Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-439 ex USS LCI(L)-439 page (history compiled from USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource archive page 10/15/150439 (ship entry, campaign table, awards ribbon list, and specifications block; photo captions)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity, construction, and wartime record for this hull: laid down 29 April 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 21 July 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-439 on 6 August 1943; designation changed to Landing Craft Infantry (Gunboat) LCI(G)-439 on 15 January 1944. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; credited campaigns - Marshall Islands operation (occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 31 January-8 February 1944), Marianas operation (capture and occupation of Guam, 21-28 July 1944), Leyte operation (Leyte landings, 20 October 1944), Luzon operation (Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 January 1945), and Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 24 March-1 June 1945); five battle stars plus the Navy Unit Commendation as a member of LCI(G) Flotilla 3 (31 January-28 July 1944). Decommissioned date unknown; struck from the Naval Register in 1946; sold 2 December 1946, fate unknown. Photo captions place the hull moored with sister LCI(G)s (date/location unknown), crossing the Equator in the Pacific in late 1943, in convoy viewed from USS LCI(G)-407, and nested at Pearl Harbor in July 1945 alongside LCI(G)-78, -407, -473, -366, -77, -948, LCI(L)-38, LCI(G)-546, and LCI(G)-440.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Crew (LCI(L): 4 officers, 24 enlisted; LCI(G): 5 officers, 65 enlisted) and embarked troops (up to 6 officers, 182 enlisted), 1943-1945
- Limitations
- NavSource is a compiled secondary reference (transcribing Turner Publishing's USS LCI volume and Navy records), not a contemporaneous log or Navy action report. Campaign credits and dates are official-list summaries; decommissioning date is not given, and the strike date is given only as 'in 1946.' The LCI(G) redesignation date (15 January 1944) conflicts with uboat.net's 15 June 1944 - see gaps. Contains no asbestos information whatsoever.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-01
-
[2]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (by ship number), PDF p.17 [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, p.17, row 'LCI(L)(G)-439 | 8/5/1943 | 6/30/1945' (verified by pdftotext extraction of the live NARA PDF, 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Special List 44 inventory (by ship number, PDF page 17) lists Navy deck logs for LCI(L)(G)-439 covering 5 August 1943 through 30 June 1945 - in-scope wartime service documentation held in Record Group 24, retrievable for this hull. These are log-coverage dates, not commissioning or decommissioning dates: coverage begins the day before the 6 August 1943 commissioning recorded by NavSource (pre-commissioning logkeeping aboard newly delivered craft was normal) and ends while the vessel remained in service (struck in 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (log coverage)
- Limitations
- The entry is an inventory record only - it establishes that NARA holds logbooks for this hull for the stated span, not their contents. The deck logs themselves were not opened for this record; post-June-1945 logs are outside this inventory listing. NARA files the logs under the combined LCI(L)(G)-439 heading, consistent with her 1944 gunboat redesignation. No asbestos or condition information is contained in the listing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-02
-
[3]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, LCI(G) Flotilla Three - Navy Unit Commendation citation text (Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource archive page 10/15/15000031 (NUC citation text and unit list 'LCI(G)'s 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 345, 346, 347, 348, 365, 366, 371, 372, 373, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 470, 725, and 726')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Secretary of the Navy's Navy Unit Commendation to LCI(G) FLOTILLA THREE, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet, commends the flotilla 'for outstanding heroism in action in support of amphibious landings' on Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atolls in the Marshall Islands and on Saipan, Guam and Tinian in the Marianas, from January 31 to July 28, 1944, describing close-range rocket and gunfire against beach defenses in unswept channels, serious damage suffered under heavy Japanese gunfire, and numerous casualties. The citation's named unit list includes LCI(G)-439 among the 39 LCI(G)s constituting Flotilla Three, signed by Secretary James Forrestal - documenting this hull's membership in the cited flotilla.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- LCI(G) Flotilla 3 crews, January-July 1944
