Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-66 ex USS LCI(L)-66 (1942-1945) - construction, designation, campaign, specification, and disposal record (page states its source as 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry, Vol. II,' Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150066.htm - header block, campaign table, specifications block, photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 18 August 1942 at Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, TX; launched 4 October 1942; commissioned USS LCI(L)-66, 14 December 1942; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater with campaigns at Rendova-Vangunu occupation (1 July 1943), consolidation of the northern Solomon Islands (28 April - 15 June 1944), Mindanao Island landings (17-23 April 1945), and the Balikpapan operation, Borneo (26 June - 7 July 1945); reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Guns) LCI(G)-66, 15 June 1944; decommissioned, date unknown; struck from the Naval Register 12 April 1946; sold 2 December 1946, fate unknown. Earned four battle stars for WWII service; awards shown include the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4), WWII Victory Medal, Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, and Philippine Liberation Medal. Specification block: 216 t. light / 389 t. loaded; 158' 5.5" x 23' 3"; two sets of four General Motors diesel engines, four per shaft, 1,600 bhp, twin variable-pitch propellers; LCI(G) armament two 40mm, four 20mm, six .50cal, ten MK7 rocket launchers; LCI(G) complement 5 officers + 65 enlisted. Photo caption documents crewman Don Hawley, QM2/c, on the 20mm gun.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (1942); crew 24 (LCI(L)) / 70 (LCI(G)); embarked troops up to 188
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track official records and are corroborated here by uboat.net and shipbuildinghistory.com, but the page itself is secondary. Decommissioning date is not recorded.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-01
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[2]uboat.net Allied Warships entry, USS LCI(L)-66 (LCI(L)-66), LCI 1 class - build data and Operation Oboe II (Balikpapan) order of battle [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 20894 - specification table and 'Notable events' Oboe II order of battle, TG 78.2.8 paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net records this hull ordered 3 June 1942, laid down 18 August 1942 at Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd. (Orange, Texas), launched 4 October 1942, commissioned 14 December 1942, reclassified LCI(G) on 15 June 1944, and sold 2 December 1946 - corroborating the NavSource timeline. Its transcribed order of battle for Operation Oboe II (Allied landings at Balikpapan, 1 July 1945) places USS LCI(G)-66, Lt.(jg) J.A. Kraus, USNR commanding, in Task Group 78.2.8, the Close Support Unit under T/Cdr. D.H. Day, USN, within the Balikpapan Attack Group (TG 78.2, Vice-Admiral D.E. Barbey).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Lt.(jg) J.A. Kraus, USNR (CO at Balikpapan); LCI(G) crew (70)
- Limitations
- Secondary scholarly database (Guðmundur Helgason's Allied Warships), not a Navy registry - the order of battle transcribes official wartime action-report task organization but is itself a compilation. CO name and unit assignment are corroborating detail, not an independent official record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-02
-
[3]U.S. Naval Academy, Nimitz Library Special Collections & Archives - MS 415, World War II Ship Action Reports, 1942-1945, finding aid, Series 2 (Ships L, including landing craft) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MS 415 finding aid, Series 2 'Ships L (including landing craft), 1942-1945, Boxes 10-14' - entry at Box 11, Folder 39
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Nimitz Library holds the official action report for this hull's last campaign: 'U.S.S. LCI (G)-66 (Landing Craft - Infantry), July 1945 - Balikpapan screening operation (Borneo),' Series 2, Box 11, Folder 39 of MS 415 (World War II Ship Action Reports, 1942-1945). The action report is the primary contemporaneous record of the ship's Balikpapan operation, including the period in which a crew oral history describes a mine strike.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- July 1945
- Population
- LCI(G)-66 crew, July 1945
- Limitations
- Finding-aid level verification only - the report itself was not retrieved this session and its contents (damage narrative, repair references, any material detail) are unverified. Physical collection, not digitized. No asbestos content at finding-aid level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-03
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[4]National Museum of the Pacific War / UNT Portal to Texas History, 'Oral History Interview with Don Hawley' (catalog abstract; UNT record metapth1608003) [museum_official]
- Locator
- UNT Portal to Texas History record metapth1608003 (National Museum of the Pacific War oral history collection); abstract text as indexed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Museum oral-history record for a crewman of this hull: per the catalog abstract, Don Hawley joined the Navy in January 1943, trained at Camp Farragut, and boarded USS LCI(L)-66 at Tulagi as a quartermaster, later serving as radar operator, gunner, and quarterdeck crew lead; the ship was converted to LCI(G) at Bougainville; he describes night patrols off Rabaul, the Mindanao River operation, a mine strike during the Balikpapan invasion, and the ship being towed to dry dock at Hollandia, New Guinea, where he remained until war's end; he was discharged January 1946.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Don Hawley, QM2/c (crew, 1943-1946); Hollandia repair-yard personnel (1945)
- Limitations
- First-person veteran account held by an accredited museum collection - details are memoir, not official record, and the interview transcript was not directly read (UNT Portal returned an Altcha bot-challenge to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-09-30; content summarized from the catalog abstract via an index mirror). The Hollandia dry-docking is a repair event whose work scope is undocumented; no asbestos content. Full transcript remains an open verification lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-04
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[5]USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association (501(c)(19) veterans organization), 'Firefight on the Mindanao River' by Don Hawley, quartermaster aboard LCI(G)-66 [other_primary]
- Locator
- usslci.org article 'Firefight on the Mindanao River' (posted 2017-09-17); LCI-66 category page; 'Walter Kopacz - A Memorial'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- First-person account of this hull's April 1945 Mindanao operation: LCI(G)66 sailed past Zamboanga to the Illana Bay landings, then led another LCI(G) and three PGMs up the Mindanao River - 'no ship the size of ours had ever navigated' it - to bring the bow gun against Fort Pickett; docked at Cotabato hours after Japanese withdrawal; grounded in river mud for an extended period (crew told the ship would be decommissioned if stuck three months) before rain freed her; then joined the convoy for Balikpapan, where 'LCI(G)66 hit a mine.' The association's LCI-66 page also memorializes crewman Walter Kopacz, co-founder and first treasurer of the association (d. August 2001).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- April-July 1945
