 21 August with Indianapolis (CA-35); Pearl Harbor ordnance repairs at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard from 24 November 1944 into 1945; Iwo Jima assault and occupation 23 February-16 March 1945 (TU 51.6.2); returned to the west coast; sailed 13 June 1945 for Hawaii with Cabana (DE-260); screened 3d Fleet units operating against the Japanese home islands into mid-August; arrived Tokyo Bay 26 August and was present for the formal surrender 2 September 1945. Reached San Francisco 17 October 1945; decommissioned at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard 21 December 1945 and stripped of all usable equipment; struck from the Navy list 8 January 1946; sold to Mr. Fred Perry of New York City 10 April 1947; hulk scrapped 19 November 1947. Seven battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 156); Pearl Harbor Navy Yard and Mare Island availability/decommissioning crews
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing link rot, matches Batch-01/4116/4174); verbatim hazegray/losthistory transcription cited and cross-checked against the 2025-02-02 Wayback capture of the canonical history.navy.mil URL - text identical. The I-6 credit is a postwar accounting as DANFS states.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-01
-
[2]Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945 (SHIPS-8(A) Vol. I), Bureau of Ships, Navy Department, 15 April 1945 - individual-vessel entry for MILLER, WILLIAM C. DE-259, roster row 225 (declassified scan via shipscribe.com; 400-dpi re-OCR) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I, DE alphabetical roster, row 225 (book pp. 254-255 spread; shipscribe scan PDF p. 136)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips data-book entry for this hull (Destroyer-Escort Vessels alphabetical roster, row 225): 'MILLER, WILLIAM C. | DE259 | GMT | Navy Yard, Boston | 3,180,000 | Jan. 25, 1942 | Jan. 10, 1943 | Feb. 22, 1943 | ... | July 2, 1943' - i.e., DE-259 assigned to design group GMT; built by Navy Yard, Boston; contract price (hull and machinery) $3,180,000; contract signed 25 January 1942; keel laid 10 January 1943; launched 22 February 1943; first commission 2 July 1943. All three construction dates corroborate DANFS exactly.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943
- Limitations
- Official building/accountability record; documents group assignment, builder, contract, and dates - not materials or asbestos content. The GMT group designation is the ship-specific datum here; what the group designation means mechanically is defined at group level (see ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-03). Scanned-image source; the spread interleaves left/right page columns and required 400-dpi crop-OCR to resolve the row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-02
-
[3]Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945 (SHIPS-8(A) Vol. I), Bureau of Ships - Destroyer-Escort design-group characteristics table, pp. 234-235 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I, DE design-group characteristics table, pp. 234-235 (shipscribe scan PDF p. 127; same table OCR-verified for batch-4116 DE-20)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official design-group characteristics table for destroyer escorts: 'GMT = Diesel electric tandem motor drive - short hull.' GMT group characteristics: length overall 289 ft 5 in, waterline 283 ft 6 in, extreme beam 35 ft 2 in, standard displacement 1,140 tons, full-load 1,430 tons, trial speed 21.5 knots; machinery: 2 propellers, G.M. diesel model 16-278A, 6,000 shaft horsepower; boilers column: none; accommodations 15 officers + 183 enlisted. Applies to DE-259 via its ship-specific GMT group assignment (ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-02).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (publication); describes 1943 construction
- Population
- GMT-design crews (design accommodations 15 officers + 183 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Group-level machinery definition applied to this hull through its official group assignment; establishes the propulsion type (diesel-electric, no steam plant and no boilers) but documents no materials and no asbestos content. Group characteristics describe the design; individual-ship as-built variation is not ruled out by this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-03
-
[4]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS William C. Miller (DE 259) page (building/operational data, photo captions citing official U.S. Navy/NARA photo numbers, commanding-officer roster) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/259.htm - specifications block, building/operational data list, photo-caption block, CO roster
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource archive for this hull: keel laid 10 January 1943 by Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Mass.; launched/christened 22 February 1943 (sponsor Mrs. Melvin B. Miller); commissioned 2 July 1943, Lcdr. Frederick C. Storey, USNR; decommissioned '17 December 1945' at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Cal. after 2 years 5.5 months (conflicts with DANFS's 21 December - carried in gaps); struck 8 January '1945' (typographical - impossible while commissioned; DANFS reads 8 January 1946); sold 10 April 1947 to Mr. Fred Perry, New York City, scrapping completed 19 November 1947. Photo captions citing official Navy photo numbers document an overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard from 12 April to 28 May 1945 during which the ship (with Cabana (DE-260)) received new 40 mm gun mounts (photos DE-259 19-N-86023, 19-N-86025, DE-259-3589-45, -3586-45, -2493-45, -2796-45, -3797-45, -3798-45). CO roster: Storey (Jul 1943-Jan 1944); Lcdr. Duncan Forbes Francis, USNR (Jan 1944-Feb 1945); Lt./Lcdr. Richard Small, USNR (Feb-Nov 1945); Lt. Irving Heddens Smith Jr., USNR (Nov-21 Dec 1945, decommissioning CO). Type line reads GMT diesel-electric tandem motor drive, short hull; armament/specs consistent with DANFS/BuShips.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard overhaul workforce Apr-May 1945; wartime crew
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive - not an official publication; its photo captions quote official NARA photo numbers and its CO roster cites named contributors, but each datum still sits below DANFS/BuShips authority. The '17 December' decommissioning and '8 January 1945' strike dates conflict with DANFS (21 December 1945 / 8 January 1946); DANFS is carried and the conflict is logged in gaps. No asbestos, materials, or hazmat information appears anywhere on the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-04
-
