Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]research packet 813-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-553-lcil553-pkt-813-packet-md
-
[2]NARA Special List No. 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, p. 25, row 'LCI(L)-553 2/15/1944 6/5/1944'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official NARA inventory of Navy logbooks lists deck logs for LCI(L)-553 covering 2/15/1944 through 6/5/1944 (PDF page 25 of the by-ship-number list). The coverage window ends the day before her D-Day loss, consistent with wartime logs ceasing when the hull was wrecked on 6 June 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-02-15 to 1944-06-05
- Population
- wartime crew (Feb-Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- Log coverage dates are not commissioning/loss dates - they document that logs exist and the coverage window, not the service dates themselves. Notably the coverage START (2/15/1944) conflicts with NavSource's 15 January 1944 commissioning date and matches uboat.net's 15 February 1944 - see ev-06 and gaps. The logs themselves are not digitized (not on NARA's digitized deck-log list); they are RG 24 textual records at Archives II, College Park. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-553 - history credited to 'USS LCI "Landing Craft Infantry", Vol. II, Turner Publishing Co., 1995' (USS LCI National Association volume) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150553.htm - header, milestone chronology, campaign table, awards block, specifications block, photo-caption text (NARA photos 80-G-421287, 80-G-421288, SC 189899)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down December 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched January 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-553 on 15 January 1944; assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaign: Invasion of Normandy, 6 June 1944; 'Lost to enemy gun fire at Normandy, 6 June 1944'; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; one battle star. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (6 June 1944, Normandy), American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1), WWII Victory Medal. Specs: 236 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max (14 kts continuous); complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; cargo 75 tons; armament 5 x single 20mm (on some LCIs two .50 cal added); 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; two diesel-driven 30 kW 120 V DC ship's-service generators; radio call sign NFUI. Photo captions (credited to the US Naval Historical Center and the USS LCI National Association) state: hit by two shells and left a wreck on the beach on D-Day; after landing her troops she was unable to retract and was lost to German 88mm gun fire; the crew abandoned ship and took cover on the beach.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1943-44); crew Feb-Jun 1944; embarked troops of the 29th Engineers (per crew account)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - the cited underlying work is a veterans' association history volume, not a Navy record. Its 15 January 1944 commissioning date conflicts with uboat.net (15 February 1944), the yard table (Feb-44 delivery), a crew account, and this hull's own NARA log-coverage start (2/15/1944) - see ev-06 and gaps. 'Struck, date unknown' is carried verbatim. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-02
-
[4]NHHC, 'Sunk and Damaged Ships and Craft' (Operation Neptune / Normandy order-of-loss table) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Sunk and Damaged table - 'LCI (L) [Landing Craft Infantry, Large]' block, row '553 LOST' (content verified via Firecrawl; bare curl 404)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's official Operation Neptune loss table lists LCI(L)-553 as LOST in the 'LCI (L) [Landing Craft Infantry, Large]' block - one of nine LCI(L)s listed lost (85, 88, 91, 92, 93, 219, 232, 416, 553) plus five damaged (83, 87, 209, 212, 497). This is the official Navy compilation establishing this hull as a Normandy combat loss.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-06
- Population
- crew and embarked troops aboard at loss, 6 June 1944
- Limitations
- The table gives loss category only - it does not state cause of loss, location within the Normandy beaches, or a date beyond the operation. The manner of loss (German 88mm shore-battery fire after failing to retract) comes from the NARA photo captions and crew/association accounts, not this table. Retrieved via Firecrawl 2026-09-30; a bare curl fetch returns a 404 error page (NHHC bot-filtering - same class of defect as the GAO 403). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-03
-
[5]NARA National Archives Catalog: NAID 219775764 (photo 80-G-421288), NAID 219775765 (photo 80-G-421287), NAID 176887730 (photo 111-SC-189899-S) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAID 219775764 (80-G-421288 original caption), NAID 219775765 (80-G-421287 original caption), NAID 176887730 (111-SC-189899-S)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary NARA photographic documentation of this hull's loss. Original caption of 80-G-421288 (USN photo, dated 6 June 44): 'THE LCI US 553 LANDS TROOPS AT OMAHA BEACH, NORMANDY, FRANCE, AS ALLIES INVADE FRANCE IN WORLD WAR, II, THE LCI USS 553 RECEIVED 2 DIRECT HITS AND WAS LEFT A WRECK ON THE BEACH.' Original caption of 80-G-421287: 'LCI'S USS-553, AND 410, LAND TROOPS AT OMAHA BEACH, NORMANDY, FRANCE ON D-DAY AS ALLIES INVADE FRANCE.' Army Signal Corps photo 111-SC-189899 ('Normandy Invasion on Omaha Beach') shows the wreck in the background of the D-Day beach scene per the NavSource caption.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-06
- Population
- crew and embarked troops, D-Day
- Limitations
