Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet pn-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-499-lcil499-pkt-pn-packet-md
-
[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), p. 24 [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 by Ship Number PDF, p. 24, row 'LCI(L)-499 | 11/16/1943 | 11/30/1944'; RG 24, Entry 118 (NAID 581208)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official wartime Navy log inventory lists deck logs for LCI(L)-499 covering 11/16/1943 through 11/30/1944. These are log-coverage dates, not commissioning/decommissioning dates; the window coincides with the commissioned U.S. service reported elsewhere (commissioned 16 Nov 1943; leased to the United Kingdom 30 Nov 1944), i.e. the logs span her entire U.S. commission. Logs are Record Group 24 holdings, not digitized online.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-11-16 to 1944-11-30 (log coverage); inventory consulted 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Establishes that logs exist and their coverage window; the log contents themselves are unexamined (undigitized - see search_ledger sl-02). Does not by itself document operations, locations, or material conditions aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-499-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-499 (10/15/150499) - service timeline, campaign list, and specification block [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LCI(L)-499 page: 'LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large)' timeline block and Specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LCI-351 class; laid down October 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched October 1943; delivered November 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-499 on 16 November 1943; assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; Invasion of Normandy, 6-25 June 1944; decommissioned November 1944; leased to the United Kingdom 30 November 1944; returned to U.S. Navy custody 13 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register in 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission and sold 13 June 1947; earned one battle star for WWII service; final disposition unknown. Specs: 158'5.5", 23'3" beam; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Commissioned crew (4 officers, 24 enlisted typical) plus embarked troops
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer archive; page's history text derives from 'USS LCI: Landing Craft Infantry,' Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1995) - a secondary compilation. Commissioning and UK-lease dates are corroborated by NARA SL44 log coverage; UK service detail, the 1946-05-13 return date, and 1947-06-13 sale rest on this source alone. Construction dates given at month granularity; exact November 1944 decommission day not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-499-02
-
[4]Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual (1953), Part IV, Section 2-16: campaign/service star eligibility listing for amphibious craft (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Awards Manual Part IV sec. 2-16: 'LCI(L) 499: 6 Jan 44 - 25 Jan 44, E5'; legend row 'Invasion of Normandy (including bombardment of Cherbourg), 6-25 Jun 44, E5'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official 1953 awards manual lists 'LCI(L) 499' for campaign credit 'E5' - defined in the same manual as 'Invasion of Normandy (including bombardment of Cherbourg), 6-25 Jun 44' - confirming one battle star in the Normandy operation. The printed eligibility dates for LCI(L) 499 and her entire New Jersey Shipbuilding block (LCI(L) 495-507+) read '6 Jan 44 - 25 Jan 44,' a systematic 'Jan' misprint for 'Jun': E5's defined window is June, sister entries elsewhere print '6 Jun 44 - 25 Jun 44,' and the block's sister LCI(L)-497 appears on the June 1944 NEPTUNE damaged list.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06 (operation); 1953 (manual)
- Population
- Crew eligible for the EAME campaign medal with star
- Limitations
- Manual confirms the campaign credit and star, not presence on a specific beach or on a specific day within the operation. The printed January date range is an internal inconsistency (misprint) in the source itself, disclosed rather than silently corrected. HyperWar is a transcription mirror of an official publication.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-499-03
-
[5]Naval History and Heritage Command, Operation NEPTUNE - Sunk and Damaged Ships and Craft [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC NEPTUNE sunk/damaged table: 'LST [Landing Ship, Tank] ... 499 LOST'; 'LCI (L) [Landing Craft Infantry, Large]' block lists 83, 85, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 209, 212, 219, 232, 416, 497, 553 - no 499
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- LCI(L)-499 does not appear on NHHC's NEPTUNE list of sunk and damaged ships and craft - i.e., no official record of her loss or damage in the Normandy operation, consistent with her continued service through November 1944. The '499 LOST' entry in that table belongs to the LST block (LST-499, sunk by a mine off Normandy 8 June 1944) - a hull-number collision, not this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06
- Limitations
- Absence from a loss/damage list does not establish presence or absence at a specific beach; it establishes only that the craft was not a reported casualty. The LST-499 collision is resolved - it is a different hull, and care is required when searching '499' in Normandy records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-499-04
