Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 486-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-959-lcil959-pkt-486-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-959 ex USS LCI(L)-959 - construction milestones, designation timeline, campaign record, awards, specifications (history attributed to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150959.htm - header designation block, ship history paragraph, Asiatic-Pacific campaigns table, awards ribbon block, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down 18 February 1944 at Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, TX; launched 14 March 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-959, 10 April 1944; reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Guns) LCI(G)-959, 15 June 1944; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater with campaigns at Leyte landings (19-29 November 1944), Mindoro landings (12-18 December 1944), and Nasugbu under Manila Bay-Bicol operations (31 January 1945); reclassified back to LCI(L)-959, 10 September 1945; decommissioned, date unknown; struck from the Naval Register 13 December 1946; earned three battle stars for WWII service; transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal 28 November 1947; final disposition - fate unknown. Awards listed: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3); World War II Victory Medal; Philippines Presidential Unit Citation; Philippine Liberation Medal (2). Spec block: displacement 216 t. light / 234 t. landing / 389 t. loaded; length 158'5.5"; beam 23'3"; speed 16 kts max / 14 kts continuous; LCI(L) complement 3 officers + 21 enlisted; LCI(G) complement 5 officers + 65 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; propulsion two sets of 4 General Motors diesel engines, 4 per shaft, 1,600 BHP, twin variable-pitch propellers; IRCS NYVK. NavSource holds no images of this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (Feb-Apr 1944); ship's crew (1944-46); embarked troops (up to 6 officers + 182 enlisted per landing)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - its LCI ship histories are attributed to the Turner Publishing USS LCI history (Vol. II, 1995) and generally track official records, but it is not a primary registry. Decommission date and post-MARCOM fate are absent from the page. No flotilla/group assignment is listed for this hull (sister pages carry them - see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-959-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), Consolidated Steel, Orange TX yard production table - LCI(L)-959 as yard hull 1253 [other_primary]
- Locator
- consolidatedorange.htm yard table, row for Navy LCI(L) 959 / yard hull 1253
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Consolidated Steel's Orange, TX yard production table lists this hull as yard hull number 1253, Navy type LCI(L) number 959, 260 tons, contract dated 10 December 1943, delivered April 1944, disposition 'Struck 1946'. Consistent with NavSource milestones (contract precedes the 18 Feb 1944 keel date; delivered Apr 1944 = the 10 Apr 1944 commissioning month; struck 1946 = the 13 Dec 1946 Naval Register strike).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange construction trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference compilation (Colton's shipbuildinghistory.com is a respected shipyard-production reference, not an official registry). Contract/delivery granularity only - no asbestos or material content. The table's 'Struck 1946' corroborates but does not add precision to the NavSource strike date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-959-02
-
[4]Pacific Wrecks, Lubang Island wartime history - USN 7th Fleet task-group composition for the 28 Feb-1 Mar 1945 Lubang landing naming LCI(L) 959 [other_primary]
- Locator
- pacificwrecks.com Lubang Island page, 'Wartime History' paragraph (28 Feb-1 Mar 1945 task-group composition)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A secondary compilation names this hull in the transport section of the USN 7th Fleet task group that arrived off Lubang Island (Verde Island Passage, Philippines) the night of 28 February 1945 and landed a reconnaissance force unopposed: support section destroyer USS Saufley (DD-465) and destroyer escort USS Hass (DE-424), escort flagship LCI(L)-780, transports LCI(L)-960, LCI(L)-747, LCI(L)-749, LCI(L)-750, LCI(L)-958, and LCI(L)-959, plus LCM-36 and a rocket support group of LCI(R)-340, -225, -226, -341. Sister hull LCI(L)-960's NavSource page independently records her Lubang Island operation of 1 March 1945, corroborating the task group's presence.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02-28 to 1945-03-01
- Population
- Ship's crew and embarked troops, Lubang operation (28 Feb-1 Mar 1945)
- Limitations
- ARCHIVAL LEAD ONLY - Pacific Wrecks is a private research compilation and displays no source citation on this page; the underlying record is presumably a USN action report or war diary for the Lubang operation (NARA RG 38). The page styles the hull 'LCI(L) 959' although she was formally redesignated LCI(G)-959 at the time (until 10 Sep 1945) - the loose designation is common in secondary sources and is not evidence of a different hull. This operation is additional to, and consistent with, the NavSource campaign list (Nasugbu 31 Jan 1945 was the nearest listed campaign). Not an official source; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-959-03
-
[5]Johns-Manville Corp. v. United States, 13 Cl. Ct. 72 (Cl. Ct. Aug. 6, 1987) (Nettesheim, J.), No. 465-83C - omnibus manufacturer-indemnity action tried on a test-yard/test-claimant basis; vacated on jurisdictional grounds, Johns-Manville Corp. v. United States, 855 F.2d 1556 (Fed. Cir. 1988) [court_record]
- Locator
