Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]research packet 495-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lcs-l-3-119-lcsl3119-pkt-495-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSSL-119 ex USS LCS(L)(3)-119 (10/05/050119) - construction, commissioning, flotilla/group/division assignment, campaign listing, occupation service, designation history, disposal, awards, spec block [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050119 header, campaign table, disposition block, specifications block, ribbon block, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 31 October 1944 at George Lawley & Sons Corp., Neponset, MA; launched 8 November 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-119, 27 November 1944, LT. E. Saroch Jr. USNR in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LCS(L)(3) Flotilla Four (CDR N. Phillips), Group Ten (LCDR J. A. Dodson), Division Nineteen; Okinawa Gunto operation 26 March - 30 June 1945. Occupation service in the Far East 2 September - 3 December 1945. Decommissioned, date unknown. Redesignated Landing Ship Support Large, USS LSSL-119, 28 February 1949. Transferred on loan to Japan 29 July 1953, named JDS Kikyo; returned to US Navy custody 29 August 1958. Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown. Final disposition: sunk as a target using bombs and rockets, May 1959. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Okinawa), Navy Unit Commendation, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp); Purple Heart annotation '14 KIA, 18 WIA, 28 May 1945'. Spec block (sources: NavShips 250-012, 15 April 1945; Baker 1989; Lawley class instructions and original plans): 250 t light / 387 t full; 158 ft o.a.; beam 23 ft 8 in; draft 5 ft 8 in; 16.5 kt max; complement 6 officers, 65 enlisted; armament 1 single 40mm bow mount, 2 twin 40mm AA, 4 single 20mm AA, 4 .50-cal MG, 10 Mk7 rocket launchers; 10-lb STS splinter shield; propulsion '2 General Motors 6051 series 71 Diesel engines, BHP 1,600', GM main reduction gears, 2 diesel-drive 60 kW 450V AC generators, twin variable-pitch propellers. Photo captions: under way mid-1945; moored in San Francisco Bay circa late 1945. Commanding officer table: LT. Saroch Jr., E., USNR, 27 November 1944 - ?
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (Oct-Nov 1944); commissioning-era and wartime crew (1944-47); JMSDF crew (1953-58)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation tracking official data, not a primary registry - 'Division Nineteen' conflicts with the NHHC 1 May 1945 fleet organization document (Division 20); its '14 KIA' conflicts with NHHC's '10 dead'; decommissioning and striking dates are given as unknown. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-01
-
[3]NHHC H-Gram 048-2, 'Naval Battle of Okinawa (Continued) - Roll Call of Valor and Sacrifice' (Director's Corner, Naval History and Heritage Command) - LCS(L)-119 subsection [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- H-Gram 048-2, 'LCS(L)-119 (##), 28 May 1945' subsection
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC documents for this hull: 'On 21 May, while returning from duty on a radar picket station, LCS(L)-119 was attacked by two Val dive-bombers and one Nell twin-engine bomber. LCS(L)-119 shot down the Nell at 1,500 yards off the port beam. The first Val dove from overhead, strafing the ship, before it barely missed off the port bow, spraying the LCS(L)-119 with burning gasoline, which was quickly extinguished. The second Val turned away under fire. On 28 May LCS(L)-119's luck ran out while she was on anti-suicide-boat patrol just outside the Hagushi anchorage. Shortly before midnight, the vessel shot down a Betty twin-engine bomber. However, shortly afterwards a Rufe (A6M2-N Zero floatplane) with a big bomb came out of the darkness and crashed LCS(L)-119 on her starboard quarter near the engine room, starting a raging fire from amidships to the stern and causing ready-service ammunition boxes to cook off and explode. The vessel's pumps were knocked out and, for a time, the fire could not be controlled. With 10 dead and 18 seriously wounded, the ship was in serious danger of being lost, until a tug came alongside and evacuated the wounded and put out the fire.' Lt. Emil Saroch Jr. was awarded the Silver Star for bringing the vessel alongside another burning ship and extinguishing the fire on 1 April, for shooting down two aircraft and driving off a third on 1 May, and on 28 May for saving his ship and entering a burning compartment to extricate and carry a wounded crewman to safety. LCS(L)-119 was awarded a Navy Unit Commendation. 'Her repairs were not completed until after the war was over. She ended up serving in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense force from 1953 to 1958.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- April-May 1945 (narrative); JMSDF note 1953-1958
