Evidence
16 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-16).
-
[1]research packet 468-packet.md (1 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-754-lcil754-pkt-468-packet-md
-
[2]U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, NAVSHIPS 250-011, vol. II (15 April 1945), mirrored scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- printed p. 213 (PDF p. 10), LCI(M) design characteristics row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy Bureau of Ships describes the LCI(M) design as diesel powered, with two propellers, General Motors 6051 series diesel engines, three 4.2-inch chemical mortars, one single 40-mm AA gun, and a design complement of 4 officers and 49 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Design-table specifications are type-level, not a machinery or armament survey of hull 754. Diesel propulsion does not prove presence or absence of asbestos. The design-table complement is a class figure; no DANFS/NHHC hull complement exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-02
-
[3]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units (by ship number) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF p. 19, LCI(L)(M)-754 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 lists LCI(L)(M)-754 with deck-log coverage dated 4 May 1944 (the commissioning date) through 30 June 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- The dates describe listed log coverage, not the end of commission or service - muster rolls document the hull still operating through December 1945 and a war diary covers October-November 1945, so post-June-1945 logs sit in a different NARA series. The list does not reproduce logs, identify asbestos, or establish material condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-03
-
[4]Naval History and Heritage Command, United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 (contemporaneous fleet list; archived copy - live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-30) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Landing Craft Flotillas, Pacific Fleet - LCI Flotilla SIX / LCI Group 17 / LCI Division 33 (M) section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's official fleet-organization list of 1 May 1945 - the day after this hull's formal LCI(M) reclassification - places LCI 754 in LCI Flotilla SIX (Comdr. A. R. Montgomery), LCI Group 17 (Lt. Cdr. G. W. Hannett, USNR), LCI Division 33 (M), with commanding officer Lt. (jg) L. A. West (USNR), alongside mortar boats LCI 658, 659, 660 (GF) and 755.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- LCI(M)-754 crew (May 1945)
- Limitations
- Establishes administrative placement on one date (1945-05-01), not the hull's full assignment history: NavSource (quoting the Turner Publishing USS LCI Vol. II) and the Hahn crew memoir place the hull in LCI Flotilla 14 / Group 42 / Division 83 earlier in the war - a sequential reassignment, not a contradiction, but the transition date is undocumented here. No asbestos content. Live NHHC page 404s; Wayback capture 2024-01-18 used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-04
-
[5]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(M)-754 page (history compiled from USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995; photo credit Patricia Hall-West Mulder for LCDR Loyd A. West) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Header block, LCI Flotilla/Group/Division assignment line, Asiatic-Pacific campaign table, specifications block, photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents the designation sequence for this hull: commissioned USS LCI(L)-754 on 4 May 1944 (LTjg. L. A. West, USNR); reclassified LCI(G)-754 on 31 December 1944; reclassified LCI(M)-754 on 30 April 1945. Campaign credits: Leyte landings 20 October 1944; Luzon operation 9 January 1945; Iwo Jima 19-28 February 1945; Okinawa Gunto 26 March-14 June 1945; four battle stars, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and Philippine Liberation Medal. Transferred to the Maritime Commission 18 February 1948; decommissioning, strike date and final fate unknown. A photo caption places LCI(M)-754 entering San Francisco Bay circa late 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Crew 1944-1945 (three successive configurations)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates generally track Bureau of Ships data (verified against NAVSHIPS 250-011 here) but its Flotilla 14/Group 42/Division 83 assignment reflects an earlier period than the 1 May 1945 NHHC placement (see ev-04 and gaps). Battle stars and unit citations are NavSource/Turner-sourced; no official awards-list confirmation located. Spec block figures are class-level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-05
-
[6]Mid America Veterans Museum (O'Fallon, MO; 501(c)(3)), 'A St. Charles Sailor during WWII - Kenneth J. Hahn' - compiled from Hahn's September 1945 notes written at Pearl Harbor plus 1989 follow-up answers; PDF linked from the museum story page [museum_official]
- Locator
- Story page and linked memoir PDF (mavm.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A-St.-Charles-Sailor-during-WWII-Kenneth-J.-Hahn-pdf.pdf)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A crew memoir written aboard in September 1945 (Motor Machinist Mate Kenneth J. Hahn) documents this hull's service: crew of 3 officers and 25 enlisted assembled at USNATB Solomons, MD, March 1944 under LTJG Lloyd A. West (CO 'during the entire war'); commissioned 4 May 1944 at Portland and sailed 13 May down the Columbia River to San Diego, where she was converted to gunboat configuration; sailed 4 July 1944 for Pearl Harbor, where a drydock installation of U.S. Army 4.5-inch mortars made her a mortar craft in fact, with 25 enlisted men and a first lieutenant of the Army 98th Infantry Division embarked to man the mortars for the Leyte and Luzon invasions. She fired mortars at Leyte from 2,000 yards on 20 October 1944; reached Lingayen Gulf 5:30 a.m. 9 January 1945 and watched a kamikaze strike a light cruiser 100 yards away; supported UDT beach teams at Iwo Jima from 17 February 1945 after being towed in with engine failure (three of the eight LCI(M)s present were sunk and all damaged); and was one of 42 LCI(M)s supporting the 1 April 1945 Okinawa landings, including a decoy convoy that drew off three Japanese divisions and the rescue of a downed Marine pilot. Departed Okinawa 14 June 1945 for Pearl Harbor repairs; the hull was later ordered to Kwajalein.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-03-1945-12
