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(L)-629 page (history credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page body: history block, ribbon list, and Specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline for this hull: laid down 10 May 1944 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 6 June 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-629 12 June 1944; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; post-war occupation duty in the Far East 13-23 November 1945 and 24 May-25 June 1946 and China service 24 May-25 June 1946; decommissioned and stricken dates unknown; transferred to the State Department 21 August 1946; final disposition unknown. Ribbon bar (no battle stars): China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Medal (Asia clasp). Spec block: 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 246 t. light; 16 kts max; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, 1,600 BHP, twin variable-pitch propellers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; however every wartime milestone it records was corroborated verbatim against the hull's digitized war diaries at NARA (ev-02, ev-03, ev-04). No asbestos or material content. Dates marked 'unknown' are genuinely unknown in located sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-01
-
[2]NARA RG 38 (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), World War II War Diaries: 'USS LCI(L) 629 - War Diary, 6/12/44 to 10/31/44' (NAID 78681132, roll A_1260, 12 digitized pages, Fold3 file 292502782) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/78681132, images 0538-0549
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The hull's own war diary documents: commissioned 1345 on 12 June 1944 at the builder's yard (Lt.(jg) Chester C. Kasica, USNR, accepting command; three officers and twenty-five enlisted attached); fitting out at Pier 42 North River New York; depermed at N.S.D. Bayonne and ammunition at N.S.D. Earle 15 June; shakedown at ATB Solomons MD 21 June-2 July (grounded at the mouth of the Patuxent River 20 June, refloated by USS LCI(L)-427); availability at Lambert's Point Norfolk 3-8 July; Pacific transit as Task Unit 20.15.18 with LCI(L)s 626/627/628 via Key West and the Panama Canal (24 July) to Naval Repair Base San Diego (arrived 5 August); amphibious training under Ship Training Group ComPhibTraPac including drydocking at NRB San Diego 19-20 August for bottom work and port propeller pitch-control damage, and a further availability 1-11 September; assignment to Commander LCI(L) Flotilla Sixteen (18 September, Los Angeles); transit to Pearl Harbor 10-20 October in Division 96 under Commander C. E. Coffin Jr. aboard LCI(L)-762, mooring at the Tare berths, West Loch.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-12 to 1944-10-31
- Population
- Ship's company (3 officers, 25 enlisted at commissioning); embarked trainees and superintending personnel at Solomons
- Limitations
- Primary operational record written by the commanding officer; covers June-October 1944 only. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or material content - it documents training and maintenance events (two San Diego drydock/availability periods) without describing materials disturbed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-02
-
[3]NARA RG 38, World War II War Diaries: 'USS LCI(L) 629 - War Diary, 11/1-30/44' (NAID 78705934, roll A_1287, images 0063-0065, Fold3 file 292577814) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/78705934, images 0063-0065
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- November 1944 war diary (signed Kasica, dated 1 December 1944): moored at berth T10, West Loch, Pearl Harbor, 1-11 November - 'Ship still in LCI(L) Group 48'; departed 12 November with LCI(L)s 603, 1054, 993 for Maalaea Bay, Maui, reporting to the Naval Combat Demolition Training and Experimental Base; then dispatched to Lahaina, Maui, where 14-27 November she escorted the smaller craft of a hydrographic survey party (Ens. Vasek) along the Maui and Lanai coasts; returned to Maalaea Bay 28-30 November.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-11
- Population
- Ship's company; hydrographic survey party personnel embarked ashore/afloat at Lahaina
- Limitations
- Primary operational record; one month only. Establishes the hull's presence at Pearl Harbor and Maui on survey-support duty, not assault landings. Contains no asbestos or material content. The 'Group 48' statement conflicts with her March 1945 diary ('LCI(L) Group Forty-Six administratively') - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-03
-