- Population
- Crew (28 May 1945 casualties: 10 dead, 18 seriously wounded per NHHC)
- Limitations
- Official NHHC historical narrative (H-Gram series, Director's Corner) - authoritative secondary synthesis of action reports, not the primary report itself (the primary action report is NAID 101760887, see ev-08). Casualty count '10 dead and 18 seriously wounded' conflicts with NavSource's Purple Heart annotation '14 KIA, 18 WIA' - flagged in gaps. 'Repairs not completed until after the war' is stated without location or yard. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-02
-
[4]DANFS, ATR-10 - documents this hull's Panama Canal transit of 7 January 1945 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS ATR-10 entry, paragraph on the 6-7 January 1945 Canal transit
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents this hull by name: on 7 January 1945, ATR-10 'accomplished that leg of the passage with the tank landing ship LST-850 and the large support landing craft LCS(L)-114, LCS(L)-115, and LCS(L)-119, then moved through the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks' - the Gatun-to-Pacific leg of the Panama Canal transit, placing this hull westbound to the Pacific about five weeks after commissioning at Neponset.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-01-07
- Population
- Crew (transit period)
- Limitations
- Incidental mention inside another vessel's DANFS entry; establishes the canal transit and traveling company only, nothing else about this hull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-03
-
[5]DANFS, Havre (PCE-877) - documents PCE-877's assistance to this hull on 28 May 1945 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Havre (PCE-877) entry, Okinawa paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: 'On 28 May she came under Japanese air attack while assisting LCS-119, which had been demolished by a suicide plane. During this encounter she aided in splashing an enemy plane and recovered sixty-one survivors from the stricken ship' - PCE-877 (later USS Havre) assisted this hull off Okinawa after the kamikaze hit and recovered 61 survivors.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-28
- Population
- Crew (61 survivors recovered by PCE-877); wounded
- Limitations
- Incidental mention inside PCE-877's own entry. DANFS's word 'demolished' overstates the outcome - the ship survived and was repaired (NHHC H-Gram and her later transfer history confirm); the casualty detail sits with NHHC's account. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-04
-
[6]NHHC, U.S. Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 (Navy Department Library transcription) - LCS Flotilla Four / Group 10 / Division 20 listing [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, Amphibious Forces, LCS Flotilla Four > Group 10 > Division 20 (page ~87)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization document places 'LCS 119 (1), Ens. E. Saroch, Jr. (21335)' under LCS FLOTILLA FOUR (Commander: Comdr. N. Phillips), LCS GROUP 10, LCS DIVISION 20 - with LCS 120 (Lt. F. H. Lamartin Jr.), LCS 121 (Ens. W. C. Lewis), and LCS 122-124 in the same division; Division 19 comprised LCS 113-118.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew / chain of command (1 May 1945)
- Limitations
- Primary-period organization document. Conflicts with NavSource's 'Division Nineteen' assignment for this hull and NavSource's 'LT.' rank for Saroch ('Ens.' here) - flagged in gaps; the flotilla (Four) and group (Ten) assignments agree across sources. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-05
-
[7]NavalCoverMuseum, LCS(L)(3) 119 - name/designation history including decommissioning date and JMSDF service entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavalCoverMuseum wiki, 'Ship Name and Designation History' section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavalCoverMuseum's designation history for this hull: keel laid 31 October 1944, launched 8 November 1944; USS LCS(L)(3)-119 commissioned 27 November 1944, decommissioned 5 May 1947; redesignated Landing Ship Support Large (LSSL) 28 February 1949 while in reserve; KIKYO in Japanese naval service, transferred on loan to Japan 29 July 1953; returned to U.S. custody 29 August 1958; struck from Naval Register (date unknown); sunk as target using bombs and rockets May 1959.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Limitations