- Photographic records establish presence and loss at Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944 with contemporaneous official captions - the strongest documentation in this record. They do not document cause of loss beyond '2 direct hits'/'wreck on the beach', casualties, or material content. The '88mm gun fire' attribution comes from the NavSource caption narrative and crew account, not the NARA captions themselves. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-04
-
[6]uboat.net Allied Warships: USS LCI(L)-553 ship page (ship/21618) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/21618 - spec/date table and history line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net's ship page for this hull records: built by New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. (Barber, New Jersey); laid down 14 Jan 1944; launched 10 Feb 1944; commissioned 15 Feb 1944; lost 6 Jun 1944; history line 'Sunk off Omaha Beach, Normandy, France by German gunfire.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- crew (Feb-Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a volunteer secondary compilation of official records. Its milestone dates (laid down 14 Jan 1944, launched 10 Feb 1944, commissioned 15 Feb 1944) run exactly one month later than NavSource's (Dec 1943, Jan 1944, 15 Jan 1944) and align with the NARA log-coverage start (2/15/1944) and the yard-table Feb-44 delivery - the conflict is flagged rather than resolved here. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-05
-
[7]Milestone-date cross-check: NavSource (Dec 1943 / Jan 1944 / commissioned 15 Jan 1944) vs uboat.net (laid down 14 Jan 1944 / launched 10 Feb 1944 / commissioned 15 Feb 1944), NARA SL44 log-coverage start 2/15/1944, Naval Marine Archive yard table 'Feb-44' delivery, and crew account 'commissioned in Perth Amboy, N.J. on February 15, 1944' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150553.htm; uboat.net ship/21618; sl-44-ship-number.pdf p.25; navalmarinearchive.com/sbh newjersey.html yard table row 553; 6juin1944.com/veterans/leach.php
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DATE CONFLICT: NavSource's construction milestones (laid down December 1943, launched January 1944, commissioned 15 January 1944) are contradicted by four independent indicators pointing one month later: uboat.net (commissioned 15 February 1944), the Naval Marine Archive shipyard delivery table (Feb-44), the NARA deck-log coverage start (2/15/1944), and the Leach crew account ('commissioned in Perth Amboy, N.J. on February 15, 1944'). The weight of evidence favors 15 February 1944 as the commissioning date; NavSource's figures appear to be a systematic one-month-early transcription.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Limitations
- Conflict documented, not adjudicated - no primary commissioning certificate was located. All milestone sources are secondary compilations except the NARA log inventory, which evidences a coverage start, not a commissioning date per se. The NavSource date is retained in the commissioned field per source attribution with the conflict flagged. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-06
-
[8]D-Day - Normandie 1944 veterans site, 'Robert M. Leach - Omaha Beach - Motor Machinist Mate 3rd class - LCI(L) 553' (first-person crew account) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 6juin1944.com/veterans/leach.php - Leach narrative paragraphs (commissioning, transit timeline, Omaha Beach account)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A wartime crew member's first-person account for this hull: Robert M. Leach, MoMM3/c, states the ship was 'commissioned in Perth Amboy, N.J. on February 15, 1944'; that she left Norfolk after six weeks of training on 24 March 1944, reached the Azores 5 April and Falmouth, England 12 April; conducted T-6 practice landings at Slapton Sands on 17 April 1944; and on D-Day approached Omaha Beach about 6:30 a.m., beached at flank speed, and unloaded the 29th Engineers. When the stern anchor failed to hold, LCI(L)-555 attempted to tow her off - Executive Ensign Milliken swam the tow line over - but with a German 88mm battery having found their range, 'the Captain cut the LCI 555 loose'; the crew abandoned ship and took cover on the beach. Leach names the commanding officer as Captain Don DuBrul.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-02 to 1944-06
- Population
- MoMM3/c Robert M. Leach; Capt./Lt.(jg) Don DuBrul (CO); Ensign Milliken; wartime crew (Feb-Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- A veteran's recollection hosted on a D-Day history site - firsthand narrative, not an official record; individual details (e.g., exercise dates) are carried as his account, not adjudicated fact. Corroborates the 15 February 1944 commissioning against NavSource's 15 January. Establishes a named wartime population (CO DuBrul, Ensign Milliken, MoMM3/c Leach) aboard this hull; no medical or exposure content, and no exposure claim is made for any individual. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-07
-
[9]USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association, 'A Word from Officer's Country' (Elsie Item column) [other_primary]
- Locator
- usslci.org 'A Word from Officer's Country' - DuBrul letter paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The USS LCI National Association's column records, via a letter from Elizabeth DuBrul, that CDR Donald DuBrul USN (ret) 'was the captain of LCI(L)-553, on D-Day' and that 'at Normandy, his ship was lost on the beach due to fire from German shore batteries.' Corroborates the commanding officer's identity and the manner of loss from the veterans' association whose Turner Publishing volume underlies the NavSource history.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-06
- Population
- CDR Donald DuBrul USN (CO, D-Day)
- Limitations
- Veterans'-association publication - credible corroboration for CO identity and loss manner, but an association column, not a Navy record. Confirms loss to shore-battery fire at Normandy. No asbestos content; no exposure claim for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-08