- Limitations
- The citation is a flotilla-level award: it names LCI(G)-439 as a member unit but attributes no specific action to this hull individually. Reproduced text on NavSource, a compiled secondary archive - the underlying SecNav citation document is the authoritative source. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-03
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS LCI(L)-439 (LCI(L)-439) warship record, LCI 351 class [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/21481.html - data table (ordered, laid down, launched, commissioned, history line)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled warship record for this hull: built by New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. (Barber, New Jersey); ordered 22 March 1943; laid down 29 April 1943; launched 21 July 1943; commissioned 6 August 1943; 'Reclassified as LCI(G), Landing Craft Guns on 15 June 1944'; classed LCI 351. No commanding officers or notable events are listed for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Crew, 1943-1946
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a reputable privately compiled database drawing on wartime records; it is secondary, not a primary source. Its LCI(G) reclassification date of 15 June 1944 conflicts with NavSource's 15 January 1944 - unresolved, see gaps. The 'ordered 22 March 1943' date appears here only and is not carried as a record fact. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-04
-
[5]shipbuildinghistory (Tim Colton), LCI(L) production table and New Jersey Shipbuilding yard history page [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/lcil.htm production-table row 439; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencysmall/newjersey.htm (yard description)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Colton's LCI(L) production table lists this hull as 'LCI(L) G 439 | New Jersey SB | Barber NJ | delivered 6-Aug-43 | Sold 1946' - consistent with NavSource construction data and the 2 December 1946 sale year. His New Jersey Shipbuilding yard history describes the yard as an assembly line for LCIs on the Arthur Kill at Barber (the community later absorbed into Perth Amboy, now called Maurer), with management taken over by Todd Shipyards in 1942 at the Navy's request, and closed after the war. The production table also records the type's scale: 923 LCI(L)s built by ten shipyards; the first 350 boats to the original 158.5-ft/216-ton design, the remainder six inches longer and 30 tons heavier; and the LCI(G) variant fit of two 40mm guns and ten Mk. 7 rocket launchers in addition to four 20mm guns and six .50-cal machine guns.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction workforce, 1943; crew 1943-46
- Limitations
- Colton's table is a privately compiled production record (secondary), consistent with NavSource here. 'Delivered' vs 'commissioned' labeling for 6 August 1943 differs between sources - commissioning carried as the milestone. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-05
-
[6]Library of Congress, Historic American Engineering Record HAER AK-52, M/V Husky II (USS LCI(L) 653) - LCI(L) 351-class written history and documentation [haer]
- Locator
- HAER AK-52 written history, 'Physical History' builder section (pp. 4-6) and LCI(L) 351-class design description; NavSource specifications block for this hull's engine fit
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- HAER AK-52 documents the LCI(L) 351 class and this hull's builder directly: the Bureau of Ships designed the type (working plans by George Lawley & Son, Boston); New Jersey Shipbuilding Corporation at Barber, New Jersey - incorporated 1942 as a wholly owned Barber Asphalt Corporation subsidiary on the idled Perth Amboy asphalt-plant site, prefabricating hull and deckhouse sections by rail - built LCI(L)s 239-318, 423-657 (a range that includes this hull), 782-821, and 866-884, employing about 2,500 workers and producing 375 LCI(L)s before the yard was dismantled postwar. Design changes from LCI(L) 351 onward (full-width deckhouse, cylindrical pilot house, improved ventilation and lighting) apply to this hull's class. This hull's propulsion was an all-diesel plant (two banks of four GM diesels, four per shaft) with no boilers or steam system, so the asbestos-relevant applications aboard are the era-standard diesel-craft items: engine exhaust and muffler lagging, thermal/acoustic insulation in the engine room and accommodations, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (Barber NJ, 1943); wartime crew in confined engine-room and accommodation spaces
- Limitations
