Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 806-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (identity confirmed; sourcing thin
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (identity confirmed; sourcing thin
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-1097-lcil1097-pkt-806-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-1097 page (history credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/151097.htm header block, campaign table, unit-assignment paragraph, awards block, disposition lines, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down, date unknown, at Defoe Shipbuilding, Bay City, MI; launched, date unknown; commissioned USS LCI(L)-1097 on 17 October 1944, LTjg. J. E. Wood USNR in command; assigned in WWII to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater - LCI Flotilla Nineteen (LCDR. E. C. Floger), LCI Group Fifty-Five (LCDR. S. J. Kelley USNR), LCI Division One Hundred Ten - with a printed campaign table: Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 8 to 30 June 1945); 'earned one battle star for World War II service'. Post-war: Occupation duty in the Far East from 2 September 1945 to 2 April 1946; decommissioned in October 1953; laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group, Green Cove Springs; struck from the Naval Register in 1956; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Awards printed: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1), WWII Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal; a Navy Occupation Service Medal ribbon image is displayed but not named in the printed text block (consistent with the printed Occupation-duty window). Photo captions document the hull moored pierside with USS LST(H)-652 at Navy Pier, Chicago, 6 December 1944 during the 6th War Bond Drive Exhibition - taken after commissioning at Defoe and 'prior to her trip down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers and out to the Pacific War' - and participating in the Navy Exhibit, 6th War Loan Campaign 'Pacific Theater', Navy Pier, 18 November - 3 December 1944 (a mock invasion beach landing demonstration on Foster Beach alongside USS LSM-329, USS LST-652, USS Wolverine (IX-64), YP-67, USS PCE(R)-856). Call sign NZUU. Spec block: 246 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max; 4 officers + 24 enlisted; five single 20mm gun mounts; propulsion 'two sets of 4 General Motors 6051 series 71 Diesel engines, 4 per shaft', single GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1956
- Population
- Defoe construction trades (1944); crew 1944-53 (4 officers + 24 enlisted complement; embarked troops up to ~188)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained secondary compilation drawing on the Turner Publishing unit-history book, not a primary registry; milestone dates generally track NHHC-derived data. Contains no asbestos or material content. Three printed anomalies flagged in gaps: laid-down/launched dates printed 'unknown'; displacement printed 246 t. light vs the 236 t. printed on sister pages and shipbuildinghistory; '6051 series 71' is a transcription slip for the GM 6-71 series documented on sister pages and in HAER class documentation. The October-1953 decommissioning conflicts with the LCI(L) production list's 'laid up 1946' - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-01
-
[3]National Archives, 'Special Lists 43 - 44' file unit (NAID 178406296, RG 64, M248 roll 40, fully scanned) - Special List 44, Navy deck-log inventory (RG 24, National Archives at College Park, MD), records deck logs for LCI(L)-1097 covering 17 October 1944 - 30 June 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA NAID 178406296, M248-40.pdf page 635 (Special List 44, deck-log inventory, LCI(L)-1097 row); RG 24 deck logs, College Park; program page archives.gov/research/military/logbooks
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds Navy deck logs for USS LCI(L)-1097 covering 17 October 1944 through 30 June 1945 (verified this session against the scanned Special List 44 inventory itself - combined M248-40 scan, PDF page 635, SL44 internal page 21; the hull row prints 'Oct. 17, 1944-June 30, 1945' with a single logbook). The coverage start coincides with the 17 October 1944 commissioning date per NavSource, but endpoints are log-coverage bounds, not commissioned/decommissioned claims. The window spans the ship's first eight and a half months - commissioning, the Chicago war-loan exhibit, the transit south, deployment to the Pacific, and the whole of her printed Okinawa campaign window (8-30 June 1945, ending on the same day the log coverage ends). Deck logs of this period are the daily operational record of the vessel - the primary source for positions, moorings, availabilities, casualties, and embarked personnel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-10-17 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- Officers and crew of LCI(L)-1097, October 1944 - June 1945
