Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 469-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED (with conversion caveat)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERDICT: VERIFIED (with conversion caveat)
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-pkt-469-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(R)-762 ex USS LCI(L)-762 - construction, commissioning, designation, unit assignments, campaign, occupation/China service, disposal (history credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150762.htm history block, campaign/service tables, specifications block, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down 28 April 1944 at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR; launched 22 May 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-762, 3 June 1944, ENS Edgar E. Kelley USNR in command; reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Rocket) LCI(R)-762, 15 March 1945. Assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LCI Flotilla Sixteen (flagship, CDR C. E. Coffin USN), LCI Group Forty-Seven (LCDR G. T. McKnight USNR), LCI Division Ninety-Three; Okinawa Gunto operation, assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 30 June 1945. Post-war: Navy Occupation Service 2-25 September 1945; China Service (extended) 30 September 1945 to 18 February 1946; decommissioned 11 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; one battle star for WWII service; transferred to the Maritime Commission 29 September 1947; registered 1947 as Cresta Blanca, homeport San Francisco; re-registered as fishing vessel 1954; Mexican registration and moved to Acapulco 1957; in service as of 1988; final disposition unknown. Photographic record adds: commissioning ceremony and officers (Kelley, XO ENS Ralph E. Miller, communications ENS Keith F. Lea, engineering ENS Wayne Crissman) at the builder's yard 3 June 1944; Training Command Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet duty at Coronado June-August 1944; stranded on Coronado Strand and rammed by USS LCI(L)-761, 8 July 1944 (anchors cut loose and lost); TG 52.20 chart placing LCI(R)-762 in Task Group 52.20.4 (North Flank, with LCI(R)-647/-648/-649/-763/-764) for the Okinawa L-Day bombardment. Spec block: 216 t. light / 389 t. loaded; 158' 5.5"; LCI(L) complement 3 officers + 21 enlisted, LCI(R) 3 officers + 31 enlisted; propulsion two sets of 4 GM 6051-series 71 diesels, 4 per shaft, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1988
- Population
- CIW construction trades (Apr-Jun 1944); commissioning crew and wartime crews (1944-46); embarked troops as LCI(L)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its LCI histories are credited to the Turner Publishing USS LCI book (vol. II, 1995) and contributed photographs. Dates generally track official records but 'struck' is recorded as 'date unknown' and disposition dates conflict with Shipbuilding History (1947 vs 1948 sale; 1957 vs 1958 Mexican registry - see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation, njscuba mirror), Commercial Iron Works Portland OR production table and yard history [other_primary]
- Locator
- Commercial Iron Works yard history paragraph; production table row 137 (LCI(L)-762)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder's production table for this hull: yard hull 137 = LCI(L)-762, US Navy landing craft, 246 tons, 159 ft, delivered June 1944; 'struck 1946, sold 1948 as cargo vessel Cresta Blanca (ON 254136), to Mexico 1958.' Yard history: Commercial Iron Works started November 1916 by William T. Casey, Otto J. Hoak and Robert Boogs on a 30-acre site just south of the Ross Island Bridge, Portland; closed 1946 after building 188 boats during WWII; site sold to Zidell Marine as a ship dismantling facility, becoming a barge builder.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1958 (record coverage)
- Population
- CIW construction trades (1944); merchant crews Cresta Blanca (1947/48-forward); Zidell dismantling-era workers (post-1946, site-level)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of merchant-yard records, not a primary registry - but it provides the builder's hull number (137) and merchant disposal detail (ON 254136) NavSource lacks. Conflicts with NavSource on disposal dates (struck 1946/sold 1948/Mexico 1958 vs transferred to Maritime Commission 29 Sep 1947/registered 1947/Mexican 1957) - variants carried in gaps, both shown, neither suppressed. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-02
-
[4]HyperWar, 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945: Landing Ships and Craft' (compiled from official ships' data listings; see HyperWar sources page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-lc.html LCI(R) designation table; LCI(L) 762-780 construction line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official-list corroboration: the LCI(R) (Landing Craft, Infantry - Rocket) section lists 'LCI(R)-762-767' among the 1945-commissioned rocket conversions, corroborating this hull's 1945 LCI(L)-to-LCI(R) conversion. The same table lists LCI(L)-762-780 as built 1942-44.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- HyperWar is a transcription mirror of official ships'-data compilations; it corroborates the designation block (762-767, 1945) but gives no hull-level detail and no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-03
