Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 408-packet.md (10 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-338-lcil338-pkt-408-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(R)-338 ex-USS LCI(L)-338 - construction, campaign table, awards, specifications, designation timeline, disposal (history text credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150338.htm header block, awards block, campaign table, personnel-awards listing, specifications block, photo captions 1015033801/-02/-04
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-1 class; laid down 22 September 1942 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 24 October 1942; commissioned USS LCI(L)-338 on 26 November 1942. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater for nine credited campaigns: Eastern New Guinea (Lae 4-6 Sep 1943, Finschhafen 22 Sep 1943, Saidor 2-3 Jan 1944); Bismarck Archipelago (Cape Gloucester 26-27 Dec 1943); Hollandia (21-25 Apr 1944); Western New Guinea (Toem-Wakde-Sarmi 17 May 1944, Biak 27-28 May 1944, Noemfoor 27 Jul 1944); Leyte (12 Oct-29 Nov 1944, Ormoc Bay 7-8 Dec 1944); Luzon (Mindoro 12-18 Dec 1944, Lingayen Gulf 4-18 Jan 1945); Manila Bay-Bicol (Zambales-Subic 29-31 Jan 1945, Mariveles-Corregidor 14-28 Feb 1945); Southern Philippines (Mindanao 10/16 Mar, 17-23 Apr 1945); Borneo (Balikpapan 26 Jun-7 Jul 1945). Redesignated Landing Ship Infantry (Rocket) LCI(R)-338 on 10 July 1945; photo captions show her firing rockets at Leyte circa Oct-Dec 1944 and at Balikpapan 1 July 1945 while still designated LCI(L). Navy Occupation service 29 Sep-5 Oct 1945; China service 29 Sep-14 Dec 1945. Decommissioned 16 April 1946; struck from the Naval Register 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 28 April 1948 for disposal; registered 1949 as fishing boat Betty Cole; fate unknown. Nine battle stars plus Navy Unit Commendation; Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive); Philippine PUC; Philippine Liberation (2). Personnel awards list two KIA at Corregidor, Manila Bay, 16 February 1945: Philip L. Michel SC(B)1/c(T) and John R. Rauch MoMM2/c(T). Specs: 216 t light / 389 t loaded; 158'5.5"; GM 6-71-series diesels, two sets of four, four per shaft, GM reduction gears, twin variable-pitch props, 2,320 shp; LCI(L) armament four 20mm + two .50 cal; LCI(R) armament one 40mm bow mount, four 20mm, two .50 cal, six 5-inch rocket launchers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1949
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1942); embarked troops (up to 6 officers/182 enlisted per landing); crew 24 (LCI(L)) / 34 (LCI(R))
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation (history text credited to Turner Publishing's LCI association volume), not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track official records but no primary source was directly consulted for this hull. Contains no asbestos content. The Leyte Oct-Dec 1944 rocket-firing caption predates the formal 10 July 1945 redesignation - in-theater conversion timing rests on photo captions, not a documented conversion order.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-01
-
[3]DANFS, Begor (APD-127/DE-711) entry - biographical section on Lt. (j.g.) Fay B. Begor, LCI Flotilla 7 group medical officer (by Robert J. Cressman) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Begor entry, biographical narrative (Lae passage)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC-documented action naming this hull: during the Lae landing (Operation Postern), 4 September 1943, Japanese air attack hit LCI(L)-339 as she neared the beach; the LCI group medical officer Lt. (j.g.) Fay B. Begor, USNR, was severely wounded in both thighs while treating casualties and 'was transferred to LCI(L)-338, thence ashore,' then to the U.S. Army 87th Station Hospital at Buna, then to LST-464, where he died of wounds 9 September 1943 - posthumous Navy Cross. Establishes LCI(L)-338's presence at the Lae operation and her casualty-receipt role alongside sister 339.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-09
- Population
- LCI(L)-338 crew; casualties transferred aboard from LCI(L)-339 (4 Sep 1943)
- Limitations
- Vessel-history fact only: documents this hull's participation in the 4 September 1943 Lae operation and medical-evacuation role; contains no asbestos or material content. No dedicated DANFS entry exists for LCI(L)-338 itself (candidate URLs returned 404, 2026-09-30) - numbered landing craft receive selective DANFS coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-02
-
[4]NARA Special List 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - ship-number inventory, p. 19 (RG 24 Bureau of Naval Personnel logbooks, Entry 118, NAID 581208) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL44 ship-number PDF, p. 19, LCI(L)(R) block, row 'LCI(L)(R)-338 | 12/26/1942 | 5/31/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA inventories Navy deck logs for LCI(L)(R)-338 covering 26 December 1942 to 31 May 1945 - one month after commissioning (26 November 1942 per NavSource) through the end of the Pacific war in theater, i.e., wartime log coverage for this hull exists at the National Archives (College Park, RG 24 Entry 118). The logs are not among the deck logs digitized in the National Archives Catalog.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Crew (Dec 1942 - May 1945 log window)
- Limitations
- Inventory listing only: establishes that deck logs for this hull exist for the stated coverage window - the log contents themselves were not reviewed. Coverage dates are not asserted commissioning/decommissioning dates. Logs undigitized; physical-consultation or reproduction-order required. No asbestos content in an inventory listing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-03
-
[5]Seventh Amphibious Force command history 1943-1945 (NHC action report scanned on HyperWar/ibiblio), Part 1 [other_primary]
- Locator
- 7th Amphibious Force command history, Part 1, organization and Balikpapan narrative sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official command-history context for this hull's operating force: 'the ships of LCI Flotilla Seven, also assigned to the Southwest Pacific Force, commenced to arrive in April 1943'; Balikpapan (1 July 1945, landing the 7th Australian Division under Commander Amphibious Group 8, Vice Admiral Barbey in overall command) was 'the final amphibious assault landing in Borneo' and the last operation of the Seventh Amphibious Force, which completed a two-year record of 56 assault landings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Seventh Amphibious Force crews and landed troops (SWPA 1943-45)
- Limitations
- Force-level history: names LCI Flotilla 7 and the Balikpapan operation, not this hull by number. A formal flotilla-number assignment for LCI(L)-338 is not stated in any located source - her documented operations and association with LCI(L)-339 at Lae are consistent with Flotilla 7, but this is inference. Scanned PDF - OCR-quality extraction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-04