- Population
- LCI(M)-754 crew incl. Motor Machinist Mate Kenneth J. Hahn; embarked Army 98th Infantry Division mortar detachment (25 enlisted + 1LT) for Leyte/Luzon
- Limitations
- A veteran's contemporaneous September 1945 notes published by a private veterans museum - first-person crew testimony, not a Navy record; corroborates the official 1 May 1945 fleet list (Flotilla Six/Group 17/Division 33(M)) and NavSource campaign dates, and independently documents the physical mortar conversion preceding the formal LCI(M) designation (memoir says '4.5-inch' Army mortars; Bureau of Ships table specifies 4.2-inch chemical mortars - see gaps). Establishes operations and populations aboard; says nothing about materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-06
-
[7]NARA catalog file units: NAID 633451244 (war diary); NAID 120289403 / 120289437 / 120289442 (muster rolls) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog records via catalog.archives.gov/proxy/records/search API; also NAIDs 120289403, 120289437, 120289442
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds digitized records authored by this hull: 'LCI(M)-754 - War Diary, 10/1/45 TO 11/30/45' (NAID 633451244, RG 38 World War II War Diaries series, microfilm roll A1999, two digitized images via Fold3 - covering the post-surrender Kwajalein period); plus muster rolls under all three designations - 'LCI(L) 754' (NAID 120289403, 33 images, dated May-December 1944), 'LCI(G) 754' (NAID 120289437, 4 images) and 'LCI(M) 754' (NAID 120289442, 78 images, dated March-December 1945) - all Bureau of Naval Personnel records scanned in the NARA-Ancestry collaboration.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (record dates)
- Population
- LCI-754 crews named on the rolls (1944-1945)
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata and digital-object inventories verified via NARA's search API on 2026-09-30; the catalog item pages are JS-rendered and the image contents themselves were not reviewed page-by-page - the war diary and muster rolls are open archival leads, not read evidence. No action reports for this hull surfaced in the searches run (catalog API intermittent). No asbestos content in the catalog metadata.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-07
-
[8]Shipbuilding-history LCI(L) build table (Naval Marine Archive mirror of the Colton shipbuilding data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LCI(L) table, hull-754 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The LCI(L) build table lists hull 754 as Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR, commissioned 4 May 1944, disposition 'To NDRF 1948'; the row's 'GM' flag marks her as carrying both gunboat and mortar designations - consistent with the G and M reclassifications. Neighboring CIW hulls 744-757 show the same Portland production run.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of Navy build/disposition data - corroborates the Bureau of Ships dates and NavSource's Maritime Commission transfer ('To NDRF 1948' = National Defense Reserve Fleet). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-08
-
[9]Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - Landing Ships and Craft (HyperWar transcription of the Navy-compiled list, ibiblio mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LCI(G) table row for LCI(G)-754; LCI(M) table row for LCI(M)-754-757
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A Navy-derived landing-craft list records 'LCI(G)-754, 1944-45, Converted to Landing Craft, Infantry (Mortar) -- LCI(M)' and lists LCI(M)-754 among the 1945 mortar conversions - independent confirmation of the administrative redesignation chain.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Compiled listing transcribed by the HyperWar Foundation - secondary presentation of Navy-compiled data; gives conversion designations and years but no dates, builder, or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-09
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979), incl. Enclosure I (CNO letter Ser 4542/318054, 5 Jan 1979) - full text via Wayback capture; live gao.gov returns HTTP 403 [gao]
- Locator
- pp. 10-11 ('Navy's policy on use of asbestos') and Enclosure I (Navy letter, 5 Jan 1979)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented Navy asbestos use and substitution timing: 'although product specifications for thermal insulation had been changed in 1973 to specify the use of asbestos-free materials, asbestos materials had already been purchased and in some cases installed in ships under construction. Therefore, some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978.' Enclosure I reproduces the CNO letter of 5 January 1979 (Ser 4542/318054): 'Each ship has several types of asbestos containing materials installed; however, thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos... all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos... Piping system gaskets and packing... in Navy shipboard piping systems contain asbestos. Asbestos is used in automotive brakes and clutches and in Navy ship equipment brakes and clutches... it is nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); policy reach 1940s-1978
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; crews of asbestos-era hulls (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation spanning this hull's build era (thermal-insulation specs permitted asbestos until 1973; hull built 1944) but naming no hull. The Enclosure-I letter describes the 1979 in-service fleet, not a 1944 landing craft; it establishes era-standard asbestos applications at program level only. Live gao.gov blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403); archived full text used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-10
-
[11]War Production Board, Conservation Order M-79 as amended, Federal Register 7 FR 4568-4569 (19 June 1942) [federal_register]
- Locator
- pp. 4568-4569, amosite-fiber ship-insulation provisions