- Philatelic-history volunteer project - secondary authority. It is the sole located source for the 5 May 1947 decommissioning date (NavSource lists the date as unknown); carried provisionally and flagged in gaps. No postmarks or covers are reported for this hull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-06
-
[8]NavSource-hosted ship's-history narrative for LCS(L)(3)-118 (sister sailing in company) - documents this hull's shakedown, transit, and combat company movements [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050118h.htm 'USS LCS(L) 118 SHIP'S HISTORY' narrative paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A contributed ship's-history narrative for sister LCS(L)(3)-118 documents this hull's movements in company: late November-December 1944 shakedown and training exercises at Solomons, Maryland with LCS(L)s 117, 118, and 120, followed by a Lambert's Point, Norfolk availability (~12 December); convoy departure from San Diego 31 January 1945 with LCS(L)s 114, 115, 116, and 119, arriving Pearl Harbor 10 February; onward to Saipan in a group of twelve LCS(L)s and two LCIs, arriving 17 March 1945; off Okinawa, when a kamikaze crashed LST-884 (carrying ~300 Marines, explosives, gasoline, and crated aircraft), LCS(L)s 118, 115, 116, and 119 moved in to fight the fires and the ship 'was subsequently saved'; 30 April 1945 sortie of LCS(L)s 118, 114, and 119 into Japanese-held Ionabaru Bay in search of downed TBF airmen, credited with destroying a Japanese ammunition dump; and the 1946 return transit - departing San Diego 26 January 1946, transiting the Panama Canal, drydocking and preliminary mothballing at the Algiers Naval Repair Base, New Orleans (arriving 19 February), then steaming out of the Mississippi 30 March 1946 to the Green Cove Springs, Florida reserve fleet, arriving 3 April 1946.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-11 - 1946-04
- Population
- Crew (shakedown, transit, Okinawa operations, mothballing)
- Limitations
- Contributed narrative (veteran/association-compiled ship's history hosted on NavSource) - rich contemporaneous detail but secondary in authority; the movements it attributes to this hull are corroborated in direction by the primary sources (Canal transit per DANFS ATR-10; Okinawa presence per NHHC). The LST-884 assist of 1 April 1945 aligns with the 1 April action in Saroch's Silver Star citation (NHHC). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-07
-
[9]NARA catalog (catalog.archives.gov): digitized records for this hull - muster rolls (NAID 120282553); war diaries Jul/Aug/Sep 1945 (NAIDs 77601609, 77490032, 77532182); action report on the 28 May 1945 suicide-plane attack (NAID 101760887); Okinawa operations report 1 April - 14 June 1945 (NAID 83542437); IDPF for Aubrey East (NAID 677432678) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAIDs 120282553, 77601609, 77490032, 77532182, 101760887, 83542437, 677432678
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds digitized primary records for this hull, catalog-titles verified: 'LCS(L) (3) 119 - Muster Rolls' (NAID 120282553, 158 scanned images via the Ancestry partnership, beginning with the 27 November 1944 commissioning muster); war diaries for July, August, and September 1945 (NAIDs 77601609, 77490032, 77532182); 'Rep of action with enemy suicide aircraft, including crash dive, off Okinawa Gunto, Ryukyu Isl' (NAID 101760887, 12 objects - the ship's own report of the 28 May 1945 kamikaze action); 'Rep of opers in the invasion & occupation of the Okinawa Gunto, Ryukyu Islands, 4/1/45 - 6/14/[45]' (NAID 83542437, 6 objects); and an Individual Deceased Personnel File for Aubrey East (NAID 677432678, 107 objects) surfacing under this hull's catalog query, consistent with a 28 May 1945 fatality.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-11-27 - 1945-09-30 (record coverage)
- Population
- Entire wartime crew (muster rolls); KIA/WIA documentation (action report, IDPF)
- Limitations