- 13 Cl. Ct. 72, paras 7, 180, 184, 196-197, 199, 292 (test-yard structure; A&M supply channel at Consolidated; Smith testimony); appellate posture per 855 F.2d 1556 (Fed. Cir. 1988)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Trial-level findings documenting asbestos use and worker exposure at this hull's builder during WWII ship construction: (1) the parties agreed to try the omnibus indemnity case on 15 test claimants at 4 test shipyards, including THREE claimants at 'the Consolidated Steel Corporation Shipyard ("Consolidated") in Orange, Texas'; (2) Johns-Manville asbestos products reached Consolidated through Asbestos & Magnesia Materials Co. ('A & M'), J-M's Technical Service Unit that 'distributed and applied Johns-Manville's products' - individual orders approved through BuShips and allocated under Navy priority ratings, with the Supervisor of Shipbuilding at Consolidated communicating directly with J-M's Resident Inspector; (3) test claimant W.D. Smith, an electrician at Consolidated, testified he worked on engines or turbines in the lower hull aboard ships under construction while insulation workers insulated steam pipes overhead, that he was exposed to dust from asbestos-containing material left on catwalks, and that he was never warned to wear a respirator. DISPOSITION PER LITIGATION-STAGE DISCIPLINE: the Claims Court on the merits held Johns-Manville failed to establish entitlement to recovery on any theory tried; on appeal the Federal Circuit affirmed the companion section-1500 dismissal and vacated the merits decision on 28 U.S.C. section 1500 pendency grounds without reaching the merits (855 F.2d 1556 (Fed. Cir. 1988)) - the exposure findings are trial-record findings, unreviewed on the merits.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1941-1945 exposures; litigated 1983-1988
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange shipyard workers incl. electricians working aboard hulls under construction while insulators worked overhead (WWII)
- Limitations
- Yard-level, not hull-specific: the opinion documents asbestos product application and worker exposure at the Consolidated Orange yard during WWII ship construction generally; the illustrative testimony concerns steam-pipe insulation aboard ships under construction - LCI(L)-959 (a diesel-powered landing craft) is not named, and the yard's largest output was destroyers/destroyer escorts. Does not establish asbestos aboard this hull, individual exposure of this hull's builders or crew, quantity, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-959-04
-
[6]VA Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 0940502 (Oct. 26, 2009), Docket 06-27 687 - service-connection claim for lung disorder including as due to asbestos exposure; veteran served aboard USS LCI(L)-685 and USS LCI(L)-981 [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA Citation 0940502, 'Factual Background'/analysis paragraphs (service aboard LCI(L) 685 and 981; 'as though' exposure treatment; remand)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A government administrative adjudication treating shipboard service aboard sister LCI(L)-class hulls as asbestos-exposure-consistent: the veteran (a motor machinist's mate, second class) had verified service November 1943 - October 1947 'aboard ships including the USS LCI (L) 685, USS LCI (L) 981, and the USS PCE 875.' Although his personnel records did not specifically demonstrate asbestos exposure, the Board stated: 'Given his shipboard duties in the Navy, however, the Board will address the Veteran's claim as though he have had asbestos exposure at those times.' He also reported mixing asbestos with water to cover pipes and working on asbestos-covered boilers, mufflers, engine manifolds and piping at naval shipyards, and asbestos work on Navy LSTs in 1950-51. DISPOSITION: claim reopened (new and material evidence) and the merits REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center - an interlocutory posture, not a final merits award.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947 service; decided 2009
- Population
- LCI(L)-class crew, motor machinist's mate rating (1943-47 service window)
- Limitations
- Class-level administrative record: names sister hulls LCI(L)-685 and LCI(L)-981, not LCI(L)-959. This is a VA benefits adjudication, not tort litigation - the 'as though' language is a procedural concession for claim evaluation, not a materials survey of LCI(L)s. No final merits determination in this opinion (remanded). Does not establish asbestos aboard this hull or any specific material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-959-05
-
[7]VA Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 9828426 (Sept. 23, 1998), Docket 94-15 783 - asbestos-related lung disease claim by a Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, TX worker (1942-46) [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA Citation 9828426 - Findings of Fact 1-2; coworker letters (Sep 1996); hearing testimony on shipboard pipe asbestos
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- An administrative adjudication addressing asbestos exposure at this hull's builder during this hull's build window: the veteran worked at Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, TX, 1942-46 (Social Security record: spring 1942 - spring 1944, and first half of 1946) as a driller in the boilermaker department, 'drill[ing], ream[ing] and countersink[ing] steel plates' on ship hulls - then served in the Navy May 1944 - February 1946. The Board found he was NOT exposed to asbestos at Consolidated (two September 1996 coworker letters: drilling work was on the outside of hull shells where 'there was no asbestos in the area where they worked in that stage of construction') but WAS exposed aboard Navy vessels in service (asbestos-coated pipes throughout the ships; bunks directly under the pipes; dust off the pipes when the guns fired on smaller ships). Service connection granted for asbestos-related lung disease; asbestosis denied.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1946 exposure window; decided 1998
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange boilermaker/driller trades (1942-46); WWII Navy shipboard crew