-
[6]New Bedford Standard-Times (South Coast Today), 'Dartmouth resident attends D-Day anniversary with his father, a Navy veteran of invasion fleet' (2009-06-24) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Article text: 'I was at the helm of the LCI (L) 499 ... 24 crew members and four officers ... 180 soldiers ... waded through deep water to Gold Beach'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Navy seaman Carson Stauffer recalled being at the helm as LCI(L)-499 approached the Normandy coast on D-Day: the craft had sailed with the main convoy from Norfolk via the Azores to Plymouth; when her ramps went down approximately 180 soldiers waded ashore to Gold Beach; Stauffer estimated some 26 cross-Channel troop-ferry trips in the first days. Crew figures he gave (24 enlisted, 4 officers) match the class specification.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06 (events recalled); 2009 (publication)
- Population
- Crew member recollection (Carson Stauffer, seaman)
- Limitations
- A single veteran's recollection reported 65 years after the event in local press; the Gold Beach detail is plausible (a British-sector beach, consistent with the craft's later UK lease) but is not confirmed by any official record - the official campaign credit (ev-03) establishes Normandy presence only. Not an exposure record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-499-05
-
[7]Orange County Register, 'France honors WW II vets at D-Day commemoration' (2014-06-08) - photo captions naming Cpl. Gordon Hearne with a flag flown on U.S. LCI 499 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Photo caption: 'Corporal Gordon Hearne stands next to a flag that flew on the U.S. LCI 499 during World War II'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Photo captions record Cpl. Gordon Hearne, a French Legion of Honor recipient, beside a flag identified as having flown on the U.S. LCI 499 during World War II, at the D-Day 70th anniversary commemoration aboard SS Lane Victory, San Pedro, 7 June 2014.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (flag artifact); 2014 (commemoration)
- Population
- Veteran association (Cpl. Gordon Hearne)
- Limitations
- Press photo-caption attribution of an artifact; the flag's provenance and chain of custody are as-captioned, not independently verified. Veteran-history context only - no exposure claim is made for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-499-06
-
[8]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, USS LCI(L)-320 asset history - official type description and specifications for Coast Guard-manned LCI(L)s [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG Historian's Office LCI(L)-320 page, 'Propulsion: 8 x GM diesels; twin shafts (4 diesels per shaft); 1,600 hp; twin variable-pitch propellers'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The LCI(L) type was propelled by 8 General Motors diesel engines, twin shafts (4 diesels per shaft), with twin variable-pitch propellers - all-diesel, with no boilers, turbines, or steam lines. The high-density asbestos systems of steam-era warships (boiler lagging, steam-line insulation, turbine gasketing) therefore did not apply to the type. Any asbestos aboard would be confined to era-typical fittings of the 1943-44 emergency-construction period - machinery and exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical/wiring insulation, and deck or bulkhead compounds - at small inventory relative to steam vessels. No LCI(L) material schedule or asbestos survey was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (construction era)
- Population
- LCI(L) crews and embarked troops (type context)
- Limitations
- Type-level documentation, not a hull record - the USCG page documents sister craft LCI(L)-320 (LCI(L)-1 class, earlier configuration) and does not name LCI(L)-499 or mention asbestos. Asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven; no basis for asserting presence, quantity, or absence. LCI(L)-351-class spec corroboration comes from NavSource (ev-02).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-499-07
-
[9]Batch-5219 search ledger (this record): NARA SL44 + online deck logs; NavSource; NHHC DANFS index + NEPTUNE loss list; Navy Awards Manual 1953; USCG Historian; CourtListener API v4; NVR; MARAD Vessel History Database; usslci.org; press and asbestos-specific web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-499-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-499-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or litigation naming LCI(L)-499 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this hull; NARA logs are undigitized. CourtListener returned zero opinions for 'LCI(L)-499', 'LCI-499', and 'LCI 499', and zero dockets/documents for 'LCI(L)-499' - full negative litigation coverage across searched variants. The MARAD vessel-history search was blocked by access limits - logged as an access gap, not a negative result.
- 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; a 1943 emergency-program hull carries no surviving public material documentation either way. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener coverage spans the exact hull designation in both opinion and docket indexes plus two spelling variants in opinions; litigation records outside those indexes (state courts, PACER-only filings) are not covered.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-499-08