-
[10]Naval Marine Archive, New Jersey Shipbuilding (Barber, NJ) yard delivery table (shipbuildinghistory-derived secondary compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/emergencysmall/newjersey.html - New Jersey Shipbuilding delivery table, hull 553 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The yard delivery table records for hull 553: 'LCI(L) | 553 | US Navy | Landing Craft | Feb-44 | Lost off Normandy 6-Jun-44, recovered and scrapped in UK' - a February 1944 delivery (consistent with the uboat.net commissioning date) and the only located statement of ultimate disposition: the Omaha Beach wreck was recovered and scrapped in the UK.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- post-loss salvage/scrapping workforce (UK, 1944+) - undocumented
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation derived from shipbuildinghistory data - the 'recovered and scrapped in UK' disposition rests on this single secondary source and is unverified against a primary disposal record; NavSource gives no disposition beyond the loss itself and 'fate' detail is otherwise undocumented. No asbestos content - no material handling or scrapping-record detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications for this hull (two sets of 4 GM 6051-series 71 diesels, 4 per shaft, 2,320 shp, twin variable-pitch screws, diesel-driven 30 kW generators - diesel plant, no steam); uboat.net LCI-351 class table (diesel engines, 2 shafts); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-use era, see ev-11) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150553.htm specifications block; uboat.net class/690 technical table; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built December 1943-February 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a craft of this type and period were diesel engine and exhaust lagging, machinery-space thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and winch brake linings. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1943-44); crew and embarked troops Feb-Jun 1944; beach salvage/scrapping population (1944+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-553; the hull survived less than five months in service and was lost 6 June 1944. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-10
-
[12]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (abstract text; direct fetch blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships; its 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to include selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - spanning this hull's entire construction era (1943-44).
- 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. GAO's fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - neither is this hull's builder. Product page retrieved via Firecrawl 2026-09-30; direct curl fetch returns HTTP 403 (standing access defect, same as Batch 98).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-11
-
[13]Batch-5274 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44 + NARA catalog photo records; NavSource; uboat.net; NHHC (DANFS absent; Operation Neptune sunk/damaged table); Naval Marine Archive yard table; ODU special collections; CourtListener opinion + docket searches; veterans-site and secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-553-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-553-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming LCI(L)-553 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener authenticated API v4 searches completed 2026-09-30: zero opinion hits and one docket hit that is a name collision (Lagana v. Stephen Einstein & Associates, S.D.N.Y. 1:10-cv-04456 - a Fair Debt Collection Act case, not asbestos, not this hull). A variant-spelling opinion query also returned zero. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no ship-specific 'asbestos aboard' material for this hull - only roster/loss listings; law-firm marketing content for the LCI type generally would be excluded by source policy in any event.
- 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 - era inference is consistent with era-standard materials during construction. The hull's 1944 loss forecloses the postwar abatement/records pathways that generate documentation on surviving ships; salvage documentation for the wreck is limited to a single secondary yard-table line ('recovered and scrapped in UK'). The undigitized RG 24 deck logs (2/15/1944-6/5/1944) and the ODU Heflin & Williams ship-data volume covering this hull range are open archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-12
-
[14]Old Dominion University Libraries Special Collections, Heflin & Williams collection - 'Volume 02: LCI(L) - 351 - LCI(L) - 1098 (Landing Craft Infantry, Large)', ship data files organized by hull number [other_primary]
- Locator
- archivesguides.lib.odu.edu archival object 88476 (Binder Case 23, Volume 02); NARA SL44 p.25 and navy-online digitization list (absent)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- ODU holds a ship-data file collection (Heflin & Williams) whose Volume 02 spans hulls LCI(L)-351 through LCI(L)-1098 - a range including this hull - with files organized by ship class, hull designation, and hull number. Together with the undigitized NARA RG 24 deck logs (coverage 2/15/1944-6/5/1944 per Special List 44), this is the located archival path most likely to hold a ship-specific file.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (log window)
- Population
- N/A - record-location lead
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the volume's title establishes hull-range coverage, not that an LCI(L)-553 file actually exists inside it or what it contains; undigitized, open to researchers without restrictions per the finding aid. Deck logs likewise establish existence, not content. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-553-13