- Limitations
- Log-coverage endpoints are holdings bounds, not service-life claims. Contents were not individually inspected this session; logs after 30 June 1945 (through the printed October 1953 decommissioning) exist or existed in NARA custody but their holdings status for this hull is unconfirmed in this inventory - this hull does not appear on the NARA digitized-logs public list (checked 2026-09-29; 'League Island (LST-1097)' and 'Moinester (DE/FF-1097)' entries are different hulls). No asbestos content asserted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-02
-
[4]NARA Catalog records for this hull: 'LCI(L) 1097 - Muster Rolls' (NAID 120320262, RG 24 Bureau of Naval Personnel, Ancestry partnership scan, 91 images openly posted, first roll dated 1944-12-31); and 'Navy Exhibit 6th War Loan Campaign, Chicago, IL' photograph file unit (NAID 135843916, RG 181 Records of Navy Installations Command, at NARA New York) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 120320262 (RG 24 muster rolls, 91 images, roll dated 1944-12-31); NAID 135843916 (RG 181, NARA New York); NAID 153723308 (item within the war-loan file unit)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two hull-specific record sets confirmed live in the NARA catalog: (1) the ship's muster rolls - 91 scanned images openly accessible in the catalog (Ancestry-NARA partnership), the quarterly personnel roster beginning 31 December 1944, the primary source for the actual crew list during the deployment and Okinawa window; (2) the RG 181 file unit 'Navy Exhibit 6th War Loan Campaign, Chicago, IL' - the official photograph series of the November-December 1944 Navy Pier exhibition in which NavSource captions document this hull participating (the NavSource-captioned US National Archives Identifier 153723308 resolves to an item within this file unit). The war-loan documentation corroborates the unusual service detail that a newly-commissioned Pacific-bound landing craft first steamed to Chicago for a public exhibition and mock invasion-beach demonstration before descending the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (muster-roll series span through 1949)
- Population
- Officers and crew of LCI(L)-1097 (muster rolls, 1944-45); exhibition personnel and visitors, Navy Pier Chicago, Nov-Dec 1944
- Limitations
- Existence and image availability verified in the NARA catalog (all pages HTTP 200; muster-roll images openly downloadable - not membership-gated at catalog level); contents not read frame-by-frame. The war-loan file unit is exhibition photography, not a ship operational record; the NavSource caption attribution to NAID 153723308 was verified to resolve inside file unit 135843916. Muster rolls name personnel but contain no material or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-03
-
[5]NARA Catalog, unit war diaries and action reports for this hull's documented formations (all RG 38, catalog-digitized, openly accessible): COM LCI(L) FLOT 19 - War Diary, 6/1-30/45 (NAID 101722599, read this session); COM LCI(L) FLOT 19 - War Diary, 9/25/44 to 2/28/45 (NAID 139915489), 3/1-31/45 (NAID 139975605), 4/1-30/45 (NAID 77584903), 5/1-31/45 (NAID 140013000), 8/1-31/45 (NAID 77548243); COM LCI(L) GR 55 - Rep of ops in the occupation of the Okinawa Gunto, Ryukyu Is, 5/1-31/45 (NAID 140041816, read this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 101722599 (FLOT 19 June 1945 diary, 3 images, read in full); NAID 140041816 (GR 55 Nansei Shoto action report 5/1-31/45, 8 images, read in full); additional FLOT 19 diaries NAIDs 139915489, 139975605, 77584903, 140013000, 77548243 (existence verified, unread)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Formation-level primary records for the units NavSource assigns to this hull were located and two were read in full this session. (1) FLOT 19 June 1945 diary (NAID 101722599, 3 pages, SECRET, signed E. C. Floger): the flotilla commander and staff were marooned at Guam aboard LC(FF) 423 while 'of the 37 ships assigned to this flotilla over half of them are in the Okinawa area'; the 29 June entry records '25 of our 37 ships are there [Okinawa] and the other 12 are geographically scattered from Leyte to Iwo Jima' - consistent with this hull's printed Okinawa window (8-30 June 1945) under detached operational control. (2) GR 55 action report 'Action Report - NANSEI SHOTO (OKINAWA) Operation - 1 May to 31 May 1945' (NAID 140041816, 8 pages, CONFIDENTIAL, serial GR55/A12-1/A16 040, Lt.Comdr. S. J. Kelley USNR): Task Unit 52.23.2 'Mortar Support Division TWO' operated under CTU 52.9.4 Commander Southern Support Gunboats (Capt. C. E. Coffin Jr., Commander LCI Flotilla SIXTEEN) - NOT Flotilla Nineteen - providing smoke coverage off the Hagushi beaches, AA screening, flotsam patrol, and three fire-support missions against Naha Town on 15 May; the division's May roster comprised LCI(M) mortar conversions 633 (flagship), 757, 1011, 1012, 1023, then 760, 632, 1010 - LCI(L)-1097 is NOT named anywhere in the report.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-09 to 1945-08 (diary coverage located); documents read cover May-June 1945
