Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 457-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-68-lcil68-pkt-457-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-68 ex USS LCI(L)-68 (10/15/150068) - construction milestones, campaign credits, reclassification, disposal, specifications, photo captions (verified live on navsource.net) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150068.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-1 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down 1 September 1942 at Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, TX; launched 11 October 1942; commissioned USS LCI(L)-68, 17 December 1942. Asiatic-Pacific campaign credits: New Georgia-Rendova-Vangunu occupation 30 June 1943; Vella Lavella occupation 15 August 1943; consolidation of northern Solomon Islands 4-5 February, 18-19 February, 28 April-15 June 1944; Morotai landings 15 September 1944; Leyte landings 13 October-29 November 1944; Mindoro landings 12-18 December 1944; Lingayen Gulf landing 4-18 January 1945. Reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Guns) LCI(G)-68, 15 June 1944. Decommissioned, date unknown, at San Diego, CA. Struck from the Naval Register 17 April 1946. Five battle stars. Sold 5 December 1946, fate unknown. Photo captions place LCI(G)-68 moored outboard of USS LST-49 at Shanghai, China, 22-29 September 1945. Spec block: 216 t. light / 234 t. landing / 389 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max; LCI(L) complement 3 officers / 21 enlisted, troop capacity 6 officers / 182 enlisted; LCI(G) complement 5 officers / 65 enlisted; armament (LCI(G)) two 40mm, four 20mm, six .50 cal MG, ten MK7 rocket launchers; propulsion two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, 1,600 bhp, twin variable-pitch propellers; 2" plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower, pilot house. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5), WWII Victory Medal, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Liberation Medal (2).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (Sep-Dec 1942); crew (1942-46); embarked troops (up to 6 officers / 182 enlisted per landing)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation citing Turner Publishing's USS LCI Vol. II (1995) as its history source - milestones generally track official records but are not themselves a primary registry. Contains no asbestos or material content. 'Decommissioned, date unknown' leaves an open date gap.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-01
-
[3]NARA, WWII War Diaries (RG 38, series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories,' MLR P 17): USS LCI(L) 68 war diaries for July (NAID 135904029), August (NAID 135947271), September (NAID 78206512), and October (NAID 134341540) 1943 - digitized, read at image level [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAIDs 135904029 (Jul 43), 135947271 (Aug 43), 78206512 (Sep 43), 134341540 (Oct 43); microfilms 53271, 55552, 57238, 58634
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship's own war diaries (submitted by her commanding officer to CinC U.S. Fleet; Group Thirteen, Flotilla Five, Amphibious Force South Pacific) document: July 1943 - operating from Hutchinson Creek, Florida Island and the Russell Islands with Lieutenant Commander M. M. Byrd, USN, aboard LCI(L)-68 in (Group Thirteen) command; embarked Second Battalion 145th Infantry at Kukum Beach and beached/disembarked troops at Rendova on 8, 13, and 17 July (elements of the 145th, 35th, 161st, and 148th Infantry Regiments across the month). August 1943 - moored alongside LCI(L)-223 on Carter City beach for propeller exchange (new port propeller, rebuilt starboard propeller, pitch work by the engineering force, 1-12 August), then loaded 4th Defense Battalion at Kokumbona 13 August for the Vella Lavella operation. September 1943 - troop/cargo shuttle between Sasavele Island, New Georgia, and Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal (37th Division troops, ~30 tons rations, ~20 tons ammunition; convoyed with LCI(L)s 22, 63, 64, 69 and LSTs, escorted by destroyers). October 1943 - exercises and port routine; 17-21 October moored alongside the floating dry dock at Carter City furnishing power, and on 22 October entered the dry dock for propeller changes, starboard skeg repair, and bottom cleaning and painting. The July diary is signed by Lt. C. D. Older, USNR.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-07-01 to 1943-10-31
- Population
- Ship's crew (~24 under LCI(L) complement); embarked infantry (up to ~215 per documented lifts); Group Thirteen staff (LCDR Byrd embarked July 1943); Carter City floating-drydock and engineering-force personnel (Aug and Oct 1943)
- Limitations
- Primary contemporaneous operational record, but contains no asbestos, material, or industrial-hygiene content - 'maintenance,' 'docking,' and repair entries describe events, not materials or exposures. Only July-October 1943 diaries are digitized; later months (Nov 1943 onward, including the Noumea conversion period and all LCI(G)-68-era months) were not located in the digitized series. Diaries reflect what the CO reported, a wartime summary rather than a work package.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-02