- Class/design inference only - HAER AK-52 documents a sister craft (LCI(L) 653) and the LCI(L) design and builder generally; it does not name hull 439 and does not itself assert asbestos content (its insulation references are the vessel's post-service fishing-tender conversion, checked against full text). No ship-specific material list exists for this hull; asbestos presence aboard is era- and design-level inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, products installed, or present-day presence (hull fate unknown since 1946).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-06
-
[7]University of North Texas Oral History Collection, OH 1112 - William A. Mercer (b. 1926), interviewed 14 December 1995 by Ronald E. Marcello [other_primary]
- Locator
- UNT Oral History OH 1112 item page (interviewee, description, physical description fields)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The UNT Oral History Collection holds interview OH 1112 (42 pp., open terms): William A. Mercer, a U.S. Navy WWII veteran and later radio/TV announcer, describing 'his experiences aboard LCI-439 in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Battle of Leyte Gulf and kamikazes; Battle of Okinawa; preparations for invasion of Honshu.' Mercer is the signalman whose 2022 memoir 'Oklahoma to Okinawa: 18K Miles on the LCI(G) 439' recounts this hull's war; he joined the crew at Pearl Harbor on 9 August 1944 after her Guam damage (see ev-09).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (service); 1995 (interview)
- Population
- Individual crew member (Mercer), 1944-45
- Limitations
- Oral-history catalog record only - the interview transcript was not reviewed for this record; the catalog description alone is carried. Veteran recollections are postwar personal narrative, not contemporaneous records. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-07
-
[8]Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, John Roy Nimeskern Collection, AFC/2001/001/86927 [other_primary]
- Locator
- LOC VHP item afc2001001.86927 JSON record (unit_of_service 'USS LCI(G)-439 (Landing Craft Infantry)'; description service areas)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Library of Congress Veterans History Project holds the John Roy Nimeskern Collection (AFC/2001/001/86927, video format): a Seaman First Class, U.S. Navy, WWII, whose unit of service is cataloged as 'USS LCI(G)-439 (Landing Craft Infantry)' with service areas listed as Great Lakes, Illinois; Norfolk, Virginia; Crane, Indiana; Hawaii; Marshall Islands; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Philippines. This documents a named crew member of this hull. The veteran-association newsletter renders the same crew member's name as 'John Neneskern, S1/c, striker signalman' (see ev-09).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Individual crew member (Nimeskern), 1940s
- Limitations
- Veterans History Project service summaries are self-reported veteran records; listed service areas span the veteran's whole service and cannot all be attributed to time aboard this hull (e.g., Guadalcanal is not among this hull's credited campaigns). The collection was not reviewed beyond the cataloged service summary. Surname spelling differs between LOC cataloging (Nimeskern) and the association newsletter (Neneskern). No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-08
-
[9]The Elsie Item / Deck Log of the USS LCI(L) 713, Issue 119 (Winter 2022) - joint official newsletter of the USS LCI National Association and the Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum; 'Bill Mercer's book tells story of LCI(G) 439' by Jeff Veesenmeyer (with excerpts from 'Oklahoma to Okinawa') [museum_official]
- Locator
- Elsie Item/Deck Log Issue 119, pp. 1 (cover caption), 17-20 (feature article); PDF verified live by download and pdftotext, 2026-09-30
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Association-published veteran narrative with ship-specific detail: signalman Bill Mercer joined the crew at Pearl Harbor on 9 August 1944, finding the craft under repair with 'the conning tower... half shot off. Shrapnel holes were everywhere. The radio shack was perforated' - she 'had been at the Guam invasion. It was hit by a 5-inch shell, killing three and wounding twenty others.' After two months of repairs she joined the Leyte invasion convoy; on 20 October 1944 eighteen LCI(G)s led the first wave at Leyte, and this hull expended 430 rounds of 20mm, 1,400 rounds of 40mm, and 220 rockets; she escaped the anchorage on 24 October as the Battle of Leyte Gulf opened, went on to the invasions of Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, and was at Pearl Harbor for overhaul when the war ended. First commanding officer named as Robert Schenck; other named crew include signalman Charles ('Charlie') Craft and striker signalman John Neneskern (S1/c), second loader on a bow 40mm gun.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (events); 2022 (publication)