- Population
- LCI Flotilla 19 / Group 55 / Division 110 crews; flotilla staff (8 officers + 21 enlisted aboard LC(FF) 423 at Guam)
- Limitations
- Both key documents read in full this session (openly digitized catalog images). Formation records are group/flotilla-level: the June FLOT 19 diary places flotilla boats at Okinawa without naming hulls, and the May GR 55 report's division roster is LCI(M) mortar boats only - it does NOT document LCI(L)-1097's participation in the May actions, and its command chain (Flotilla SIXTEEN operational control) differs from NavSource's printed Flotilla Nineteen assignment, consistent with wartime detachment. Whether hull 1097 appears in other monthly diaries or the June GR 55-equivalent report (not located this session) is unverified. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-04
-
[6]ShipbuildingHistory, 'Defoe Shipbuilding' yard table (hull 350 = LCI(L) 1097, US Navy landing craft, 236d t., 158 ft, 1-Oct-44, 'Struck 1956') and companion LCI(L) production list (LCI(L) 1097, Defoe SB, Bay City MI, 17-Oct-44, 'Laid up 1946, sunk as target 1956') [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/defoe.htm row 350; shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/lcil.htm LCI(L) 1097 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent shipyard-production tabulation corroborates builder and identity: Defoe Shipbuilding, Bay City MI, built LCI(L)s 1052-1098; yard hull 350 is LCI(L) 1097, a 236-ton, 158-ft landing craft dated October 1944; the companion LCI(L) table dates her 17 October 1944 (the commissioning date per NavSource). The two tables' disposition cells disagree with NavSource and with each other: the yard table prints 'Struck 1956' (consistent with NavSource's strike year) while the LCI(L) production list prints 'Laid up 1946, sunk as target 1956' - the latter conflicting with NavSource/Turner's chain (occupation duty to April 1946, decommissioned October 1953, Atlantic Reserve Fleet Green Cove Springs, struck 1956, fate unknown).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944; 1946-1956 (disposal notes)
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding trades, Bay City, 1944
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled production tables (shipbuildinghistory.com), not primary records; the yard-page '1-Oct-44' column is a build-month marker while the LCI page prints 17-Oct-44 matching NavSource's commissioning. The 'laid up 1946' cell contradicts NavSource's October-1953 decommissioning and the printed NDSM ribbon (a 1950-54 service medal) - a real unresolved conflict, not a typo to silently harmonize. 'Sunk as target 1956' vs 'fate unknown' is likewise unresolved; no authoritative 1956 disposal document was located. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-05
-
[7]'US Navy Landing Ships/Craft, 1940-1945' (HyperWar transcription of the NHHC 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' ship-list compilation), LCI(L) section, LCI(L)-1097 entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ships-lc.html, LCI(L) section, LCI(L)-1097 table row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC-derived register lists LCI(L)-1097 among the 1942-44 commissioned LCI(L)s with no loss, conversion, or transfer annotation - consistent with the NavSource/Turner service history (remained LCI(L) throughout; not sunk in wartime, not lend-leased, not redesignated LCI(G)/(M)/(R) or LSIL). No individual DANFS entry exists for this hull: the Navy's Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships did not publish per-hull histories for numbered landing craft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (register coverage)
- Limitations
- Register-level confirmation of existence and commission window only - no operational detail, no asbestos content. HyperWar is a transcription mirror of an official NHHC compilation; the underlying register is the authoritative element.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-06
-
[8]Historic American Engineering Record documentation of LCI-351-class sister hulls: HAER OR-180, LCI(L)-713 (George Lawley & Son, 1944; AFMM museum vessel, Portland OR) and HAER AK-52, M/V Husky II ex-USS LCI(L)-653 (LCI-351 class, 1944) [haer]
- Locator