- Catalog-level verification: file-unit titles and digital-object counts were read via the NARA catalog API; page contents were not individually transcribed this session (catalog pages are JS-rendered; the API throttled repeat calls). The IDPF's explicit linkage to this hull is inferred from its surfacing under the hull's query - the file itself must be read to confirm. These are personnel/operations records; any material or asbestos content would be incidental at most.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource class spec block (sourced to NavShips 250-012 - diesel plant, no steam); NHHC/NavSource service timeline (1944 construction, Okinawa combat, post-war repair period); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 050119 spec block; NavSource 05idx/05func class text; NHHC H-Gram 048-2 damage narrative
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A small naval gunboat built October-November 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel-powered craft of this type and period were thermal insulation around machinery and exhaust runs, diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery and valve gaskets, packing, and electrical insulation, in a confined 158-foot hull. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply. The documented 28 May 1945 engine-room-area kamikaze fire (burning amidships to stern) and NHHC's note that repairs ran past war's end constitute a documented period of structural repair in which era materials would plausibly have been disturbed or replaced - context for exposure-relevant activity, not material confirmation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1944); crew (1944-47); repair-yard trades during post-hit reconstruction (yard unlocated); JMSDF crew (1953-58)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, specification, or work package located for this craft. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. The repair-era inference is drawn from damage/repair documentation that says nothing about materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-09
-
[11]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 U.S. service era (1944-1953).
- 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, standing since 2026-09-18) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-10
-
[12]Batch-5668 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull/class/sister-history pages; NHHC H-Gram 048-2; DANFS ATR-10 and Havre entries; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization document; NavalCoverMuseum; NARA catalog; NVR; CourtListener (type=o and type=r both run); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcsl3-119-01 through -17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming LCS(L)(3)-119 / LSSL-119 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-30) returned exactly one opinion-level hit - Curl v. Bartholomew, 321 S.W.2d 251 (Ky. Ct. App. 1959), a liquor-license appeal - and exactly one docket-level hit - Goldman v. Lafarge S.A., 1:24-cv-01043 (E.D.N.Y.), Anti-Terrorism Act litigation against a cement company; both are pure name collisions unrelated to the vessel. No DANFS entry exists for this numbered craft itself (confirmed via NHHC site search and the hazegray DANFS index); the Naval Vessel Register carries no entry (disposed 1959, pre-1987 coverage cutoff); and the secondary web sweep surfaced no law-firm or marketing claims naming this specific hull.
- 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 - 1944 construction inside the Navy's asbestos era plus a documented post-battle repair period are consistent with era-standard materials. The NARA action report, war diaries, and muster rolls are digitized and readable (leads for any future ship-specific check). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-11
-
[13]Kamikaze Images, 'May 28, 1945 - Another Day of Infamy' (LCS(L)-114 / USS Drexler story) - potential reading-confusion source for the '119' figure [other_primary]
- Locator
- kamikazeimages.net stories/lcsl114 page; NHHC H-Gram 048-2 Drexler subsection
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION (preemptive): the kamikaze-images account headlined 'LCS(L) 114 saved 119 men' refers to LCS(L)-114 rescuing 119 MEN - survivors of the sinking destroyer USS Drexler (DD-741) at Radar Picket Station 15 on 28 May 1945. It is not a reference to hull LCS(L)(3)-119. Researchers collating '119' hits can easily misread this as the numbered craft; the two are unrelated events of the same day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-28
- Limitations
- Clarifies a likely name-collision in secondary sources; asserts nothing about this hull's materials or exposure. Drexler/LCS-114 context itself is corroborated by NHHC H-Gram 048-2.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl3-119-12