- Population
- Crew, 1943-45; Mercer aboard from 9 August 1944
- Limitations
- Veteran-recollection journalism published by the USS LCI National Association / Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum - postwar narrative, not a contemporaneous record. The Guam casualty figure (3 killed, 20 wounded by a 5-inch shell) differs from the Voices narrative's account of a mortar hit (2 killed, 13 wounded) - possibly separate hits or conflicting memory, unresolved (see gaps). The Iwo Jima participation claim is absent from the NavSource credited-campaign list - flagged in gaps. The issue's cover caption labels the craft 'LCI(R) 439' while the article text uses LCI(G); no official LCI(R) redesignation for this hull is recorded elsewhere. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-09
-
[10]USS LCI National Association, 'Voices from the Pacific' (usslci.org) - veteran narrative of an LCI(G)-440 crew member covering LCI Group Eight operations including this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- usslci.org/voices-from-the-pacific - LCI(G)-440 narrator's account (Group Eight composition; 15 Jun 1944 Saipan; 21 Jul 1944 Agat Beach, Guam; boat-lane patrols and the hit on 439)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A first-person account by a crew member of LCI(G)-440 (CO Lt. Keyes) documents this hull within LCI Group Eight (365, 366, 439, 440, 442, 474, 475, 437, 450) of Tractor Group Four: staging in the Marshall Islands May 1944, the initial assault on Saipan 15 June 1944, aircraft-screen duty, then the Guam invasion - on 21 July 1944 Group Eight attacked Agat Beach with rocket and gun fire, then patrolled the boat lanes between Bangi Point and Neye Island where LCI(G)-365 was caught in a crossfire (nine hits, seven killed, fifteen wounded) and 'the 439 became our flagship'; two days later, during a deliberate fire-drawing sweep off the same shore, 'we saw the 439 get hit with mortar fire. She suffered two killed and thirteen injured.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Group Eight LCI crews; 439's dead and wounded at Guam, July 1944
- Limitations
- Veteran recollection published on the USS LCI National Association site - postwar personal narrative, secondary; the narrator served aboard LCI(G)-440, describing this hull from a sister craft. Casualty account differs from the Elsie Item narrative (see ev-09 and gaps). The Guam actions described fall inside this hull's NUC window and credited Marianas campaign. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-10
-
[11]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 not retrievable this session; product-page description)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos extensively aboard ships and reviewed Navy asbestos-exposure protection efforts at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - spanning this hull's construction (1943) and entire service era (1943-46).
- 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 or even this craft type (HRD-80-2 concerns larger Navy vessels and the named naval shipyards). Full report text not retrieved - gao.gov serves the PDF via a JS-gated asset path that returned an HTML shell to automated fetch (confirmed 2026-09-30); content via the product-page description, verified live via firecrawl.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-11
-
[12]Batch-5154 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page and NUC citation page; NARA Special List 44; uboat.net warship record; shipbuildinghistory (Colton) production table and yard page; HAER AK-52 full text; UNT oral-history catalog; LOC Veterans History Project; USS LCI National Association newsletter and narratives; NHHC/DANFS index; CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches; banned-source web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed asbestos case naming LCI(L)-439 / LCI(G)-439 / LCI-439 was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion searches for '"LCI(L)-439"', '"LCI-439"', '"LCI(G)-439"', and '"LCI 439" asbestos' each returned zero results. No individual DANFS entry exists for this numbered landing craft. The only asbestos content surfaced in the web sweep is law-firm marketing material (generic landing-ship listicles not naming this hull) - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - as a 1943 combat-built landing craft the hull sits inside the documented Navy asbestos era. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present, and does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The vessel was sold in 1946 with fate unknown, so no modern survey can exist unless the hull is identified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-439-lcil439-12