- Population
- LCI(G)-66 crew (April 1945)
- Limitations
- Veteran memoir published by the crew's national association - firsthand but unofficial; consistent with the official campaign table and the oral-history abstract. The memoir's 'three-inch gun' description is informal phrasing for the LCI(G) bow armament. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-05
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[6]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation No. 9828426 (decided September 23, 1998; Docket No. 94-15 783; Houston RO) - administrative adjudication of an asbestos exposure claim [other_primary]
- Locator
- BVA Citation 9828426, Findings of Fact 1-3; 'Factual Background' (SSA employment record; September 1996 coworker letters); 'Analysis' section
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Official adjudication touching this hull's builder and era. A veteran employed at Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas (spring 1942 - spring 1944, plus early 1946, as Driller (IV) in the boilermaker department, drilling/reaming steel plates on ship hull exteriors) claimed asbestosis from service. The Board found as fact that he 'was not exposed to asbestos during his periods of employment with Consolidated Steel Corporation in Orange, Texas, from 1942 to 1946' - corroborated by two coworker letters describing no asbestos in the early drilling stage of hull construction - while finding separately that he 'was exposed to asbestos when serving aboard Navy vessels in service' (he testified to asbestos-coated piping in every compartment, sleeping under lagged pipes, and dust shaken loose by gunfire; his named ships were USS Prince Williams (CVE-31) and AN-37 Teakwood, not this hull). Service connection was granted for asbestos-related lung disease; asbestosis was denied.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (exposure); 1993-1998 (adjudication)
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange trades (1942-1946); WWII Navy crews aboard era vessels
- Limitations
- Administrative claims adjudication (BVA), not a court finding; classify at the least-final litigation stage. Does not name LCI(L)-66 and names other hulls. The yard finding is narrow - it addresses one driller's exterior-hull, early-stage work and is not a finding that the Orange yard used no asbestos elsewhere in construction (insulation trades work later in the build sequence and are not addressed). Yard-level and era context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-06
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[7]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 blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1942) and service era (1942-1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; Navy crews (program review)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-07
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[8]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (LCI-1 class; GM diesel plant, no steam); uboat.net LCI 1 class data; HAER OR-180 construction documentation of surviving sister-class LCI(L)-713 (welded 1/4-inch steel plate, eight General Motors 6-71 diesels, diesel machinery spaces); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-use era [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; HAER OR-180 data pages; GAO HRD-80-2 product description
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A welded-steel, diesel-powered amphibious landing craft built at a Texas Navy-contract yard in late 1942 sits inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos-bearing applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were insulation/lagging on piping runs through crew and machinery spaces, gaskets and valve packing on fuel/hydraulic/exhaust systems, deck coverings and mastic adhesives, and winch/windlass brake linings. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam ships does not apply, and her asbestos-relevant material scope is correspondingly narrower, concentrated in piping, gaskets/packing, and interior finish materials within a small, confined hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (1942); crew (1942-1946); repair personnel during the Hollandia dry-docking (1945); buyers/breakers post-1946
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-66. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The LCI-1 class was designed for rapid welded construction; product names are normalized era terms with no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-08
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[9]Historic American Engineering Record, HAER No. OR-180, LCI(L)-713, Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum, Portland, OR (short form) - class construction documentation of a surviving LCI [haer]
- Locator
- HAER OR-180 short-form data pages (Type of Craft; Principal Measurements; Propulsion; Description)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- HAER documentation of the type's construction as-built: all-welded 1/4-inch steel plate designed for rapid assembly-line production, two decks with engine room containing four pairs of General Motors 6-71 diesel engines connected to two shafts and variable-pitch propellers, and deckhouse accommodations for troops and officers - the engineering baseline for the LCI(L) type to which this hull belongs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (documented hull); survey 2003-era HAER
- Population
- Class-level reference (no hull population)
- Limitations
- Documents LCI(L)-713, a later LCI-351-class (round-conn, center-ramp, Lawley-built 1944) sister - not the earlier LCI-1 class of this hull; used for shared type characteristics only. The short-form documentation does not address insulation, lagging, or any fiber-containing material - no asbestos content whatsoever.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-09
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[10]Batch-5386 search ledger (this record): NavSource; uboat.net; USNA MS 415 finding aid; NMPW/UNT oral history; USS LCI National Association; VA BVA decisions; GAO HRD-80-2; HAER OR-180; NHHC DANFS; NVR; MARAD vessel-history DB; NARA catalog; CourtListener API v4; shipbuildinghistory.com; Wikipedia class article [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS LCI(L)-66 / LCI(G)-66 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4 searches returned zero opinions and zero dockets for "LCI(L)-66", "LCI(G)-66", "LCI-66", and "USS LCI(L)-66" - the sole "LCI-66" docket hit was a name collision (a prisoner civil-rights case with OCR-garbled text where 'LCI' is a correctional-institution abbreviation, not the vessel). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case naming this hull; mesothelioma-marketing listicles assert asbestos aboard LCI-type craft without primary sourcing - 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 - 1942-era Navy construction makes era materials plausible, but nothing hull-specific documents them. Deck logs (RG 24) and the USNA action report are undigitized leads; the post-1946 private disposition is untraced. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-66-lcil66-10