[4]NARA RG 38, World War II War Diaries: LCI(X)-629 war diaries March-August 1945 (NAIDs 139955222, 633416749, 140060355, 101735723, 101779052, 77489960 - the ship wrote 'LCI(X)' in her 1945 letterhead and NARA catalogs these months under LCI(X)-629) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov: NAID 139955222 (Mar, 2 pp), 633416749 (Apr, 3 pp), 140060355 (May, 3 pp), 101735723 (Jun, 2 pp), 101779052 (Jul, 2 pp), 77489960 (Aug, 2 pp)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Her 1945 war diaries document cargo work, not assault landings: the March diary records that until 19 March 1945 the vessel was 'in the LCI(L) Group Forty-Six administratively,' then placed under Commander Service Forces Pacific for operations with Service Squadron Ten. March: Ulithi-Guam freight runs (loading alongside USS Baham AG-71 and USS Corundum IX-164). April: departed Ulithi 12 April to Kossol Roads, Palau (14-18 April), then convoy G-1 #21 to San Pedro Bay, Leyte (anchored 1845 on 21 April; unloading directed by Leyte representative of ComServRon Ten, done by ship's company, through departure 26 April), returning with convoy IG-19 (about 62 ships; commodore the master of SS Jeremiah Rusk; escorts DE-199/201/203), detached to Ulithi 30 April. May: Ulithi-Guam shuttle, then availability alongside repair ship USS Mindanao (ARG-3) with drydocking on AFDL-32 for propeller change 19-24 May. June-July: continuous Guam-Ulithi spare-parts shuttle (25-27 July leg escorted by SC-1325 and SC-773). August: Guam to Ulithi to Leyte, arriving San Pedro Bay 25 August. CO Edgar H. Hagene, Lt.(jg), USNR signs from at least the October diary; he signed the May diary 'by direction' for Kasica.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-03 to 1945-08
- Population
- Ship's company; shipyard workers aboard during AFDL-32 drydocking and Mindanao availability (19-24 May 1945)
- Limitations
- Primary operational records; they document shipyard/floating-drydock availabilities (AFDL-32 at Ulithi alongside USS Mindanao) but describe no materials and contain no asbestos content. Diaries for December 1944-February 1945 (the conversion/transit window) do not surface in the digitized catalog - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-04
-
[5]NARA RG 38, World War II War Diaries: LCI(L)/LCI(X)-629 war diaries September-November 1945 (NAIDs 77553258, 77570513, 633451213) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov: NAID 77553258 (Sep, 2 pp), 77570513 (Oct, 1 p), 633451213 (Nov, 2 pp, RG 38 partners scan set 4697018/1999)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- September 1945: cargo operations San Pedro Bay Leyte, then Leyte to Apra Harbor Guam (departed 7 September with 90 tons cargo and 22 enlisted passengers, arrived 12 September), Guam to Tanapag Harbor Saipan (departed 20 September, arrived 21), returned to Apra Harbor 26 September. October: drydocked in ARD-24 at Apra Harbor 1-8 October for routine docking, engine and screw overhaul, with availability through 25 October. November: departed Apra Harbor 8 November with Army tug ST-739 for Buckner Bay, Okinawa, carrying 90 tons (mostly anchors and chain), arrived 14 November after weather delay; discharged/loaded at Buckner Bay 14-22 November; returned to Apra Harbor 27 November. The November Buckner Bay call corresponds to NavSource's 'occupation duty in the Far East, 13-23 November 1945'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-09 to 1945-11
- Population
- Ship's company; 22 enlisted passengers (September Leyte-Guam leg); ARD-24 drydock crews (October)
- Limitations
- Primary operational records; document one floating-drydock overhaul (ARD-24) without describing materials; no asbestos content. Post-November 1945 movements (including the May-June 1946 China service and the August 1946 disposal) are not covered by digitized diaries - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-05
-
[6]David McKay (AFMM Historian), 'The UPS of the Pacific: A Brief History of the LCI(X) Express,' Elsie Item (official newsletter of the USS Landing Craft, Infantry, National Association), issue 96, March 2017, pp. 4-5 - citing NHHC US Pacific Fleet Organization May 1945 and NARA RG 19 Box 296 correspondence [museum_official]
- Locator
- ELSIEITEM-96-Mar-2017.pdf, pp. 4-5 (with photo captions and footnotes 1-6)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documents this hull's cargo conversion: in December 1944 the Navy ordered nine LCIs converted to light cargo carriers - the 'LCI(X) Express' - eventually twelve; conversion removed the bunks in troop compartments 1 and 2, cut two large cargo hatches between frames 16 and 36 on the well deck, and installed a derrick-boom lifting system. The US Pacific Fleet organization document of May 1945 lists 'LCI(L) 629, Lt. C.C. Kasica' first among the twelve craft assigned to Service Squadron Eight; eleven of the twelve (including 629) came administratively from LCI Flotilla Sixteen under Commander Clarence Coffin. The article notes 'LCI 629 operated in tandem with LCI 993 at Ulithi' and 'traveled between Ulithi, the Palau's, San Pedro Bay, and Guam' - matching her own war diaries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-12 to 1945-05 (program); the article covers late 1944 through postwar
