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)-687 - construction, commissioning, campaign credits, awards, disposal, specifications, photo record (live page verified 2026-09-30; history credited to Turner Publishing 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150687.htm header block, campaign table, occupation/China table, disposition block, specifications block, and photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down 8 May 1944 at George Lawley & Sons, Neponset, MA; launched 17 May 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-687, 24 May 1944. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater with campaign credits: Leyte operation - Leyte landings 5-29 November 1944 and Ormoc Bay landing 7-8 December 1944; Luzon operation - Mindoro landings 12-18 December 1944; Manila Bay-Bicol operations - Nasugbu 31 January 1945 and Mariveles-Corregidor 14-28 February 1945; Consolidation of the Southern Philippines - Mindanao Island landings 17-23 April 1945 and 10-16 May 1945. Post-war: Navy Occupation service 8-18 September 1945; China service (extended) 19 September-16 December 1945. Decommissioned, date unknown; struck from the Naval Register 5 June 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 11 March 1948 at San Diego, CA for disposal (PDX-225, 27 September 1946); fate unknown. Four battle stars; ribbons shown include Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4), Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp), China Service Medal (extended), Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Liberation Medal (2). Spec block: 246 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max (14 continuous); 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; 75 tons cargo; five single 20mm mounts; endurance 4,000 miles at 12 kts loaded; two sets of 4 GM 6051-series-71 diesels (4 per shaft), single GM main reduction gears, two 30 kW 120V DC diesel-drive ship's service generators, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp. Photo record shows her moored in China with USS LCI(L)-758 and USS LCI(L)-759, circa September-December 1945 - consistent with her China service window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Lawley Neponset construction trades (May 1944); crew 4 officers + 24 enlisted (1944-46); embarked troops up to ~188
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - dates generally track official records but the page is not a primary registry. Builder, delivery date, and NDRF/MARCOM disposition corroborated by the shipbuilding-history build table (ev-02); campaign windows corroborated by NARA-indexed task-unit operational records for the Ormoc, Mindoro, and Macajalar Bay operations (ev-05) and are consistent with the Navy award-table values reproduced in secondary compilations (P31-1, P31-7, P32-1, P41-2, P41-3, P39-3). No flotilla assignment is printed on this hull's page (see ev-06). Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-01
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[2]Shipbuilding-history LCI(L) build table (Naval Marine Archive mirror of the Colton shipbuilding data), LCI(L)-687 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/lcil.html, LCI(L) hull table row 687
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The build table lists: LCI(L) | hull 687 | Lawley, Neponset | 24-May(-44) | 'To NDRF 1948' - corroborating the builder, yard location, completion date, and MARAD-custody disposition on the NavSource page. Surrounding rows (684-692) show the same Lawley/Neponset block with May-June 1944 delivery dates; sister fates include 684 lost in the Pacific 1-Nov-44, 688 and 689 to Argentina (BDI No. 10 and No. 15), 691 sunk as target 1956.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Lawley Neponset yard trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference table - corroboration of builder/date/disposition, not a primary contract record. 'To NDRF' is the table's shorthand for MARAD taking custody and disposing of the boat; it does not establish lay-up at a specific NDRF site. Yard contract or hull-number-level detail not carried. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-02
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[3]NARA Special List No. 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - ship-number sequence, PDF page 27 [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 27, row 'LCI(L)-687 | 5/24/1944 | 6/30/1945' (verified via pdftotext extraction)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 (by ship number) lists Navy deck logs held by NARA for LCI(L)-687 covering 5/24/1944-6/30/1945 - i.e., logbook coverage running from her commissioning date through mid-1945 (log-coverage dates, not commissioning evidence). Neighboring hulls show the same 6/30/1945 end cutoff, indicating a holdings-list boundary rather than a service end date. The cited SL44 page is PDF page 27 as pre-flagged in batch tasking.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-05-24 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- LCI(L)-687 crew (1944-45 logging window)
- Limitations
- Archival documentation: the list establishes that logs exist in NARA holdings for that window (RG 24, Bureau of Naval Personnel records). A catalog search surfaced no digitized deck-log file unit titled for this hull under tested name forms, so these logs were not located online - physical-holdings lead only (see ev-11). A deck log is an operational record, not a material survey; it would document location/moorage and noteworthy events, not insulation content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-03
-
[4]NARA catalog, NAID 120243949 - 'LCI(L) 687 - Muster Rolls' (105 digitized images, Ancestry partnership; first image a muster roll dated 1944 June 30; RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, series Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/120243949 - file-unit description, 105-image viewer, Ancestry file 32860_245135
