Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 460-packet.md (3 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-697-lcil697-pkt-460-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-697 - construction dates, commissioning, service narrative, occupation service, disposal, specifications (history credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995, contributed by crew member William R. Beattie) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150697.htm - header block, service narrative, specifications block, photo captions (San Diego 15 Oct 1944; crew photo c.1945)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 6 June 1944 at George Lawley & Sons, Neponset, MA (LCI-351 class); launched 15 June 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-697, 21 June 1944, at Boston. Crew narrative (Beattie): from Boston she went via the Panama Canal to San Diego, then solo to Pearl Harbor, where she trained about 3 months with Underwater Demolition Teams - during which, per the same narrative, an entire UDT team was killed in a training accident; she then sailed alone for Japan and occupation duty. Asiatic-Pacific theater; occupation service in the Far East 2 October 1945 - 1 February 1946; decommissioned early 1946 at Charleston, SC; struck from the Naval Register 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 7 February 1947; fate unknown. Photo captions document the ship at San Diego 15 October 1944 alongside LCI(L)-644 and LCI(L)-789, and a crew photograph circa 1945. Spec block: 246 t. light / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; propulsion - two sets of 4 General Motors 6051-series-71 diesel engines (4 per shaft), GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp. Awards ribbon rack: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Medal (Asia clasp).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); embarked troops and UDT personnel; Charleston decommissioning trades
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; the service narrative is a crew member's account (Turner Publishing reunion-volume history) and the UDT fatal-accident detail is not corroborated by any official source located. No asbestos content. 'Decommissioned early-1946' and 'struck 1946' carry no exact dates in this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-697-lcil697-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), George S. Lawley & Sons, Neponset MA - yard construction table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Lawley yard table, Neponset section, hull 1498 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Lawley yard table lists LCI(L) 697 as yard hull number 1498, 'Landing Craft', 216d displacement, 158 ft, dated 21-Jun-44 (consistent with the NavSource commissioning date), with disposition noted as 'Sold 1947?'. Sister hulls in the same block run LCI(L) 690-700+; the yard table documents Lawley's serial LCI(L) production at Neponset in 1943-44.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Lawley Neponset yard workforce (1944)
- Limitations
- Colton's yard table is a secondary compilation; the single date column (21-Jun-44) tracks the delivery/commissioning milestone rather than laying down. 'Sold 1947?' is explicitly tentative - consistent with NavSource's 'transferred to Maritime Commission 7 February 1947, fate unknown' but not independently proven. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-697-lcil697-02
-
[4]NHHC, United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 (online reading room transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, Service Force / Service Squadron Two section, p. 104 of the transcription ('LCI(L) 697 ... Lt. (jg) L. R. Hare (USNR)')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization lists LCI(L) 697 in the Service Force, Pacific Fleet, within the Service Squadron Two section (the section listing Service Force repair, tug, district, and small craft), with commanding officer Lt. (jg) L. R. Hare (USNR). This places the hull in the Hawaiian-service-force orbit at that date - consistent with the crew narrative's Pearl Harbor period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew under Lt.(jg) L. R. Hare (USNR), May 1945
- Limitations
- Assignment listing only - establishes fleet attachment and commanding officer at one date; does not describe operations, locations visited, or material conditions. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-697-lcil697-03
-
[5]Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, NAVPERS 15,790 (1953 revision), Part IV, Section 17 - ships credited for the Navy Occupation Service Medal and China Service Medal (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Awards-IV-17.html, LCI section, 'LCI (L) 697 | 2 Oct 45 - 1 Feb 46 | A'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Secretary of the Navy's credited list qualifies LCI (L) 697 for the Navy Occupation Service Medal for the period 2 October 1945 - 1 February 1946, clasp A (Asia) - the official award-eligibility record corroborating the NavSource occupation-service dates verbatim.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- Crew during occupation service, 1945-10-02 to 1946-02-01
- Limitations
- Award-eligibility listing only - it establishes presence in qualifying occupation waters during the stated window, not what the ship did there or any material condition. Transcription of an official manual hosted by ibiblio/HyperWar. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-697-lcil697-04
-
[6]NARA Special List 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number index) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, p. 27, 'LCI(L)-697 6/21/1944 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds Navy deck logs for LCI(L)-697 covering 6/21/1944 - 6/30/1945 (RG 24). The coverage window spans commissioning through mid-1945 - i.e., the Panama transit, San Diego, and Pearl Harbor UDT-training period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (coverage window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the log-coverage endpoints are catalog date ranges, NOT commissioning/decommissioning dates (per batch instruction); the logs are undigitized and were not read. Deck-log contents - positions, availabilities, casualties - remain an open primary-source pull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-697-lcil697-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (eight GM 6051-series-71 diesel engines, GM reduction gears, 2,320 shp - diesel plant, no boilers); LCI(L)-type design standard (158-ft welded steel landing craft); GAO HRD-80-2 era context (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; LCI(L) class documentation; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven LCI(L) built in 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a landing craft of this type and period were diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, valve packing, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, deck coverings/tile, and winch brake linings - in a 158-ft hull where engine room, mess deck, and troop berthing occupied a single small volume. 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
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1944); crew and embarked troops (1944-46); Charleston decommissioning trades (1946)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-697, and no asbestos product list exists in shipyards.json for the Lawley yard (not a dataset member). Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-697-lcil697-06
-
[8]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 (1944) and service era (1944-46).
- 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.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-697-lcil697-07
-
[9]USS LCI National Association, 'Elsie Item' newsletter, Issue 102 (September 2018) - In Memoriam roster [other_primary]
- Locator
- ElsieItem-102-Sep-2018.pdf, p. 4, 'In Memoriam' column (LCI 697 entry)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The veterans' association newsletter's In Memoriam list records association members tied to 'LCI 697' among the hull rosters - evidence that named wartime crew of this hull survived into the association era and are tracked by the USS LCI National Association; the association is the lead for muster/crew documentation beyond the official record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2018 (publication)
- Population
- WWII crew of LCI(L)-697 (association membership)
- Limitations
- Association roster, not a service record - establishes that members were associated with hull 697, not dates aboard or duties performed. Newsletter PDF verified live (site TLS chain required relaxed checking for curl but serves normally). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-697-lcil697-08
-
[10]Batch-5427 search ledger (this record): NavSource; Shipbuilding History Lawley table; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945; Navy awards manual (HyperWar); NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF; MARAD Vessel History Database; USS LCI National Association; NHHC site search for a DANFS entry; CourtListener (blocked); live-web asbestos/litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-697-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LCI(L)-697 was found in the public sources searched. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (numbered landing craft were not individually covered). A live-web asbestos/mesothelioma sweep returned no results naming this hull. CourtListener opinion search (type=o) for all four hull-number variants returned 0 results; the docket-index search (type=r) could not be completed - the fleet pacing limiter reported its hourly budget spent - and is logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result.
- 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 CourtListener docket index is a genuine open gap (throttled, not run). NARA deck logs (RG 24, coverage through 1945-06-30), Maritime Commission disposal records, and Lawley construction records (Mystic Seaport Lawley Family Collection, Coll. 279) are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-697-lcil697-09