- Population
- Ship's company during conversion-period work; Pearl Harbor conversion-yard workers (conversion location not stated in the article)
- Limitations
- Secondary association publication written by a museum historian - its underlying citations are primary (NHHC May 1945 organization document; NARA RG 19 BuShips correspondence; RG 38 war diaries of LCI 629, 761, 784, 989, 993, 997). The administrative assignment (Service Squadron Eight per the org document) and the diaries' operational tasking (Service Squadron Ten detachments at Ulithi/Guam) are both recorded as the sources state them; 'LCI(X)' here denotes the conversion role, not a formal hull redesignation on the Naval Register - NavSource and the yard record keep her as LCI(L) throughout.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-06
-
[7]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton), 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' yard table (mirrored at navalmarinearchive.com) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Yard description paragraph + hull table row 'LCI(L) 629'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Documents the builder yard and this hull's line in it: New Jersey Shipbuilding 'was an assembly line for LCIs on Arthur Kill, in Barber, a community immediately to the east of Perth Amboy which was later absorbed into Perth Amboy and is now called Maurer. Management of the yard was taken over by Todd Shipyards in 1942, at the Navy's request, and was closed after the war.' Table row for LCI(L) 629: US Navy landing craft, delivered Jun-44, 'Struck 1946.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (build); 1946 (struck)
- Population
- Yard workforce (1942-45), Todd-managed
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation (standard shipbuilding reference), not an official registry; the yard-level description is corroborated by the WWII-era USN activities roster for New Jersey (HyperWar/ibiblio) listing a Navy Cost Inspector at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber. 'Struck 1946' is the only disposition the table gives - consistent with, but not adding to, NavSource's State Department transfer. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-07
-
[8]US Navy 'Landing Ships/Craft, 1940-1945' tabulation (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror of the official USN ships-data publication): LCI(L)-351 class specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-lc.html, 'LCI(L)-351 Class' block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official-era class data for the LCI(L)-351 class: displacement 385 tons full load; length 160'4"; beam 23'3"; draft 5'8" forward and aft full load; speed 15.5 knots; armament 5 x 20mm; complement 4 officers + 25 enlisted; capacity 9 officers + 200 enlisted or 75 tons cargo; 2 sets GM diesel engines, twin variable-pitch screws, 1,600 BHP. Class-range row confirms 629 falls inside the LCI(L)-351-class build (Navy landing craft table, 1942-44 commissioning range).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- LCI(L)-351-class crews generally
- Limitations
- Class-level specification table, not a hull record; corroborates NavSource's per-hull spec block with minor differences (160'4" vs 158'5.5" length conventions; 4+25 vs 4+24 complement) - see gaps. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-08
-
[9]No single citable source - era-consistency inference from vessel type, construction date, and propulsion (diesel, no steam plant) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered steel landing craft built in 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a craft of this type and period: exhaust-system lagging on the diesel uptakes, thermal and acoustic insulation in machinery and accommodation spaces, flange and valve gaskets, machinery packing, electrical cable insulation, and friction material in winch/windlass/derrick brakes. There is no steam plant, so boiler and steam-line lagging - the largest shipboard asbestos mass - is absent by design.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Barber NJ, 1944); ship's company; conversion and drydock crews (Pearl Harbor 1944-45, San Diego, Ulithi AFDL-32, Guam ARD-24)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-629. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The LCI(X) conversion (bunks out, hatches cut frames 16-36, derrick installed) and the documented drydock availabilities are conceivable disturbance pathways only if asbestos materials were present - itself unproven for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-09