-
[6]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LCI(L)-703 page - transcribed Report on Operation Oboe VI by CTG 78.1 (Brunei Bay order of battle and task-unit organization, June 1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/21768.html, task-organization section (TU 78.1.33, TU 78.1.37)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A transcription of the official CTG 78.1 report on Operation Oboe VI lists 'USS LCI(R)-338 (Ens. J.S. Hageman, USNR)' in Task Unit 78.1.33 - the LCI(R) Unit under Lt. Cdr. R.E. Sargent, USNR, alongside LCI(R)-71, -31, -34, -72, and -74 - and again in the 'Green' Support Unit (TU 78.1.37, Capt. Arison). This places the hull in the Seventh Amphibious Force support order of battle in rocket configuration at Brunei Bay in June 1945 - before the 10 July 1945 formal redesignation and before Balikpapan.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-06
- Population
- LCI(R)-338 crew under Ens. J.S. Hageman (June 1945)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled transcription of an official action report; the underlying CTG 78.1 report was not directly reviewed. NavSource's campaign table for this hull credits only the Balikpapan operation (26 Jun-7 Jul 1945) under 'Borneo operation' - Brunei Bay (Oboe VI, from 10 June) is not credited, a campaign-attribution discrepancy (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-05
-
[7]USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association, 'On This Memorial Day the Heroes We Will Remember' (In-Memorial roster PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- In-Memorial.pdf, LCI(R) 338 roster block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The LCI National Association's memorial roster lists: 'LCI(R) 338 / SWPA Corregidor / Philippine Islands 02/16/1944 / KIA Philip L. Michel / KIA John R. Rauch' - corroborating the two Corregidor KIA names in NavSource's personnel-awards listing but carrying two errors: the year (Corregidor amphibious operations were February 1945, not 1944 - NavSource and the campaign table agree on 16 February 1945) and the designation (the hull was still LCI(L)-338 in February 1945; the LCI(R) redesignation was 10 July 1945).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02
- Population
- KIA Philip L. Michel SC(B)1/c(T); KIA John R. Rauch MoMM2/c(T) (16 Feb 1945)
- Limitations
- Veterans-association memorial publication, not a primary record: names corroborated, date and designation in error per NavSource timeline. Listed as correction-class evidence of record quality, not to discredit the roster. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-06
-
[8]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II' (Eric Pearson, June 2025) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History June 2025, construction-program section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder documentation: Brown Shipbuilding Company of Houston - established 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown & Root on Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel, side-launching into the narrow waterway - was awarded Navy contracts for submarine chasers, destroyer escorts, and landing craft; built 12 PC-461-class subchasers, 61 destroyer escorts (38 Edsall-class, 23 John C. Butler-class), 32 Landing Craft Infantry, and 254 LSMs; peak employment over 25,000 workers from late 1942; awarded the Army-Navy 'E' production award December 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (>25,000 peak, late 1942 onward)
- Limitations
- Yard-level history: documents this hull's builder and its wartime output but names no individual LCI hull and contains no asbestos or material content. No authoritative asbestos documentation for Brown Shipbuilding was located - only marketing-site claims (excluded sources).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (two sets of four GM 6-71-series diesels, four per shaft, GM reduction gears, twin variable-pitch props, 2,320 shp - diesel plant, no boilers); LST-1-class class-profile asbestos notes (diesel amphibious craft: engine-room/exhaust lagging, gaskets, deck coverings, accommodation insulation); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; lst-1-class class-profile asbestos notes; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An amphibious landing craft built September-November 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a diesel-powered amphibious craft of this type and period were engine and exhaust-system lagging, machinery gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and accommodation insulation/deck coverings within the confined hull. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1949
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1942); crew and embarked troops (1942-46); in-theater conversion workforce (rocket fit, by mid-1945); disposal/merchant-conversion workforce (1948-49)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or contract located for LCI(L)-338. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-08
-
[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 (1942) and service era (1942-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- 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 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-09
-
[11]Batch-5060 search ledger (this record): NavSource 10/15/150338; DANFS (no dedicated entry; Begor APD-127 entry names the hull); NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF; NARA digitized-logs list; NHHC casualties page; NVR; CourtListener opinion index; uboat.net CTG 78.1 Oboe VI transcription; USS LCI National Association memorial roster; USNI Naval History; secondary-web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-338-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or qualifying litigation naming USS LCI(L)-338 / LCI(R)-338 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion-index queries for 'LCI-338', 'LCI 338', and 'LCI(L)-338' returned zero hits, and the RECAP docket index returned zero hits for 'LCI-338' OR 'LCI(L)-338' OR 'LCI(R)-338' (authenticated, fleet-paced, 2026-09-30). A secondary-web sweep surfaced no qualifying case and no marketing-listicle asbestos claim naming this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the hull's 1942 construction sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Residual litigation-search gap: a standalone 'LCI(R)-338' opinion query was blocked by the fleet pacer after three clean zero-hit queries - the (R)-suffixed spelling is rare in opinions. Undigitized NARA deck logs (Dec 1942-May 1945) and any BuShips conversion/damage-repair work packages for the in-theater rocket conversion are open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-338-10