-
[4]NARA, 'LCI(L) 68 - Muster Rolls' (NAID 120158933, RG 24 muster-roll series, Ancestry-partnership digitization) - 48 page images, earliest dated 31 December 1942 (commissioning-era crew) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAID 120158933 file-unit page (48 image objects, Ancestry File 32860_244557 series)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds digitized muster rolls for this hull - 48 images beginning with the 31 December 1942 muster (two weeks after commissioning). Muster rolls are the contemporaneous crew-population record: they document who was aboard, by name and rate, for each reporting period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-12-31 forward (roll coverage)
- Population
- USS LCI(L)-68 / LCI(G)-68 crew, Dec 1942 through the roll coverage window
- Limitations
- Population documentation only - muster rolls establish crew presence, not exposure. Individual rolls were not transcribed for this record; the file unit was verified live on catalog.archives.gov (48 images). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-03
-
[5]NARA, 'LCI(L)-68' (NAID 175662874), RG 19 Records of the Bureau of Ships, series 'Microfilm of Ship Engineering Drawings, 1945-1955' - microfilm of engineering drawings for this hull; Not Yet Available Online [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAID 175662874 (RG 19, series 559593, microfilm)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships engineering drawings for this specific hull survive on microfilm in RG 19 at NARA College Park (ship design division records, compiled 1945-55). A BuShips drawing set is the strongest available lead for the hull's as-built insulation arrangements and equipment - the class of document that would show insulation schedules if any record does.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1955 (compilation); hull as built 1942-43
- Population
- N/A - archival record
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the drawings are undigitized ('Not Yet Available Online') and their contents were not examined; whether they include insulation/material schedules is unverified. Drawing sets of this series typically record arrangements and systems, not abatement or material composition in modern terms. No asbestos content located in the catalog metadata.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-04
-
[6]Robin L. Rielly, American Amphibious Gunboats in World War II: A History of LCI and LCS(L) Ships in the Pacific (McFarland, 2013), chs. 1-2 and Leyte/Lingayen chapters - conversion and gunboat operations of LCI(L)-68/LCI(G)-68, drawing on the flotilla and ship war diaries and the Service Squadron SoPac Force Maintenance letter (Serial M-0252, 11 Oct 1943) [other_primary]
- Locator
- erenow.org mirror, ch. 1-2 ('The Need for a New Weapon') and Leyte/Mindoro/Lingayen chapters; notes ch. citing Serial M-0252 and war diaries
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Published scholarly history naming this hull repeatedly: LCI(L)-68 was among the early Group Thirteen/Flotilla Five ships sent to Noumea, New Caledonia, for gunboat conversion - departing 16 November 1943 (with LCI(L)-24, six days after LCI(L)s 67/69) and returning to Flotilla Five 28 December 1943, where the Service Squadron South Pacific Force maintenance organization under Capt. R. T. Cowdrey added armament (the first-batch pattern mounted a 3"/50, 40mm, 20mm, and .50-cal weapons; NavSource lists her final LCI(G) fit as 2x40mm, 4x20mm, 6x.50 cal, 10 MK7 rocket launchers). On 25 June 1944 LCI(G)s 24 and 68 operated as a task unit supporting the Army advance near Cape Torokina, Bougainville. In August 1944 she reported with LCI(G)s 23, 64, 65, 69, 70 to VII Amphibious Force for Morotai. At Leyte she and LCI(G)-70 formed the gunboat element of TU 78.3.5 for the 20-21 October 1944 Panaon Island landing, and on 22 October LCI(G)s 68 and 79 fired on the Japanese radio station at Malitbog. She joined the Mindoro Attack Group (LCI(G)s 64, 68, 69, 70) for the 15 December 1944 San Jose landing, then sailed in TG 77.6 for Lingayen - enduring kamikaze attacks en route 5 January 1945 - and covered UDT operations in TU 77.2.8 (Lingayen-area section under LCDR Rickabaugh) before the 9 January assault.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-11-16 to 1945-01
- Population
- Ship's crew (~70 under LCI(G) complement); Noumea conversion-yard and force-maintenance personnel (Nov-Dec 1943)
- Limitations
- Secondary source - a McFarland monograph citing primary records (ship and flotilla war diaries, Force Maintenance correspondence). Conversion-sequence detail conflicts across published authorities: Morison (Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier) lists 24 and 68 as the first two converted; Friedman (U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft) has 22, 24, 68, 69 converted by August 1943; Rielly's own reconstruction - adopted here - is based on the Force Maintenance serial and war diaries and places this hull's conversion Nov-Dec 1943. Contains no asbestos or material content; describes operational events only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-05