-
[10]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (October 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf, report letter and 'Navy's Policy on Use of Asbestos' section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documents that the Navy's major use of asbestos aboard ships was thermal insulation; that 'all ships contain some asbestos in such components as clutches and electric cables'; that thermal-insulation product specifications were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials (with pre-purchased asbestos still installed in ships then under construction); and that the Navy's asbestos-elimination policy issued October 1975. A hull built in 1944 falls squarely inside the documented use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); use era through 1973-1975 spec change
- Population
- Navy shipyard insulation workers (program-level)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - neither worked on this hull in located records (her availabilities were at Naval Repair Base San Diego, AFDL-32 at Ulithi, and ARD-24 at Guam). Full text retrieved 2026-09-30 via rendering service; direct fetch of gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated requests.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-10
-
[11]Batch-5352 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (no entry - 404); NVR (pre-1987 disposal, out of scope); NARA catalog (war diaries + muster rolls); NavSource; uboat.net; shipbuildinghistory.com; usslci.org Elsie Item; HyperWar official pubs; GAO; CourtListener API v4 (o + r) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LCI(L)-629 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero results on the opinion index for 'LCI(L)-629', 'LCI-629', and 'LCI 629' and on the RECAP docket index for 'LCI(L)-629' and 'LCI-629'; a bare-token docket query for LCI-629 surfaced only unrelated civil dockets (e.g., a South Carolina prisoner habeas petition, 'LCI' as Lee Correctional Institution) - classified as name collisions, not vessel litigation. The 'LCI(X)-629' variant queries and the 'LCI 629' docket query were blocked by the fleet pace limiter - see search_ledger. The hull's own retrieved war diaries (June 1944-November 1945) are operational narratives that document availabilities and drydockings but never mention insulation or asbestos materials. Web-level 'asbestos' claims for landing craft exist only on law-firm marketing pages (asbestos-ships.com et al.) - 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. The documented availabilities (NRB San Diego 1944; AFDL-32/Mindanao at Ulithi May 1945; ARD-24 at Guam October 1945) and the December 1944-ordered LCI(X) conversion are realistic maintenance/disturbance windows whose material content is simply undocumented. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-11
-
[12]NARA RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships: 'LCI(L) 629 - Muster Rolls' (NAID 120285819, 26 digitized images from June 1944; catalog variant 'LCI(X) 629' NAID 120285846) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/120285819 (and /id/120285846); SL-44 row 'LCI(L)(X)-629 6/12/1944 6/30/1945' in archives.gov/files/research/military/logbooks/sl-44-ship-number.pdf (verified in extracted text layer)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds and has digitized this hull's muster rolls (crew rosters beginning 30 June 1944) - the crew-name source of record for any exposure-history research. NARA Special List 44 (the deck-log holdings index by ship number, archives.gov) lists 'LCI(L)(X)-629' with deck-log coverage 12 June 1944 through 30 June 1945 - paper holdings via textual reference (RG 24 Entry 118), and the index's 'LCI(L)(X)' cataloging independently corroborates the cargo-conversion designation. The catalog also surfaces her war diaries covering June-November 1944 and March-November 1945; diaries for December 1944-February 1945 (her LCI(X) conversion and transit west) do not surface in the digitized catalog, though deck logs covering that window exist per SL-44. Any post-June 1945 logs are outside SL-44's published coverage and remain an open archival lead.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - muster rolls name personnel but contain no asbestos or material information; individual pages not read this session beyond catalog metadata. Personnel linkage does not itself establish exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-629-lcil629-12