- HAER OR-180 (or0606data.pdf), description/historical sections; HAER AK-52 (ak0557data.pdf), insulation passages (mid-1980s conversion work)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Federal HAER documentation describes the LCI-351 class's construction: welded steel plate, two decks with troop compartments and crew spaces on the lower deck, deckhouse with accommodations/mess/wardroom/galley, and an engine room containing eight General Motors 6-71 diesel engines driving two shafts with variable-pitch propellers - the same plant NavSource's spec block lists for this hull (under the '6051 series 71' transcription slip; the 6-71 reading is corroborated by HAER and sister-hull spec blocks). Neither HAER record mentions asbestos; full text of both was extracted this session and 'asbestos' appears zero times - the only insulation applications described (Husky II spray-on reefer-hold and cooling-unit insulation) date to a mid-1980s fishing-tender conversion, not naval service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944 (class construction); HAER surveys 2011-2014
- Population
- Class construction trades (ten yards, 1942-44); LCI(L) crews
- Limitations
- Sister-hull documentation, not this hull - establishes class construction practice only. Absence of asbestos mention in a HAER narrative is not evidence of absence aboard any hull; it is not a materials survey. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block for this hull (all-diesel GM 6-71-series plant, twin screws); HAER class documentation (welded-steel construction, engine-room layout); shipbuildinghistory LCI(L) type notes (Defoe built hulls 1052-1098, ten LCI yards overall); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; HAER OR-180/AK-52 construction descriptions; shipbuildinghistory defoe.htm/lcil.htm tables; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A welded-steel diesel-powered landing craft built October 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel naval craft of this period were: engine-exhaust and muffler lagging, machinery and piping gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and compartment insulation where fitted. She carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway that dominates steam-vessel asbestos profiles does not apply. LCI(L)s were deliberately austere craft (troop accommodation limited to a ~48-hour operational period), so insulation scope aboard was materially narrower than on steam combatants.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1956
- Population
- Defoe construction trades (1944); engine-room crew and embarked troops (1944-46, occupation); any postwar/reserve-fleet caretakers and disposal workers (1946-1956)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-1097. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution. The reduced insulation scope of small landing craft relative to steam vessels cuts both ways - fewer candidate systems, but machinery-space lagging remained era-typical.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-08
-
[10]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 that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (Oct 1944) and naval service era (1944-53, with the 1946-53 window undocumented).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-29) - content via product-page description; same standing defect as Batches 01/98/4945/4969.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-09
-
[11]Batch-4976 search ledger (this record): NavSource/Turner; NARA catalog (muster rolls, deck-log inventory primary scan, unit war diaries, GR 55 action report, war-loan exhibit photos); shipbuildinghistory Defoe yard + LCI tables; NHHC-derived landing-craft register; HAER sister-hull reports (full-text check); NVR; CourtListener; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-1097-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LCI(L)-1097 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Federal documentation of two same-class sister hulls (HAER OR-180, HAER AK-52) contains no asbestos content (zero occurrences, re-verified by full-text extraction this session). The hull's own formation-level action report for the Okinawa period (GR 55, May 1945) was read in full and names only LCI(M) mortar boats - operational, not material, content. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material pattern is law-firm marketing listicles asserting asbestos aboard landing craft generally without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. CourtListener queries were blocked all session by the fleet-wide API pacing limiter (~114/hr shared budget) across five spaced attempts - logged as blocked in search_ledger, NOT as a negative result.
- 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 hull's deck logs (verified held, undigitized), muster rolls (digitized, unread), builder work orders, and the undocumented 1946-53 status window are the untapped primary series. Litigation-repository coverage is a genuine open gap: CourtListener opinion and docket indexes were not queried at all this session (fleet pacing, not a negative result). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-1097-10