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized personnel records naming this hull: 105 muster-roll images for LCI(L) 687 are online, opening with the 30 June 1944 muster (five weeks post-commissioning) - direct primary documentation of the hull's existence and crew rosters by reporting period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- LCI(L)-687 crew (1944-46 muster periods)
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live (title, NAID, series, 105 images, first-image date); page-image contents not individually reviewed. Muster rolls are personnel records - no material or asbestos content. They are leads for building a crew roster and timeline, which this record does not do.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-04
-
[5]NARA catalog, digitized task-unit operational records surfaced under a 'LCI(L)-687' query (RG 38, WWII War Diaries/Other Operational Records and Histories, series NAID 4697018): NAID 139944058 'COMTASK-GROUP 78.3 - Fwding reps of act on the assault landing at Ormoc Bay, Leyte Is, Philippines on 12/7/44' (80 images); NAID 139965184 'COMTASK-UNIT 78.3.3 - Rep of ops in the invasion of Mindoro Is, Philippines 12/13-15/44' (70 images); NAID 77514480 'COMTASK-UNIT 78.3.43 - Rep of opers in the assault landings in Macajalar Bay, Mindanao Island, Philippines, 5/10/45' (12 images, serial 09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/139944058 (Ormoc, 80 images); /id/139965184 (Mindoro, 70 images); /id/77514480 (Macajalar Bay, 12 images)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Three digitized Task Group 78.3 operational records index-match this hull's designation and correspond to three of her printed campaign credits: the Ormoc Bay assault landing of 7 December 1944 (Task Group 78.3 forwarding reports), the Mindoro invasion of 13-15 December 1944 (Task Unit 78.3.3), and the Macajalar Bay, Mindanao assault landings of 10 May 1945 (Task Unit 78.3.43 - matching the '10 to 16 May 1945' Mindanao credit). The catalog's index associates this hull with each file unit, indicating the documents' contents reference LCI(L)-687.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-12-07 to 1945-05-10
- Population
- LCI(L)-687 crew during the Ormoc, Mindoro, and Macajalar operations; embarked troops
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live (titles, NAIDs, image counts); page-image contents not individually reviewed. These are task-group/task-unit records authored by higher echelons, not hull-authored action reports - the index match indicates the hull is named inside, but her specific role lines were not read. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-05
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[6]NARA catalog, NAID 139804514 - 'COM LCI(L) FLOT 15 - War Diary, 8/1-31/44' (RG 38, same series; 4 images; micro serial 102078, serial 085); corroborating NavSource sister-hull pages: LCI(L)-613 and LCI(L)-686 photo-captioned/assigned 'of LCI Flotilla Fifteen' (Ormoc Bay 7 Dec 1944 landing, 77th Division); LCI(L)-609, -968, -1064 also carry Flotilla Fifteen [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/139804514 (FLOT 15 war diary, 4 images); NavSource 10/15/150613.htm and 10/15/150686.htm (Flotilla 15 assignments); amphibiousforces.org LCI(L)-982 account (Flotilla 15 composition/movement)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A COM LCI(L) FLOT 15 war diary for August 1944 is among the catalog's index hits for this hull's designation, indicating the diary's contents reference LCI(L)-687 and associating her with LCI Flotilla Fifteen (CAPT Deuterman's flotilla, which operated from Manus/New Guinea into the Philippines per the LCI(L)-982 first-person account). The assignment is independently consistent with the record: sister hull LCI(L)-686 - same Lawley build block, same Ormoc Bay 7 December 1944 operation - is photo-captioned 'of LCI Flotilla 15', and LCI(L)-613's NavSource page assigns her to Flotilla Fifteen with the same printed campaign windows this hull carries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-08 to 1945
- Population
- LCI(L)-687 crew; Flotilla 15 staff
- Limitations
- Flotilla assignment is probable but not printed on this hull's own NavSource page and the war-diary page images were not individually reviewed - the association rests on the catalog's index match plus sister-hull corroboration, which is strong but circumstantial. Flotilla rosters shifted; the association does not extend beyond the indexed diary window. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-06
-
[7]Office of Naval Intelligence, ONI 226, 'Allied Landing Craft and Ships' (U.S. Navy recognition manual, 1944), 'Landing Craft, Infantry (Large) Nos. 351-' section [other_primary]
- Locator
- ONI 226 PDF, LCI(L) Nos. 351- section (p. ~1527ff of extracted text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ONI 226 documents the LCI(L) design this hull belongs to: an ocean-going infantry carrier for direct beach unloading; the 351-series group is listed at crew 4 officers and 24 men, troop capacity 9 officers and 196 enlisted troops plus 32 tons cargo (oceangoing), five 20 mm guns, 2-inch plastic splinter protection on guns, conning and pilothouse sides, displacement 250 t landing / 387 t loaded, endurance 8,000 miles at 12 knots on 110 tons fuel, and GM diesel propulsion on twin screws - noting that production after 1 June 1944 incorporated a centerline ramp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- LCI(L) crews and embarked troops (class context)
- Limitations
- Contemporary Navy recognition manual - class-level data, not a hull record. Troop capacity (9 officers/196 enlisted), cargo (32 t oceangoing), displacement (250/387 t), and endurance (8,000 mi) figures differ from the NavSource spec block (6/182 troops, 75 t cargo, 419 t loaded, 4,000 mi) - unresolved variant carried in gaps, NavSource figures used in complement field. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-07
-
[8]MIT Museum, organization record 'George Lawley & Son' (Organization ID 1754), shipyard description and related-objects collection [museum_official]
- Locator
- mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/organization/1754 - organization summary and related-objects block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MIT Museum documents the builder named by NavSource for this hull: a Neponset, Massachusetts yard operated by three generations of the Lawley family from the 1860s to the 1940s, building both wood and steel vessels 'including dozens of World War II landing craft,' closing in 1946; the museum holds 178 related objects including LCI(L) material.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1860s-1946
- Population
- Lawley Neponset yard trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context only - corroborates the builder's existence, location, and landing-craft production, not this specific hull's construction. The museum record renders the firm 'George Lawley & Son' (singular) - the legal-name variant noted in gaps. Page verified live via rendered fetch (direct fetch rate-limited, HTTP 429). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-08
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (GM 6051-series-71 diesel plant, diesel-drive generators - no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-use era, ev-10); Corn & Starr (1987) WWII shipbuilding asbestos policy [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; shipyards.json yard list (no Lawley entry); GAO HRD-80-2 and Corn & Starr (1987) era context
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built May 1944 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel craft of this type were diesel exhaust and muffler lagging, gaskets and valve packing in engine and piping systems, electrical insulation on wiring and in control panels, and thermal insulation in the confined machinery spaces. As a diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam ships does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1944); crew 28 (1944-46); embarked troops (transient, up to ~188); MARCOM/NDRF handling crews (1946-48)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, builder's spec sheet, or work package located for LCI(L)-687. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. George Lawley & Sons is not in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset, so no yard-level product list was attached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-09
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979); supplemented by Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987), doi:10.1002/ajim.4700110311 [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403); DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311
- 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 (May 1944) and US Navy service era (1944-46). Corn & Starr's peer-reviewed history independently documents the federal government's WWII-era shipbuilding asbestos policy under which this craft was mass-produced at a civilian contract yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979; 1987
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. GAO full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description. Corn & Starr cited at title/abstract level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-10
-
[11]NARA deck-log research guidance - RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) paper log retrieval via Archives II textual reference; NavSource underlying source USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1995, ISBN 1-56311-262-0, print only) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy (retrieval guidance); NAIDs in ev-05/ev-06 (digitized leads); Turner Publishing ISBN 1-56311-262-0
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Open archival leads (not retrieved): (1) The SL44-listed deck logs for this hull (5/24/1944-6/30/1945) are paper holdings at Archives II, College Park - no digitized deck-log file unit titled for this hull was located in the catalog under tested name forms. (2) The FLOT 15 war diary (ev-06) and the three task-unit operation reports (ev-05) are digitized and readable page-by-page for this hull's specific role lines and flotilla roster confirmation. (3) NavSource's underlying source, the Turner Publishing LCI volume, is print-only and may carry a hull-level flotilla assignment and commander names.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Leads only - the deck logs were not retrieved; the digitized reports/diary were verified at metadata level but their image pages were not individually read; the Turner volume was not consulted. A deck log documents operations, not material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-11
-
[12]Batch-5416 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page + sister-hull flotilla pages; shipbuilding-history build table; NARA catalog (muster rolls, FLOT 15 war diary, task-unit action reports); NARA Special List 44 PDF + digitized deck-log check; NHHC DANFS; NVR; MARAD ShipHistory; MIT Museum; ONI 226; Library of Congress; usslci.org; CourtListener (opinions + dockets); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, MARAD vessel status card, DANFS entry, or qualifying case naming LCI(L)-687 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion search returned zero results under three name forms ('LCI(L)-687', 'LCI(L) 687', 'LCI-687'); the docket-level (RECAP) search remained pacing-blocked at drafting - logged as blocked, not a negative result. The only asbestos-adjacent web hit is a law-firm marketing page for USS Uhlmann (DD-687), a different destroyer hull - a name collision, excluded as both off-hull and a banned source type. The hull's 1948 MARCOM disposal (fate unknown) forecloses the usual US-side abatement/museum/scrapping documentation trail that produces ship-specific asbestos records.
- 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 - and the docket-level litigation search is a genuine open gap (pacing-blocked, not run). Undigitized deck logs (SL44 window 5/24/1944-6/30/1945), Lawley build records, and Maritime Commission disposal records (RG 178) are open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-687-lcil687-12