Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-623 - construction dates, builder, campaign summary, disposal, and full specification block; history credited to 'USS LCI "Landing Craft Infantry," Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive, hull page 10/15/150623 - history block, campaign table, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship record: LCI-351 class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down 1 May 1944 at New Jersey Ship Building Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 29 May 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-623 5 June 1944; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; credited with the Leyte operation (Leyte landings, 23 to 29 November 1944) and one battle star; ribbon display includes American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1), WWII Victory Medal, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Liberation Medal (1); decommissioned and stricken 'date unknown'; transferred to the Maritime Commission 7 July 1947; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' Specifications: 246 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158 ft 5.5 in; beam 23 ft 3 in; 16 kt max; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; five single 20 mm; propulsion two sets of 4 GM diesel engines (4 per shaft), GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp, plus two diesel-drive 30 kW 120 V DC ship's service generators. Photographs show the ship beached in the Philippines (date unknown) with crew member Thomas C. DiTillio identified.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Wartime crew (4 officers + 24 enlisted); embarked troops up to 6 officers + 182 enlisted; New Jersey Shipbuilding construction workforce, Barber NJ, 1944
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained naval-history archive, not an official record; its source here is a veterans'-association compilation (Turner Publishing, 1995). The page documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Its Leyte-only, one-star attribution is incomplete against the official NHHC awards manual (see ev-02 and gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-623-lcil623-01
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[2]Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual (NAVPERS 15,790, rev. 1953), Part IV - List of Ships and Units Eligible for Engagement Stars, (A) United States Ships - entries 'LCI(L) 623' and 'LCI 623', with Part III operation-code key [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Part IV section (A) United States Ships, 'LCI(L) 623' and 'LCI 623' rows; Part III Asiatic-Pacific Area operation-code key (P31-1, P39-3, P39-4)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official engagement-star register credits this hull (entered twice, once as 'LCI(L) 623' and once as 'LCI 623') with participation in: Leyte landings 28 Nov 44 - 29 Nov 44 (code P31-1, Leyte operation); Mindanao Island landings 10 Mar 45 - 20 Mar 45 (code P39-3, within Consolidation of the Southern Philippines, 8 Mar - 20 Jul 45 - the 10 Mar window corresponds to the Zamboanga assault); and Sulu Archipelago landings 9 Apr 45 - 11 Apr 45 (code P39-4, Sanga Sanga / Tawi Tawi / Jolo; the manual page prints 'Zulu Archipelago', sic). Under the manual's one-star-per-operation rule this constitutes engagement-star credit for two operations: Leyte (P31) and Consolidation of the Southern Philippines (P39).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-11-28 to 1945-04-11
- Population
- Crew and embarked troops during the Leyte reinforcement window and the Mindanao/Sulu assault landings
- Limitations
- Documents award-eligible participation windows only - no asbestos, materials, or crew information. Conflicts with NavSource's summary, which attributes a single battle star to the Leyte landings (23-29 Nov 44) and omits the 1945 Southern Philippines engagements; the official manual is carried as authoritative and the discrepancy is logged in gaps. Whether both operation credits were actually issued as stars is not adjudicated here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-623-lcil623-02
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[3]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - by Ship Number, entry 'LCI(L)-623 6/5/1944 - 6/30/1945' (PDF p. 26) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 26, row 'LCI(L)-623'; RG 24 Entry 118 (NAID 581208)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds deck logs for this hull covering 5 June 1944 (the commissioning date) through 30 June 1945, in Record Group 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel deck logs, NAID 581208). The log series is the primary source that could contain ship-level material, maintenance, and event records for the Leyte and Southern Philippines operations.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-05 to 1945-06-30
- Limitations
- Documents log coverage only - the logs' contents (which might or might not mention materials, overhauls, or conditions aboard) are unexamined. Coverage endpoints are log-holding dates, not commissioning/decommissioning dates; the begin date coincides with the documented commissioning date but is not itself proof of it. Digitization status of these logs in the National Archives Catalog is unverified (catalog front end JS-rendered this session - see search_ledger sl-11).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-623-lcil623-03
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[4]Princeton Alumni Weekly, memorial for Robert Bach '39 (published Dec. 4, 2013 issue; Bach died May 15, 1989): 'Bob joined Wertheim in 1946, after having served as the skipper of LCI 623 in the Pacific during WWII.' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- PAW memorial body text, 'Robert Bach '39'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- An alumni-magazine memorial identifies Robert Bach (Princeton '39) as the wartime commanding officer ('skipper') of LCI 623 in the Pacific, departing naval service for Wertheim & Co. in 1946 - consistent with the documented Pacific assignment and the postwar disposal timeline.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- One named wartime officer; no exposure information
- Limitations
- Secondary source - an alumni memorial, not a Navy record; does not give command dates, does not establish whether Bach was commissioning CO or a later officer in charge, and contains no asbestos or exposure information. No exposure claim is made for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-623-lcil623-04
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[5]Era inference built on: NavSource propulsion specification for this hull (GM diesel sets, no steam plant); LCI(L)-351 class specification (Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945, HyperWar/ibiblio transcription: '2 sets G.M. diesel engins; twin variable-pitch screws, 1600 BHP'); general WWII-era shipboard asbestos-use pattern [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block (150623.htm); HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' LCI(L)-351 class specification (https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-lc.html)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1944 all-diesel amphibious landing ship carries a materially smaller asbestos-relevant plant than a steam vessel: no boilers, no turbines, no steam piping - eliminating the boiler-room lagging pathway. Era-standard applications aboard a craft of this type and period plausibly included diesel-exhaust and muffler lagging, engine and piping gaskets, valve and machinery packing, electrical insulation, and deck compounds.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947 and any later service life of the hull
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); wartime crew; transient embarked troops; postwar disposal/scrapping workforce (location unknown)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or photograph documenting materials aboard LCI(L)-623 was located. Names plausible era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution; does not establish exposure or its absence for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-623-lcil623-05
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[6]Batch-5346 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page; NHHC Navy-MC Awards Manual Part IV; NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF; DANFS/NHHC ship pages; Naval Vessel Register; CourtListener API v4 (type=o and type=r); uboat.net; Naval Marine Archive (shipbuildinghistory table); Princeton Alumni Weekly; usslci.org; secondary-web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-623-lcil623-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-623-lcil623-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LCI(L)-623 was found in the sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated API v4) returned zero opinion hits for 'LCI(L)-623', 'LCI-623', 'LCI 623', and 'Landing Craft Infantry 623', and one docket hit that is a name collision (a prisoner civil-rights case whose OCR text contains 'LCI-623' as an unrelated string). No DANFS entry exists for this hull; NVR does not cover pre-1987 disposals.
- 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 was disposed through the Maritime Commission in 1947 and its deck logs (SL44-documented, 1944-06-05 to 1945-06-30) are unexamined and possibly undigitized. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-623-lcil623-06