[5]Ships' Data 1945 GMT group machinery record (no boilers; diesel-electric) + Atlas shipyard dataset records for Boston Naval Shipyard (tier 3; John Crane gaskets/sealing litigation), Mare Island Naval Shipyard (tier 2; yard ACM documented in 1998 EIS/EIR), Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (documented products; cohort studies) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I pp. 234-235 and roster row 225; shipyards.json records 'boston-naval-shipyard', 'mare-island-naval-shipyard', 'pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: an Evarts-class (GMT design group) destroyer escort built 1943 has NO boilers or steam system, so the largest asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler insulation and steam-line lagging) do not apply; era-standard asbestos uses aboard a diesel-electric escort would concentrate in exhaust-system insulation and lagging, machinery-space lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings on winches and windlass, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Boston Naval Shipyard is documented in the Atlas shipyard dataset (tier 3) with John Crane gasket/sealing-material allegations in litigation; the hull's 1944-45 Pearl Harbor Navy Yard ordnance-repair period and 1945 Mare Island overhaul/decommissioning put it inside two further yards with documented asbestos-era records.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943; Pearl Harbor Navy Yard repair workforce 1944-45; Mare Island Navy Yard overhaul/decommissioning workforce 1945; crew 1943-45
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The verified yard product records cannot be dated onto this hull: Boston's product-level record states no period, Mare Island's verified products post-date this hull (1968-1994), and Pearl Harbor's cohort records are yard-level epidemiology. No ship-specific asbestos itemization exists; does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-05
-
[6]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-259 (built 1943) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- 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 or any diesel-escort application specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-06
-
[7]NARA holdings leads: WWII deck logs (RG 24 / 'Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978') for DE-259; Boston Navy Yard construction records (RG 181); BuShips General Information Books (RG 19) - per-vessel material specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov (RG 24 / RG 181 / RG 19 series); digitized deck-log inventory page archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/digitized-logs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Unretrieved archival leads that could hold hull-level material documentation: NARA RG 24 WWII deck logs for DE-259 (1943-45, held at Archives II, College Park); Boston Navy Yard construction records under RG 181 (the builder); BuShips General Information Books (RG 19), which hold per-vessel material specifications where they survive. No digitized hull-level material record was located online; the NARA digitized deck-log inventory does not surface DE-259.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1947 (record coverage)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - these repositories are unsearched for this hull; no ship-specific material specification was retrieved. Deck logs record operations, not materials; the GIB is the likelier material-spec source if a volume for DE-259 exists. NARA catalog API queries returned no programmatically retrievable DE-259 records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-07
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for 'USS William C. Miller' / 'DE-259' / 'William C. Miller' asbestos (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results 2026-09-28: 'USS William C. Miller' type=o count=0; 'DE-259' type=o count=16 (all ECF-entry collisions); 'USS William C. Miller' type=r count=0 (completed on sixth spaced attempt after five stand-downs across ~90 min)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Opinion sweep '"USS William C. Miller"' (type=o): 0 hits. Hull-number sweep '"DE-259"' (type=o): 16 hits, all string collisions - '[DE-259]' appears as an ECF document-entry-number citation inside unrelated federal opinions (bankruptcy, SEC, civil rights, commercial; e.g. In re Tousa Inc., Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2009; Boca Raton Community Hospital v. Tenet, S.D. Fla. 2006); zero vessel, Navy, destroyer-escort, or asbestos references. Docket-index sweep '"USS William C. Miller"' (type=r): 0 dockets - completed after spaced retries once the fleet-paced budget freed. A bare-name '"William C. Miller" asbestos' sweep was not run: the name is a common personal name and the query was pacing-blocked while the budget was saturated; logged in the ledger and gaps.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage is the CourtListener opinion index plus the RECAP docket index for the exact ship string; state-court dockets not mirrored, PACER-only filings, and settled/undocketed claims are outside it. 'No result' does not prove no claim was ever filed - it proves no indexed opinion or docket names the ship. A bare-surname 'William C. Miller' asbestos sweep remains unrun and, given the common name, would need manual collision review even if completed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-william-c-miller-de259-08
-
[9]Batch-4180 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcriptions + Wayback capture; NavSource archive page; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I (OCR); GAO product page; NARA digitized deck-log inventory; VA/BVA web search; general web sweep; CourtListener sweeps (see sl-04 through sl-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-william-c-miller-de259-01 through sl-uss-william-c-miller-de259-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-259: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or docketed asbestos claim naming DE-259 was found in the sources searched. The hull was sold for scrapping in 1947, before any survey regime existed, and had no museum, NRHP/NHL, or reserve-fleet phase that could have produced hazmat records. The only 'asbestos' hits naming USS William C. Miller (DE-259) in general web search are law-firm marketing listicles that enumerate every WWII hull (asbestos-ships.com, freeasbestostesting.com, shepardlawfirm.com, elslaw.com) - non-authoritative and excluded by batch rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof of absence aboard - 1943 escort construction falls inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era, and both the builder yard and the repair yards are documented asbestos-era yards. Deck logs (RG 24), Boston Navy Yard construction records (RG 181), and BuShips General Information Books (RG 19) 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-william-c-miller-de259-09