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[7]uboat.net Allied Warships entry, USS LCI(L)-68 (LCI(L)-68), LCI 1 class - order date, milestones, Morotai order of battle naming her CO [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/20896.html spec table and 'Notable events' 15 Sep 1944 Morotai entry (TG 77.3.18)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborates builder (Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange TX), adds order date 3 June 1942, and repeats the milestone line (laid down 1 Sep 1942; launched 11 Oct 1942; commissioned 17 Dec 1942; reclassified LCI(G) 15 June 1944; sold 5 Dec 1946). Its Morotai (Operation Tradewind, 15 Sep 1944) order of battle places LCI(G)-68 in Task Group 77.3.18 with Lt.(jg) J. D. Devaney, USNR, in command, alongside LCI(G)-70 and LCI(R)s 72, 73.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Ship's crew under Lt.(jg) Devaney (Morotai, Sep 1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference aggregation, not a primary registry - the CO name and order date are unverified against a primary source (CO attribution does not appear in NavSource). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource LCI-1 class spec block (1942 Consolidated Steel build, GM diesel plant, small steel-hulled infantry/gunboat craft); uboat.net order date; GAO HRD-80-2 program documentation (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150068.htm specifications block; ship design as documented for LCI-1 class
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A small diesel-powered landing craft built September-December 1942 at a Gulf Coast emergency yard sits inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a craft of this type and period were engine exhaust lagging and silencer insulation for the eight GM diesels, machinery-space thermal/acoustic insulation, gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and compartment/anti-sweat insulation in crew and troop spaces. 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
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (1942); crew (1942-46); Noumea conversion-yard personnel (Nov-Dec 1943); Carter City floating-drydock crew (Oct 1943); 1946 purchaser/scrapping trades (disposition unknown)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or drawing set examined for LCI(L)-68. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution. Her BuShips engineering drawings (NAID 175662874) are the open primary lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-07
-
[9]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 (1942-46).
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description, same standing defect as prior batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-08
-
[10]Board of Veterans' Appeals decision 9828426 (1998) - asbestos-related adjudication involving employment at Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, TX, 1942-46 [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA decision 9828426, Findings of Fact 1-3 and coworker-letter recitals
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A BVA adjudication on asbestos exposure for a former Consolidated Steel (Orange, TX) boilermaker/shipfitter employed 1942-46 - the same yard that built this hull. The Board found the veteran was NOT exposed to asbestos during that yard employment (coworker letters described the hull-steel drilling stage of construction as non-asbestos work) but WAS exposed during subsequent service aboard Navy vessels, and granted service connection for asbestos-related lung disease.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1998 (decision); 1942-46 (adjudicated exposure window)
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange trades (1942-46, per decision); Navy veterans of the era
- Limitations
- Context only: names no hull (the claimant's yard work predates or parallels LCI(L)-68's build window but no ship is identified); a single-claimant administrative decision, not a yard survey - the no-exposure finding covers one worker's trade (boilermaker/shipfitter drilling) and cannot be generalized to the whole yard or to insulation trades. Does not address asbestos aboard this or any LCI.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-09
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[11]Batch-5408 search ledger (this record): NavSource (live); NARA catalog (war diaries, muster rolls, RG 19 drawings); CourtListener authenticated API (opinions + dockets); uboat.net; Rielly/McFarland via erenow; VA BVA; GAO product page; NHHC DANFS and combat-narrative checks; NVR check; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed litigation naming USS LCI(L)-68 or USS LCI(G)-68 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener was queried under authentication this session (all designation variants, opinion and docket indexes) and returned zero results - a verified negative, not a throttle. The only 'asbestos aboard landing craft' material surfaced is law-firm marketing content (asbestos-ships.com and similar) asserting asbestos 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. Deck logs and post-October-1943 war diaries are undigitized leads; the RG 19 drawing microfilm (NAID 175662874) was not examined; inactivation records at San Diego and the 1946 purchaser's disposal records are undocumented. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-68-lcil68-10