- Limitations
- Does not name this hull. The no-exposure yard finding is task- and area-specific (exterior hull-shell drilling by boilermaker trades) - not a yard-wide absence finding, and it coexists with the trial findings of asbestos product application at the same yard in ev-04 (different trades/exposure pathways). The affirmative exposure finding concerns unnamed Navy vessels, not this hull. Merits-level administrative adjudication.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-959-06
-
[8]National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places nomination, USS LCI-713 (Clatsop County, OR) - official class construction documentation for a surviving sister LCI(L)-351 class hull [nps]
- Locator
- NRHP continuation sheet for USS LCI-713 - 'Description'/integrity analysis and class design history sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official federal documentation of this class's construction and material: the LCI(L)-351 class was 'constructed entirely throughout with welding' of ~1/4-inch steel plate designed for rapid assembly-line production with no specialized parts; propulsion was eight General Motors 6-71 truck diesel engines arranged in two banks of four, each bank driving a variable-pitch propeller shaft rated 1,600 BHP, maximum 16 knots; a special set of mufflers vented diesel exhaust underwater to reduce noise audible from shore; troop capacity ~182 men plus 6 officers; tanks for diesel fuel, fresh water, lube oil, smoke-generator oil, and ballast. The nomination's surviving-hull condition survey documents no asbestos content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- class design and construction, 1942-1945
- Population
- LCI(L)-351 class crews and shipyard construction trades (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Documents sister hull LCI-713 (built at George Lawley & Son, Neponset, MA), not LCI(L)-959. The nomination contains no mention of asbestos - an absence within this document, not evidence of absence aboard the class. Post-Navy material changes on 713 are described as restoration-era work.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-959-07
-
[9]Historic American Engineering Record, HAER No. AK-52 - M/V Husky II (USS LCI(L)-653, LCI(L)-351 class), Library of Congress - class design/construction engineering history [haer]
- Locator
- HAER AK-52 (ak0557data.pdf) - significance/design-history sections and propulsion description; spec block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official engineering documentation of the LCI(L)-351 class: the type was designed by the Bureau of Ships in a roughly five-month effort beginning May 1942, with working plans by the Engineering Division of George Lawley & Son Corp.; construction was welded steel throughout with 15-lb high-tensile steel in the pilot house and conning tower; propulsion was eight GM diesel truck engines, four per shaft, with variable-pitch propellers and no reduction gearing between engines and shafts; designed shaft horsepower 1,800 (per HAER spec block), maximum speed loaded 16 knots. The report's insulation references are to post-Navy refrigerated-hold conversions (spray-on/spray-foam insulation applied to frames, bulkheads, and deck beams in the fishing-tender era) - no wartime asbestos insulation is documented. NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships records incl. vessel plans and general correspondence) is cited as the repository of the class's design record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- class design 1942; construction through 1945
- Population
- LCI(L)-351 class crews and construction trades (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Documents sister hull LCI(L)-653 (built New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber, NJ), not LCI(L)-959. No asbestos content for the Navy era - the report's only insulation mentions are post-Navy conversions. Establishes the diesel-only/no-steam-plant design fact for the class; does not establish any material aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-959-08
-
[10]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 (Feb-Apr 1944) and service era (1944-47).
- 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-959-09
-
[11]Batch-5606 search ledger (this record): NavSource ship page; shipbuildinghistory yard table; CourtListener API v4 opinions + dockets; VA BVA decisions 9828426 and 0940502; U.S. Claims Court 13 Cl. Ct. 72 via OpenJurist (Fed. Cir. 855 F.2d 1556); NPS NRHP LCI-713; LOC HAER AK-52; GAO HRD-80-2 (blocked); NHHC DANFS; NVR; usslci.org; NARA RG 24 deck-log lead; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-959-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material list, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LCI(L)-959 / LCI(G)-959 was found in the sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-30): hull-designation opinion queries returned 0 results; the sole docket hit is a NAME COLLISION - Peoples v. SCDC, D.S.C. No. 8:07-cv-02702 (2007), a prisoner civil-rights case in which 'LCI' refers to Lee Correctional Institution, not this vessel. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm/marketing pages asserting asbestos aboard LCIs or at the Orange yard without primary sourcing (mesothelioma.net, navyshipexposure.com, texasasbestosexposure.com, mesolawsuitafterdeath.com, asbx.org, bellucklaw.com) - excluded by source policy. The nearest documentation is yard-level (Johns-Manville test-claimant findings at Consolidated Orange) and class-level (BVA 'as though' concession for a sister-hull motor machinist).
- 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 small amphibious craft are thinly documented generally (decommissioning date unrecorded; 'fate unknown' post-MARCOM). Deck logs (RG 24), BuShips work/inspection records (RG 19), and Maritime Commission disposal files are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-959-10