-
[5]Okinawa Prefectural Archives, U.S. Navy photograph collection (material copied from the U.S. National Archives), photo 115-02-4 (content code 0000080719) [other_primary]
- Locator
- OPA collection page, photo list item 80 (115-02-4), English caption text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An undated U.S. Navy photograph (OPA photo 115-02-4, collection 'U.S. Navy photographic materials held at the U.S. National Archives, vol. 29') shows this hull beached at Okinawa: original caption 'Navy landing craft, lost during World War II, lie at rest on shores of Buckner Bay, Okinawa. LCI-762 in foreground with another one in background.' Buckner Bay was the epicenter of the 9 October 1945 typhoon (Louise) that grounded scores of vessels; the documented record shows the ship continued in service through her 11 May 1946 decommissioning, so the photo most plausibly records a typhoon grounding from which she was recovered.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945 (photo undated)
- Population
- Crew during the Okinawa/occupation window (1945)
- Limitations
- Archival lead, not an event record: the photograph is undated and the caption's 'lost during World War II' conflicts with the documented timeline (occupation service to Sep 1945, China service to Feb 1946, decommissioned May 1946) - a typhoon grounding with recovery is inference, not documented fact. The OPA item is a NARA-derived copy; the NARA original identifier is not stated on the collection page. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-04
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[6]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (two sets of 4 GM 6051-series 71 diesels, 4 per shaft, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp; no steam plant); LCI-351-class designation (NavSource) and official LCI(R) conversion listing (HyperWar ships' data); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 150762.htm specifications block; HyperWar LCI designation tables; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-07)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built April-June 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era; era-standard asbestos applications aboard small steel combatant/amphibious craft of this period were machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and accommodation-space insulation in the confined hull 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
- 1944-1946
- Population
- CIW construction trades (1944); wartime crews (1944-46); conversion trades during the 1944-45 LCI(R) refit
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, build specification, or work package located for LCI(L)-762. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-05
-
[7]Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 'Zidell Waterfront Property Cleanup' community presentation (Scott Manzano, DEQ, 2012) - ECSI site 689 / CERCLIS 027765650 [other_primary]
- Locator
- DEQ presentation slides: site history and contaminants bullets; abatement scope bullet; DEQ ECSI site 689 record (deq.state.or.us URL now redirects to oregon.gov - content captured in 2012 CAG PDF)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder's site is a documented asbestos-contaminated shipyard: the Oregon DEQ records the former Commercial Iron Works property (3121 SW Moody Ave., Portland, south of the Ross Island Bridge) as an 'ironworks shipyard before WWII' purchased by Zidell in 1946, where 336 ships were dismantled over 30 years; site contaminants include asbestos, 'prevalent in upland and bankline soil' per the ECSI record, and the completed 2011-2012 remedy included a certified-worker asbestos abatement project with air monitoring and bulk ACM disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1946-2012 (site record); contamination documented 1997-2004 RI, remedied 2010-2012
- Population
- Zidell shipbreaking and site workers (1946-late 1970s); 2011-12 remediation crews
- Limitations
- Site context only - this is a post-service environmental record of the building yard's property, not a record about this hull. The documented asbestos contamination is principally attributed to the 1946-late-1970s ship-dismantling era (336 ships scrapped), which post-dates this hull's construction and sale; it does not establish materials aboard this vessel, nor construction-era fiber release. DEQ's compressed site history says 'Victory Ships' - vessel types actually built at this yard were small naval craft (LCI/LCS/PC/AM series) per the builder's production table.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-06
-
[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 - covering this hull's 1944 construction era and 1944-46 commissioned service.