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- A 1942 War Production Board rule reserved specified grades of amosite asbestos for defense orders, including 'amosite woven felt blankets and mattresses and fittings for use as insulation on ships,' 'fireproof insulating board for installation on ships,' 'molded amosite pipe covering and blocks for use as insulation on ships,' and 'flexible amosite pipe insulations for installation on ships.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942
- Limitations
- Wartime shipbuilding-policy context only - shows the federal government channeled amosite asbestos into ship-insulation products during the period this hull was built. The rule does not identify LCI craft, Commercial Iron Works procurement, or any product installed aboard hull 754.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-11
-
[12]Library of Congress, Historic American Engineering Record HAER AK-52, M/V Husky II (USS LCI(L) 653), LCI(L) 351 class - design history and specifications [haer]
- Locator
- HAER AK-52 written historical and descriptive data (design history, propulsion description)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Library of Congress HAER documentation for USS LCI(L) 653 (same LCI(L)-351 class) describes the type: a utilitarian wartime Bureau of Ships design powered by eight General Motors diesel truck engines (four per shaft) driving twin variable-pitch propellers, 159 ft, 387 long tons fully loaded; 923 LCI(L)s were built by ten U.S. yards including the design's bow-ramp infantry-landing configuration, with the 351-class introducing the later deckhouse/ramp improvements.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (design era)
- Limitations
- Class-design documentation for a sister hull, not a survey of 754. Confirms the diesel (no steam plant) propulsion type and utilitarian wartime construction; the HAER narrative does not itself document asbestos aboard the class.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-12
-
[13]Oregon Public Broadcasting, 'Portland's Toxic Graveyard For World War II Ships' (Cassandra Profita, 1 Dec 2016) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- OPB 'Battle Ready' series article text
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Oregon Public Broadcasting documents that after the war Zidell leased part of the former Commercial Iron Works shipyard - the yard that built this hull - for shipbreaking, growing it into the nation's largest ship-dismantling operation; the site was 'covered in ship scraps laced with toxic pollutants like lead, asbestos and the industrial chemical polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB.' Oregon DEQ flagged the property as potentially hazardous in 1986 and the cleanup ran more than 20 years and over $20 million.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1946-late 1970s (operations); 1986-2010s (cleanup)
- Population
- Zidell shipbreaking workforce; Willamette riverfront site
- Limitations
- Builder-yard environmental history only: documents asbestos in the postwar shipbreaking waste stream at the former Commercial Iron Works site, not materials aboard hull 754 (which went to NDRF via the Maritime Commission, not to this yard). Does not establish construction-era practices or any material aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-13
-
[14]Batch-5482 search ledger (this record): NAVSHIPS 250-011; NARA Special List 44 and catalog (war diary, muster rolls); NHHC Pacific Fleet organization; NavSource; Colton/Naval Marine Archive build table; HyperWar Navy list; GAO HRD-80-2; Federal Register M-79; HAER AK-52; OPB; MAVM memoir; CourtListener (near-complete) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-01 through -15 and -14b
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement record, product inventory, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in the accessible sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated v4): opinion searches for 'LCI(L)-754', 'LCI-754', 'LCI(M)-754' and 'LCI 754' each returned zero hits; a token-level 'LCI(G)-754' sweep returned 519 hits that are all name collisions (LCI Communications/LCI Industries telecom and components litigation); a docket (RECAP) search for 'LCI-754' returned zero hits. CAVEAT: docket-type searches for the other designation variants could not run because the fleet-wide pacing limiter denied tokens on repeated attempts - those query forms are an open gap, not a negative result.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- A bounded negative search result, not evidence that the ship lacked asbestos - and not a completed litigation screen. Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-14
-
[15]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Bureau of Ships General, Confidential, and Secret Correspondence; ship engineering drawings sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA directs researchers of asbestos aboard pre-1961 U.S. Navy vessels to Bureau of Ships Record Group 19 correspondence and ship engineering drawings, organized in part by ship designation and hull number.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1940-1961 records guidance
- Limitations
- Research guide only. No RG 19 correspondence or drawing for LCI-754 was retrieved or reviewed, and the guide states no hull-specific asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-15
-
[16]U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, NAVSHIPS 250-011, vol. II (15 April 1945), mirrored scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- printed p. 214 (PDF p. 11), LCI(M)-754 row - OCR-verified at 300 dpi
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy Bureau of Ships lists LCI(M)-754, ex-LCI(L)-754 and ex-LCI(G)-754, built by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon (ditto-marked from the preceding CIW rows); keel laid 3 April 1944; launched 23 April 1944; first commissioned 4 May 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1944); commissioning crew
- Limitations
- The table establishes identity, designations, builder and construction/first-commission dates. It gives no redesignation dates, decommissioning, strike, or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-754-lcil754-01