- 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. Note the hull left naval service in 1946, before the 1970s substitution era the report describes.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-07
-
[9]USS LCI National Association (usslci.org), 'Now It Can Be Told - LCI(R)-765 Takes on a Japanese Destroyer' (Hank Henderson / R. E. Wright, Elsie Item reprint) - Flotilla 16 war-diary photographs and LCI(R) conversion notes [museum_official]
- Locator
- usslci.org article, epilogue section and photo captions ('War Diaries of LCI Flotilla 16... aboard LCI(L)-762 on December 6, 1944')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Photographs 'from the War Diaries of LCI Flotilla 16' believed to have been taken aboard LCI(L)-762 on 6 December 1944 show the five-inch rocket-launcher installation that defines the LCI(R) conversion - before her formal 15 March 1945 reclassification. The same article documents the conversion pattern for the flotilla: sister LCI(L)-765 'while still at Pearl Harbor' received six five-inch rocket launchers, a 40mm gun on the forecastle, and two .50-caliber machine guns before forward deployment - establishing that Flotilla 16 LCI(R) conversions were field conversions performed at Pearl Harbor.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Crew during conversion (late 1944-early 1945)
- Limitations
- Association/museum source, not an official record: photo attribution is tentative ('believed to have been taken aboard'), and the conversion location for this specific hull is not officially documented - Pearl Harbor conversion is documented for sister 765 and inferred for 762 from the war-diary photographs. Establishes the existence of Flotilla 16 war diaries (NARA RG 38 holdings; digitized via Fold3) as an open archival lead for this hull's 1944-46 movements. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-08
-
[10]National Museum of the Pacific War (Admiral Nimitz Foundation) oral history collection, interview with Keith Lea, 18 April 2010 (collection digitized via The Portal to Texas History) [museum_official]
- Locator
- exa.ai library record ncjhd1n2nrr (NMPW oral history abstract); NavSource 150762.htm officer photo caption confirms Lea's commissioning assignment
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A crew member's oral history exists: Keith Lea (the commissioning communications officer identified in NavSource photographs) describes joining 'the crew of LCI-762, a ship being converted into an LCI(R),' transiting the Pacific, and providing rocket and gunfire support at the Okinawa invasion, witnessing kamikaze attacks including on USS Birmingham and USS New Mexico; he later commanded LCI(R)-542.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (service); 2010 (interview)
- Population
- LTjg Keith F. Lea and LCI(R)-762 crew (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: located via aggregator index (exa.ai) summary of the museum interview; The Portal to Texas History sits behind an anti-bot challenge and the interview item page could not be fetched this session - the quoted description is the aggregator's abstract, not the transcript. Oral history is recollection, not a service record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-09
-
[11]Batch-5491 search ledger (this record): NavSource 10/15/150762; Shipbuilding History Commercial Iron Works table; HyperWar ships' data; Okinawa Prefectural Archives photo 115-02-4; Oregon DEQ ECSI 689 / CAG PDF; GAO HRD-80-2; usslci.org Flotilla 16 article; NMPW oral history (aggregator); NHHC DANFS; NVR; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LCI(L)-762 / LCI(R)-762 or merchant Cresta Blanca was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener was searched 2026-09-30 via the authenticated helper - opinion index and docket index both returned zero hits for 'LCI-762', 'LCI(L)-762', 'LCI(R)-762', and 'LCI 762'. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos' material found is law-firm marketing content (a mesothelioma-directory page for the builder's yard and similar listicles) asserting exposure 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 - the vessel's 1944 construction sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era, and her merchant conversion (1947/48) and Mexican-flag fishing/cargo service ran decades beyond Navy record-keeping. The CourtListener index search covers docketed/filed cases only - pre-digital filings, state-court paper records, and settled/unreported claims are outside its coverage. Deck logs (RG 24) and Flotilla 16 war diaries (RG 38) are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-762-lcil762-10